As of 2026-10-08 Design Gurus (original authors) sells its Grokking courses at $123/mo, $373/yr or $1,149 lifetime plus single courses at $148 to $197, while Educative sells in-house courses under the same names only through Educative Unlimited at $149, $199 or $249/yr ('50% OFF' banner) or $59 to $129/mo. source
'Grokking' is two products now: Design Gurus sells the original pattern-based coding and system design courses (one-time $148 to $197 per course or $1,149 lifetime), and Educative sells its own versions inside a $149 to $249 per year subscription. The pattern approach suits people who freeze on unfamiliar problems and want a taxonomy, not just more problems. Before paying, decide which vendor you are buying from, since the names overlap, and note that neither offers refunds. techinterview.org holds an Educative affiliate account.
The facts
| Category | Interview prep programs, Software engineering |
|---|---|
| Website | designgurus.io |
| Based | Redmond, WA (Design Gurus, LLC; Washington law, Seattle courts per terms) |
| Format | online-self-paced |
| Programs | Design Gurus: Grokking the Coding Interview (42 patterns, 300+ problems, $197 lifetime), Design Gurus: Grokking the System Design Interview (82 lessons, 15+ case studies, $148 lifetime), Design Gurus: Coding Interview Roadmap ($341) and System Design Roadmap ($360) bundles, Design Gurus: all-courses subscription (monthly, annual, lifetime) with AI coding mock interviews, Educative: Grokking the Coding Interview Patterns (1,125 lessons, 31 modules, 28 patterns, 500+ challenges, 17 mock interviews; Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, C++, C#), Educative: Grokking System Design Interview: Patterns & Mock Interviews (Unlimited subscription only) |
| Length | Self-paced on both platforms; Educative's course FAQ frames prep as 'three months'. unknown |
| Tuition | $59 to $1,149 Design Gurus (https://www.designgurus.io/pricing, re-checked 2026-10-08): Monthly $123; Annual $373 ($31.08/mo, 'SAVE 75%', includes 5 AI coding mock interviews/yr); Lifetime all courses $1,149 (shown struck from $3,683.88); Coding Interview Roadmap $341 (struck $411); System Design Roadmap $360 (struck $434); single courses Grokking the Coding Interview $197 and Grokking the System Design Interview $148 (course pages). Educative Unlimited (https://www.educative.io/unlimited): Standard $13/mo billed $149/yr (struck $298), Premium $17/mo billed $199/yr (struck $398), Premium Plus $21/mo billed $249/yr (struck $498); monthly billing $59, $99, $129; banner reads 'Prime Time for learning: 50% off ends in a few hours'. Educative course pages show no standalone price. verified |
| Financing | upfront, installments Design Gurus terms: 'Refunds are not available for the courses or subscriptions. You can try out the free chapters before you decide'; subscriptions 'will automatically renew under the exact same conditions unless you or we cancel' (https://www.designgurus.io/terms). Educative FAQ: 'If you cancel during your subscription period, you will continue to enjoy unlimited access… We will not issue a refund'; 'We support installment payments through PayPal credit'; subscriptions auto-renew (https://www.educative.io/unlimited). |
| Admission | open Buy or subscribe and start; both offer free preview chapters. |
| Stack | Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, C++, C# |
Outcomes
This program does not publish job-placement or salary outcomes. Treat any number you hear from admissions as unverifiable.
Interview-prep depth
4 / 5
Design Gurus course pages list 42 patterns with 300+ problems and an 82-lesson system design course with 15+ case studies; Educative lists 1,125 lessons, 579 quizzes and 500+ challenges for coding patterns plus a separate system design course; mocks are AI-driven on both (human mocks cost extra at Design Gurus); behavioral coverage is not shown on the pricing or course pages read.
Job support: light. Design Gurus annual plan includes 5 AI coding mock interviews per year and 10% off a first human mock interview (sold separately via its coaching page); Educative Premium includes 3 AI mock interviews per month, Premium Plus 7 per month plus an 'Expert Interview Coach' feature. No resume, negotiation, or placement services on either.
Whatever the program covers, the interview itself is free to prepare for here: coding patterns, system design, practice prompts, company guides.
What a careful reader should know
Ownership split: the original Grokking courses were written by Arslan Ahmad (ex-Facebook, ex-Microsoft) and co-founders as Design Gurus and first launched on Educative; Design Gurus later moved them to designgurus.io and says the Educative edition 'is no longer maintained by the original authors', while Educative now sells in-house courses under the same names (https://www.grokkingthecodinginterview.com/blog/grokking-the-coding-interview-official; https://www.designgurus.io/course/grokking-the-coding-interview). Educative's course page nonetheless carries a first-person author note referencing Microsoft and Meta. Design Gurus' founding year and Educative's HQ and founding year were not verified on their own sites in this check. Both sites run standing 'limited time' discount banners (Educative '50% off ends in a few hours'; Design Gurus 68.81% off lifetime), so treat struck prices as list, not real.
Third-party signals: Reddit sentiment mixed. Graduation-time star ratings are collected by the schools; weigh them accordingly.
Disclosure: this program runs an affiliate scheme and techinterview.org may earn a commission through this link. It did not affect anything written above.
Sources (8)
- designgurus.io/pricing
- designgurus.io/course/grokking-the-coding-interview
- designgurus.io/course/grokking-the-system-design-interview
- designgurus.io/terms
- educative.io/unlimited
- educative.io/courses/grokking-coding-interview
- educative.io/courses/grokking-the-system-design-interview
- grokkingthecodinginterview.com/blog/grokking-the-coding-interview-official
This directory takes no lead fees or placement payments from any program. Where a program runs an affiliate scheme we say so on its page and mark the link. Facts carry a badge: verified means we read it on a primary source on the date shown, reported means a third party said it, unknown means nobody we trust has published it.
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