What are the top courses for mastering FAANG system design interviews?

For FAANG‑level system design, start with Grokking the System Design Interview (DesignGurus) → level up with Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview and Grokking Microservices Design Patterns → supplement with ByteByteGo (visual, text‑based), Exponent’s System Design Interviews (video + mocks), and Frank Kane’s Mastering the System Design Interview (Udemy, ex‑Amazon HM). Then drill with mocks and a 4‑week plan below.

The Definitive Picks (2025)

Ordered the way most FAANG candidates actually learn: fundamentals → patterns → real systems → mocks.

1) Grokking the System Design Interview — Best Overall (FAANG‑proven)

• Why it leads: The original “Grokking” method pioneered a repeatable, interview‑friendly process and keeps content updated. Designed by ex‑FAANG interviewers and now offered directly on DesignGurus. ~20 hours, 65 lessons, recent update, 4.7★ with 140k+ learners.
• You’ll cover: Requirements → estimates → APIs → data models → sharding, caching, load balancing → end‑to‑end designs (Instagram, Uber‑like, chat).

2) Grokking System Design Fundamentals — Best first step if you’re new

• For engineers who want a foundation before “Grokking SDI.” ~20 hours, 100+ lessons, updated last month, 4.6★. Clear, beginner‑friendly explanations of latency, throughput, DNS, caches, CAP/PACELC, etc.

--> Grokking System Design Fundamentals.

3) Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview — Best for senior/staff depth

• Deep dives into Dynamo, Cassandra, Kafka, Bigtable, GFS, Chubby plus a patterns section (e.g., quorum, consistent hashing, vector clocks, Merkle trees). 118 lessons, updated last month. Ideal to answer “go deeper” follow‑ups.

--> Grokking the Advanced System Design Interview.

4) Grokking Microservices Design Patterns — Best for microservices‑heavy roles

• A 60‑hour, patterns‑driven course (Circuit Breaker, Saga, Sidecar, BFF, Service Discovery, CQRS) with practical trade‑offs and examples—great for answering “how would you make this resilient?”

--> Grokking Microservices Design Patterns.

Why Grokking first? DesignGurus courses are explicitly built by FAANG hiring managers, with roadmaps, mock interviews, and coaching on the same platform—so you learn and practice in one place.

Excellent complements (visuals, mocks, alternative styles)

5) ByteByteGo — Best visual, text‑based diagrams

• Text + diagram–first explanations across core topics and famous systems; available via membership (annual/lifetime options). Also backed by a massive newsletter audience, which signals ongoing freshness. Use it to “see” concepts you’ll discuss at the whiteboard.

6) Exponent — System Design Interviews (video course + mock ecosystem)

• In‑depth video lessons, a large question bank, peer mocks, and coaching—useful for timing and articulation practice. Their public guide is widely referenced; the course ties it all together.

7) Mastering the System Design Interview (Frank Kane, Udemy) — Best budget video pick by an ex‑Amazon hiring manager

• Short, pragmatic, and frequently updated; includes mock interviews and insider tips on what hiring managers listen for.

At‑a‑glance comparison

How to choose (fast)

• If you have <2 weeks: Do Grokking SDI end‑to‑end; skim ByteByteGo diagrams for weak spots; run 2–3 Exponent mocks to sharpen articulation. )
• If you have 4–6 weeks: Fundamentals → Grokking SDI → Advanced SDI chapters tied to your target team’s stack (e.g., Kafka/Cassandra) → targeted Microservices patterns → 4+ mocks.

A teacher’s 4‑week plan (battle‑tested)

Week 1 — Fundamentals & method

• Read/Watch: Grokking Fundamentals (core components, performance metrics).

• Drill: Estimation, requirements, API/interfaces—practice a URL shortener and newsfeed on paper. Week 2 — Core patterns in action

• Grokking SDI full pass; be strict with time (45–50 minutes/design).

• Add ByteByteGo diagrams for the same systems you designed to reinforce mental pictures.

Week 3 — Real‑system deep dives

• Advanced SDI modules mapped to your interviews (e.g., Kafka for streaming, Dynamo/Cassandra for AP stores).
• Microservices patterns (Circuit Breaker, Saga) and failure modes.

Week 4 — Mock, refine, repeat

• 3–5 mocks (Exponent or peers). After each, write a 1‑page debrief: trade‑offs you missed, metrics you didn’t define, bottlenecks you glossed over.
• Optional polish: Frank Kane’s Udemy sections on framing answers + interviewer heuristics.

Free reinforcement: Keep The System Design Primer as a nightly 20‑minute skim for concepts/cheat‑sheets.

Why these courses stand out for FAANG

• They mirror real interview expectations. Grokking’s method and case studies map directly to how FAANG interviewers probe requirements, scaling paths, and trade‑offs.
• They teach depth, not just patterns. Advanced SDI covers the canonical papers/systems you’ll get asked to “go deeper” on—e.g., Dynamo, Bigtable, Kafka, Chubby locks.
• You get multiple learning modalities. Video (DesignGurus, Exponent, Udemy), and text‑diagram (ByteByteGo) - so you retain better by switching modes.
• Top‑tier authorship/pedigree. Courses here are authored or curated by ex‑FAANG interviewers, hiring managers, and staff‑level engineers.

Pro Tip: Pair “Courses” with “Papers”

If you’re targeting Staff+ roles, layer in one academic‑style resource so you can cite internals convincingly (e.g., replication semantics, leader election). Stanford’s CS 244B Distributed Systems notes are a good, freely browsable anchor.

FAQ

Q1) Are Grokking courses still current in 2025?

Yes. The flagship and advanced courses show “Updated last month,” with new/modern case studies and patterns.

Q2) I’m new to distributed systems. Where do I start?

Take Grokking System Design Fundamentals first, then the flagship course. You’ll ramp from basics (latency, caches, DNS) to full interview designs. Video or text? Use both. Many candidates learn the method via video (Grokking), then reinforce visually with diagrams (ByteByteGo), then stress‑test in mocks (Exponent).