ByteByteGo Books vs. ByteByteGo Course — Which Should You Buy?

Why I joined ByteByteGo course for System Design interview

Hello guys, when preparing for system design interviews, one name that consistently comes up is ByteByteGo.

Founded by Alex Xu, the author of System Design Interview — An Insider’s Guide, in last few years, ByteByteGo has become one of the most trusted resources for learning system design.

But with both ByteByteGo books and the ByteByteGo online course available, many learners face the same dilemma: Which one should I buy?

Should you stick with the books for their structured, text-based explanations, or invest in the course for its up-to-date visuals and in-depth coverage?

A lot of you asked me this question on Facebook and Twitter (X) and after answering many of you individually, I thought to write an article about this so that anyone who has similar dilemma or question can make an informed decision.

In this article, I’ll break down the differences between the ByteByteGo’s System Design books and the course, the pros and cons of each, and who they are best suited for — so you can make the right decision for your learning style and goals.

By the way, if you in hurry then I highly recommend you to join the ByteByteGo course now while they are offering 50% discount on their lifetime plan, the one I bought and the one I highly recommend to my students and readers.

By the way, if you choose the course, make sure you get a lifetime plan which is nothing but just a 2 or 2.5 times of annual price.

This means, for a price of 2 year you will get lifetime membership so its really provide better value and trust me you will need to keep visiting this website whenever you prepare for your next jump or job.

ByteByteGo Books: Affordable and Beginner-Friendly

The ByteByteGo books (most notably System Design Interview — An Insider’s Guide Volumes 1 and 2) are among the most popular resources for interview prep.

What you’ll get in the books:

15+ system design interview problems, broken down step by step.
Clear explanations of concepts like load balancing, sharding, caching, database replication, and more.
Text-based diagrams to support explanations.
A well-structured progression from beginner to intermediate system design problems.

Pros of the Books:

Affordable one-time purchase.
Easy to carry and reference offline.
Well-organized, perfect for beginners starting out.
Covers common FAANG-style interview questions.

Cons of the Books:

Limited visuals — while diagrams are included, they are static and less engaging compared to animations.
Not updated as frequently as online resources.
More passive learning, less interactive.

The books are best for self-learners who like reading and prefer a structured, text-first approach.

By the way, here is full list of all the ByteByteGo books covering from System Design to OOP Design to Coding interview patterns

You can get all of their books on Amazon.

ByteByteGo Course: Visual and Interactive

The ByteByteGo online course and membership take learning a step further. Instead of static text and diagrams, the course uses animated visual explanations to simplify complex system design topics.

What you’ll get in the course:

100+ visual system design lessons and case studies.
Animated explanations of distributed systems concepts.
New topics added regularly, including emerging technologies.
Exclusive access to their private community for discussions.
System design interview prep paths for different levels (junior → senior).

Pros of the Course:

Engaging visual learning with animations and diagrams.
Content updated frequently with new lessons.
Covers both fundamentals and advanced topics.
Includes real-world systems (YouTube, Twitter, Uber, etc.).

Cons of the Course:

More expensive compared to the books.
Requires an online subscription (not a one-time purchase).

The course is best for visual learners who want interactive, up-to-date content and in-depth coverage of system design problems.

If you are looking for long term, I suggest you to go for course. It’s also a perfect time to join their course because they are offering 50% discount on their lifetime plan, the one I bought and the one I highly recommend to my students and readers.

ByteByteGo Books vs. Course: Which One Should You Buy?

Here’s a quick breakdown of both of them to help you decide:

Choose the Books if:

You’re on a budget.
You prefer reading and self-paced text learning.
You’re just starting out and want a structured foundation.

Choose the Course if:

You learn better with visuals and animations.
You want the most updated, in-depth explanations.
You’re actively preparing for interviews and need a comprehensive resource.

If you ask me, many learners start with the books to build a foundation and then upgrade to the course for advanced, interactive learning.

If system design interviews are a major career goal, combining both can give you the strongest preparation.

For course, they are giving 50% discount now so its great time to join the course with an annual or lifetime plan and then you are set for any interview.

You will also get all the updates for free in future as they regularly update their website to keep the content matching for current System Design interview trend.

Here is the link to join ByteByteGo course — 50% OFF on Lifetime Plan

System Design · Coding · Behavioral · Machine Learning Interviews

It’s also very successful and a lot of folks used ByteByteGo to get the job in FAANG and other Big Tech companies as shown below

Final Thoughts

Both the ByteByteGo books and the ByteByteGo course are excellent resources — it really comes down to your learning style and budget. The books are affordable and beginner-friendly, while the course provides a richer, visual experience with continuous updates.

If you’re serious about cracking system design interviews in 2025, I’d recommend starting with the books and moving on to the course once you’re ready for deeper, visual, and advanced practice.

👉 Get the ByteByteGo books on Amazon.
👉 Or explore the ByteByteGo course here: ByteByteGo Course.

Either way, you’ll be investing in one of the most trusted resources in the system design space.

All the best for your System Design and Coding interviews !!

Other System Design and Coding Interview and Resources you may like

All the best for your Coding Interviews, if you have any doubts or questions, feel free to ask in the comments.

P. S. — If you just want to do one thing at this moment, join ByteByteGo and start learning Coding patterns and System Design Concepts and practice coding interviews you will thank me later. It’s one of the most comprehensive resource for coding interview now.

System Design · Coding · Behavioral · Machine Learning Interviews

ByteByteGo Books vs. ByteByteGo Course — Which Should You Buy? was originally published in Javarevisited on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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