# cracked.guide vs the NeetCode roadmap

> The NeetCode roadmap and cracked.guide compared: interview prep by pattern versus a deep path that keeps NeetCode 150 running two problems a week.

**NeetCode** is interview preparation: the NeetCode 150 problems grouped by pattern, with video explanations, on a roadmap you work through as fast as you can. **cracked.guide** uses those same 150 problems as a side dish, two a week for 75 weeks, next to interpreters and Knuth. If you have an interview soon, do NeetCode now. If you want depth, do cracked.guide and keep the interview muscle warm.

## At a glance

| | NeetCode roadmap | cracked.guide |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Goal | Pass coding interviews | Get deeply good at programming |
| Content | NeetCode 150 (and larger lists) in 18 pattern categories, with videos | A dated 145-week path: Crafting Interpreters, then TAOCP Vols 1 to 4B, with NeetCode 150 and a Play track of programming games |
| Pace | As fast as you like | Two NeetCode problems a week for the first 75 weeks |
| Cost | Free problem list and videos; NeetCode Pro is paid | Free site; books and games extra (Crafting Interpreters is free online) |
| Checks | LeetCode's judge | Your public LeetCode profile, read weekly; Premium-only problems on your word |

## How cracked.guide uses NeetCode

Week N of the path asks for NeetCode 150 problems 2N - 1 and 2N, in [NeetCode's order](https://cracked.guide/neetcode-150), so by week 75 you have done the whole list. Solve them on LeetCode under a public profile and they are read from there; any other NeetCode problem you have not used yet counts too. Seven of the 150 are LeetCode Premium; each is free to try on neetcode.io, and you can mark it solved yourself.

## Which to pick

Interview in the next three months: NeetCode, full time, no question. It is the most efficient interview prep there is. Longer horizon, or you want to understand why the patterns work: cracked.guide, where the same problems get two years of algorithms underneath them. Want only the NeetCode part on a schedule? The [NeetCode 150 study plan](https://cracked.guide/plan/neetcode-150) gives you dates.

## Questions

### How long does NeetCode 150 take?

Full time, a few weeks to a couple of months. At two a week, as on cracked.guide, 75 weeks.

### Do I need NeetCode Pro?

Not for the NeetCode 150 list, which is free to work through. Check neetcode.io for what Pro adds and its current price.

## Sources

- [NeetCode practice (NeetCode 150)](https://neetcode.io/practice?tab=neetcode150)

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Source: https://cracked.guide/vs/neetcode-roadmap
cracked.guide: A free, dated 145-week path to getting genuinely cracked at programming.