Is the Microsoft Interview Easier Than Google's?
Most candidates report that the Microsoft loop is a little easier than Google's. The gap is small, and it is about style more than difficulty.
Microsoft asks practical coding questions and decides quickly. Google asks deeper algorithm questions and adds review steps you never see.
Neither company publishes a pass rate. Any exact percentage you read online is an estimate, not a fact.
Both bars are high. A candidate who prepares for Google is usually ready for Microsoft, but the reverse is not always true.
The two processes side by side
| Part of the process | Microsoft | |
|---|---|---|
| Online test | Common for students, rare for experienced hires | Common for students, rare for experienced hires |
| Phone or virtual screen | 1 round, about 60 min | 1 or 2 rounds, 45 min each |
| Main loop | 4 or 5 rounds, often the same day | 4 or 5 rounds, coding heavy |
| Extra round | AA round with a senior leader outside the team | None, but a hiring committee reviews the notes |
| Who decides | The team, then the AA interviewer | A hiring committee, then further review |
| Team matching | Usually before the loop | Often after you pass |
| Typical total time | 3 to 6 weeks | 6 to 10 weeks |
Where Microsoft is easier
The coding questions stay closer to normal work. Expect strings, hash maps, trees and clean edge-case handling.
You usually know the team before the loop. That makes the questions more concrete and the fit easier to judge.
The decision is faster. Candidates report a verbal answer within three to five business days after the final round.
Interviewers often work with the answer you give. Partial progress with good reasoning still scores.
Where Google is harder
The algorithm bar is higher. Graphs, dynamic programming and tight complexity limits come up far more often.
Google also grades how you speak while you solve. Silence hurts, even when the code is right.
Then the notes go to a hiring committee. That group never met you, so anything the interviewer failed to write down is lost.
Team matching can follow the loop. Passing the interviews and still waiting for a team is common, and it adds weeks.
Where Microsoft can be harder
The AA round is the part candidates miss. AA stands for As Appropriate, and it is an extra interview with a senior leader from outside the hiring team.
That leader can reject a candidate the loop supported. Google has no equivalent single person.
Microsoft also varies more between teams. Azure, Windows, Office and gaming teams run noticeably different rounds.
So which should you expect to be harder
It depends on your own strengths.
- Strong on algorithms, quiet while solving. Google will be harder for you.
- Strong communicator, average on hard graph questions. Microsoft will suit you better.
- Senior candidate. Both add system design, and the two bars are close at that level.
- New graduate. Google's online test and phone screens cut more people early.
The honest summary is short. Microsoft is a slightly softer loop with one sharp extra step at the end.
How to Prepare
- Prepare for the harder of the two. Study for Google's bar and Microsoft becomes comfortable. Grokking the Coding Interview covers the patterns both use.
- Drill the highest-value problems first. Grokking the 75 Top Coding Interview Questions is the shortest path if your date is close.
- Plan for the AA round. Read what AA means in a Microsoft interview so the extra round does not surprise you.
- Know the Microsoft rounds. What to expect in a Microsoft technical interview and how tough is a Microsoft interview set the level.
- Add system design if you are past mid-level. What are the top system design questions for a Microsoft interview and Grokking the System Design Interview cover it.
- Practice speaking while you code. Book a mock interview and fix the silences before the real round.
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