Netflix · System design

Netflix system design interview questions

28 questions, tiered for the Netflix loop. High-level and low-level design prompts framed the way Netflix design rounds tend to run, with clarifying questions, requirements, a mermaid architecture diagram, deep dives, and trade-offs per level.

What the round decides

Scored on scoping and trade-off depth. Netflix's own engineering culture is built around large-scale streaming and distributed systems, so design rounds are commonly reported to probe reliability, scale, and operational trade-offs in real depth, not just surface-level architecture.

Other Netflix lists: Coding · Problem solving

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must23 questions

Solve these cold. They cover the patterns this loop leans on hardest.

Design a Chat Messaging Systemstartermediumhld · websockets · fanout
Design a Collaborative Document Editorstarterhardhld · ot-crdt · realtime
Design a Distributed Cachemediumhld · caching · consistent-hashing
Design a Distributed Key-Value Storehardhld · replication · consistency
Design a Distributed Message Queuehardhld · queue · replication
Design a Metrics Monitoring and Alerting Systemhardhld · time-series · aggregation
Design a News Feedmediumhld · fanout · ranking
Design a Notification Systemmediumhld · queue · fanout
Design a Payment Systemhardhld · idempotency · ledger
Design a Rate Limitermediumhld · distributed-counter · algorithms
Design a Ride Matching Servicehardhld · geospatial · realtime
Design a URL Shortenermediumhld · key-generation · storage
Design a Video Streaming Platformhardhld · storage · cdn
Design a Web Crawlerhardhld · queue · politeness
Design an Ad Click Event Aggregation Systemfreehardhld · streaming · aggregation
Design an Email Servicehardhld · storage · search
Design Cloud File Storage and Synchardhld · storage · sync
Design Nearby Places Searchhardhld · geospatial · indexing
Design Search Autocompletemediumhld · trie · ranking
Design Top-K Heavy Hittershardhld · streaming · count-min-sketch
In-Memory File Systemmediumlld · tree · trie
Rate Limiter Librarymediumlld · token-bucket · sliding-window
Text Editor with Undo/Redomediumlld · command-pattern · stack

should4 questions

Work through once, then revisit any you could not finish on paper.

Elevator Systemhardlld · ood · scheduling
Logging Frameworkmediumlld · chain-of-responsibility · async
Parking Lotmediumlld · ood · state
Snake Gamemediumlld · ood · deque

stretch1 question

Only if the must and should lists feel easy. Commonly reported at senior levels or as follow-ups.

Vending Machinemediumlld · state-machine

Free starter pack

13 must-tier questions with full solutions

FAQ

Questions people ask

Are these the real Netflix system design questions?

They are original questions built around the patterns commonly reported from Netflix loops, not leaked or copied problems. Interviewers rotate questions constantly; preparing by pattern and tier is what transfers.

What do must / should / stretch mean?

Must: the patterns a Netflix system design round leans on hardest; solve them cold. Should: work once and revisit. Stretch: senior-level or follow-up material.

What is free?

Every problem statement, examples and hints on this list. One system design question is fully open as a preview, and signing in unlocks the 13-question starter pack. The worked approach, solution, tests and per-company notes are in the guide.