Wayfair coding interview
questions, leaked.
24 problems reported across recent Wayfair interviews. Top patterns: string, array, hash table. The list below is what most reported candidates actually saw, plus the honest play if you can't grind all of it.
Wayfair's coding assessment hits you with 24 problems across a brutal medium-heavy mix. You're looking at 16 mediums and only 5 easy problems to warm up on, which means you'll spend most of your time in the thick of it. String problems dominate the list, followed by arrays and hash tables. If you blank on a greedy or DP pattern mid-assessment, StealthCoder runs invisibly during screen share and surfaces a working solution in seconds, invisible to the proctor. You need to know what's actually being asked before you walk in.
Top problems at Wayfair
| # | Problem | Diff | Frequency | Pass % | Patterns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Maximum Product Subarray | MEDIUM | 100.0 | 35% | Array · Dynamic Programming |
| 02 | Largest Magic Square | MEDIUM | 94.3 | 52% | Array · Matrix · Prefix Sum |
| 03 | Team Scores in Football Tournament | MEDIUM | 94.3 | 56% | Database |
| 04 | Minimum Moves to Reach Target Score | MEDIUM | 94.3 | 51% | Math · Greedy |
| 05 | Longest Happy String | MEDIUM | 92.0 | 65% | String · Greedy · Heap (Priority Queue) |
| 06 | Design A Leaderboard | MEDIUM | 92.0 | 68% | Hash Table · Design · Sorting |
| 07 | Delete Characters to Make Fancy String | EASY | 92.0 | 72% | String |
| 08 | Maximum Number of Balloons | EASY | 92.0 | 60% | Hash Table · String · Counting |
| 09 | Alert Using Same Key-Card Three or More Times in a One Hour Period | MEDIUM | 92.0 | 46% | Array · Hash Table · String |
| 10 | Best Sightseeing Pair | MEDIUM | 92.0 | 63% | Array · Dynamic Programming |
| 11 | Tournament Winners | HARD | 92.0 | 50% | Database |
| 12 | Add Strings | EASY | 89.5 | 52% | Math · String · Simulation |
| 13 | Number of Divisible Substrings | MEDIUM | 86.7 | 73% | Hash Table · String · Counting |
| 14 | Longest Palindromic Substring | MEDIUM | 75.5 | 36% | Two Pointers · String · Dynamic Programming |
| 15 | Group Anagrams | MEDIUM | 70.2 | 71% | Array · Hash Table · String |
| 16 | Valid Palindrome | EASY | 63.4 | 51% | Two Pointers · String |
| 17 | Reaching Points | HARD | 63.4 | 34% | Math |
| 18 | Backspace String Compare | EASY | 53.9 | 49% | Two Pointers · String · Stack |
| 19 | Maximum Number of Vowels in a Substring of Given Length | MEDIUM | 53.9 | 60% | String · Sliding Window |
| 20 | Longest Increasing Subsequence | MEDIUM | 53.9 | 58% | Array · Binary Search · Dynamic Programming |
| 21 | Palindromic Substrings | MEDIUM | 53.9 | 72% | Two Pointers · String · Dynamic Programming |
| 22 | Reverse Words in a String | MEDIUM | 53.9 | 52% | Two Pointers · String |
| 23 | Last Person to Fit in the Bus | MEDIUM | 53.9 | 68% | Database |
| 24 | Sliding Window Maximum | HARD | 53.9 | 48% | Array · Queue · Sliding Window |
Frequencies derived from public community-tagged interview reports. Click a row to view on LeetCode.
You have a week, maybe less. You can't out-grind the list above. StealthCoder runs invisibly during the actual Wayfair OA. The proctor cannot see it. Screen share cannot detect it. Made for the engineer who has done the work but might still blank with a webcam pointed at him.
Get StealthCoder- string13 · 54%
- array7 · 29%
- hash table5 · 21%
- dynamic programming5 · 21%
- two pointers5 · 21%
- math3 · 13%
- sorting3 · 13%
- database3 · 13%
- counting2 · 8%
- prefix sum2 · 8%
Two topics own this assessment: strings show up in 13 problems, arrays in 7. That's your foundation. Hash tables, dynamic programming, and two pointers each hit 5 times and tend to cluster with strings or arrays, so expect hybrid problems like 'Maximum Product Subarray' and 'Longest Palindromic Substring' that require both pattern recognition and efficient implementation. Math and sorting appear less often but still matter for edge cases. The hard problems cluster around database design and tournament logic, not algorithmic complexity. The medium tier is where the pain lives. Drill string manipulation, hash-table frequency counting, and DP subarray patterns first. If you haven't internalized the two-pointers or prefix-sum tricks by the time you sit down, StealthCoder is your hedge for whatever you didn't have time to grind.
Companies with similar patterns
If you prepped for Wayfair, these companies recycle ~60% of the same topics.
You've seen the list.
Now make sure you pass Wayfair.
Memorizing every problem above in a week is a fantasy. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay that's invisible during screen share. It reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Made for the engineer who has done the work but might still blank with a webcam pointed at him. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Wayfair interview FAQ
How many string problems should I solve before the Wayfair assessment?+
String problems appear in 13 of 24 total questions, so they're non-negotiable. Focus on 'Delete Characters to Make Fancy String', 'Longest Happy String', and 'Group Anagrams' first. These cover greedy, heap, and hash-table string techniques that repeat. Then move to 'Longest Palindromic Substring' for two-pointers and DP string variants.
Do I need to study database design for this assessment?+
Database problems appear 3 times, including one hard problem. If you're weak on SQL and table normalization, spend one session on 'Team Scores in Football Tournament' and 'Tournament Winners'. They're niche, but skipping them leaves points on the table. Don't obsess over database if you're shaky on arrays and strings.
What's the hardest topic to cram before Wayfair?+
Dynamic programming hits 5 problems and clusters heavily with arrays and strings. 'Maximum Product Subarray' and 'Best Sightseeing Pair' are the trap problems. You can't fake DP intuition in a live setting. Drill the subarray recurrence relations now. If the pattern doesn't click, it won't click under time pressure.
Should I practice hash-table problems separately or mixed with strings?+
Mix them. Hash tables appear standalone in 5 problems but dominate paired problems like 'Group Anagrams', 'Alert Using Same Key-Card Three or More Times', and 'Number of Divisible Substrings'. Practice frequency counting and character mapping in context, not in isolation. That's closer to what Wayfair will throw at you.
Is two pointers a critical skill for this assessment?+
Two pointers shows up in 5 problems, mostly anchored to strings and DP. 'Longest Palindromic Substring' is the canonical one. It's not the most frequent topic, but it's a high-value pattern. Learn it after you're solid on strings and arrays. Skipping it costs you maybe one problem, but missing string manipulation costs three to four.