I Tried 20+ Websites for System Design Interview: Here Are My Top 10 Recommendations for 2026

My favorite websites for System Design Interview Preparation in 2026

I Tried 20+ Websites for System Design Interview — Here Are the Top 10 I Recommend
credit — Exponent

Hello guys, when I first started preparing for System Design Interviews, I made the same mistake most developers do — jumping between YouTube videos, random blog posts, and Reddit threads.

It wasn’t working. I could explain the basics of load balancers and caches but couldn’t confidently design a scalable system under interview pressure.

Over the past year, I’ve tried more than 20 different platforms — from structured learning paths to AI-driven practice tools — to find what actually helps you build intuition, design confidence, and problem-solving flow.

After trying more than 20 websites, mock interview platforms, and courses, here are the top 10 resources I truly recommend for anyone serious about mastering system design interviews — whether you’re targeting FAANG-level companies or just want to level up your architecture skills.

10 Best Places to Learn System Design For Interviews in 2026

Without any further ado, here are the 10 places I recommend to learn System Design for interviews in 2026. This include platform with visual guides, video courses, as well as places where you can practice System Design questions online.

1. ByteByteGo

If you’re looking for clarity and visual learning, ByteByteGo by Alex Xu is hands down the best resource. Their books, courses, and diagrams simplify even the most complex distributed systems concepts.

If you’re aiming for FAANG, cloud-native roles, architect interviews, or staff+ level positions, ByteByteGo teaches the kind of thinking you’re expected to show in a real interview.

And the best thing is that they are offering 50% discount now which means you can grab their lifetime plan for massive discount. This is also one of the best Black Friday gift you can give you to your developer friend, boy-friend or husband.

Here is the link — Join ByteBytGo with 50% discount

2. Codemia

Codemia is like LeetCode for System Design. You can actively practice problems, get AI-driven feedback, and iterate on your designs.

It’s incredibly engaging and helps you move from just understanding concepts to actually applying them in structured designs.

They also cover OOP Design questiosn and provide editorial solution to most of the popular questions. You can compare your solution with them to find the gaps and further areas to improve.

They are also offering more than 60% discount now which makes them even more useful. If you are serious about your FAANG ambition, I highly recommend you to combine ByteByteGo and Codemia.io to best possible preparation.

Here is the link — Join Codemia.io with 60% discount on lifetime plan.

3. DesignGurus.io

I have known this platform for more than 3 years now since I first come across their classing Grokking the System Design Interview course.

This platform offers a complete roadmap for system design interviews.

Their courses, design problems, and concept breakdowns make it easier to connect theoretical knowledge with real-world architecture challenges.

Great for intermediate learners.

They also got many other Grokking courses on Coding interview patterns, Data Structures and Algorithms, Dynamic Programming and other important topics.

For best results and save money, you can get their All Course Bundle which will give you access to all of their best-selling courses for a huge discount, almost 65% and lifetime access.

4. BugFree.ai

This is a relatively new platform which I found last year. It’s quite similar to codemia.io when it comes to practicing System Design questions but offer AI mock interviews as well.

BugFree.ai takes a broader approach with AI-powered mock interviews across system design, data interviews, and behavioral questions.

If you want an end-to-end interview prep platform with real interview simulations, this is a fantastic choice.

Currently they are also offering huge 40% discount for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and I highly recommend you to join them now than later to not just save money but also improve your preparation.

Here is the link — Join Bugfree.ai Lifetime Plan for 40% OFF

5. Exponent

Exponent focuses on interview readiness — not just knowledge. It includes peer mock interviews, detailed video answers, and frameworks that help you structure your responses confidently. Excellent for both technical and behavioral prep.

It also have huge collection of company wide coding interview questions including System Design questions which makes it a great resource for Tech interviews.

They are also offering 70% discount now on their annual plan, which is another great Black Friday deal for developers who want to learn System Design and crack coding interviews in 2026

Here is the link — Join Exponent Annual Plan for 70% Discount now

6. System Design School

System Design School offers guided learning paths and real interview-style problems. Their structured, mentorship-driven approach makes it ideal for candidates who prefer a more curated and personalized learning experience.

They are quite similar to Bugfree.ai and Codemia.io and another great resource for practicing software design skills online.

They are also offering huge 50% discount now, which makes them good alternative of both Bugree.ai and Codemia.io

Here is the link to join — System Design School

7. Educative

If you don’t know Educative is another interactive website to learn System Design and prepare for FAANG level coding interviews. It’s also a great AI powered website which uses AI to improve learning experience.

Educative’s Grokking the Modern System Design Interview course remains a timeless classic. It’s text-based, interactive, and focuses on explaining the core patterns behind scalable system design problems like URL shorteners, Instagram, and YouTube.

And, the best thing is that they are also offering 55% discount on their 2 year Premium Plus plan which gives access to all of their courses, projects and AI mock interviews.

If you love interactive websites for learning then you will love Educative.

Here is the link to join — Get Educative Unlimited for 55% discount

8. Udemy

If you are learning online then there is good chance that you have come come across Udemy, one of the largest market place of online courses.

Udemy has a variety of great, affordable system design courses — including the System Design Masterclass. It’s a solid option if you prefer video-based, structured lessons and want lifetime access at a low cost.

In fact, you can join multiple courses on System Design on Udemy as they are very affordable. They also have a personal plan which gives access to their popular courses.

Here is the link to join — System Design Masterclass

9. Interview Kickstart

If you want personal mentorship from FAANG engineers, Interview Kickstart is worth the investment. It combines system design, coding, and career coaching — great for engineers aiming for top-tier companies.

Here is the link to join — Interview Kickstart

10. Designing Data-Intensive Applications (DDIA)

Finally, this isn’t a website but a must-read book. Martin Kleppmann’s Designing Data-Intensive Applications is the holy grail for system design engineers. It provides the theoretical depth behind distributed systems, data models, and architecture design.

Though, if you like reading books then you can also combine this with System Design Interview — An insider’s guide by Alex Xu, founder of ByteByteGo and ex FAANG engineer.

This one is totally focused on System Design interview covering key concepts and questions.

best book to learn System Design

Final Thoughts

That’s all about the best places to learn System Design for interviews in 2026. After countless mock interviews and practice sessions, I found that these are top 10 websites I can genuinely recommend for mastering system design in 2026 to developers.

If you’re preparing for a System Design Interview in 2026, start with ByteByteGo for fundamentals and Codemia for active practice — that combination alone will get you further than 90% of candidates.

In short:

This trio will prepare you for almost any system design interview — from startups to FAANG.

Other Programming and Interview Articles you may like

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these System Design resources and platforms then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. — If you just want to do one thing at this moment, go join ByteByteGo and start learning System Design and Coding Interview concepts, you will thank me later. The FAANG dream job you always wanted is not far anymore.

System Design · Coding · Behavioral · Machine Learning Interviews

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