Comparison

Tech Interview Prep vs System Design Arcade

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tech Interview Prep

Features
Read full description

Master Data Structures, Algorithms, and System Design with DSA Prep — the intuitive flashcard app designed for software engineering interview preparation. SWIPE TO LEARN Review 150+ essential topics using our simple swipe interface. Swipe right if you know it, left if you need more practice. It's that easy. WHAT'S COVERED • Data Structures: Arrays, Linked Lists, Trees, Graphs, Heaps, Hash Tables • Algorithms: Sorting, Searching, Dynamic Programming, Recursion, Backtracking • System Design: Scalability, Load Balancing, Caching, Databases, Microservices TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See exactly where you stand. Track which topics you've mastered, which need review, and what's left to learn. BOOKMARK & REVISIT Save tricky topics for later. Your bookmarks sync across devices so you can study anywhere. CODE EXAMPLES Each topic includes practical code snippets to reinforce your understanding. STUDY ANYWHERE Your progress syncs to the cloud. Start on your phone, continue on your tablet — your data follows you. Perfect for preparing for interviews at top tech companies. Whether you're a new grad or an experienced engineer, DSA Prep helps you review efficiently and build confidence. Download now and start prepping for your next tech interview.

About

System Design Arcade

Learn complex system design concepts through engaging, bite-sized arcade-style games. Master building blocks, design full systems, and practice with real infrastructure tools. Progress is saved locally and no account is required.

Highlights
  • Arcade-style mini-games for system design concepts
  • End-to-end system design challenges
  • Hands-on drills with infrastructure tools
  • Narrative-driven story mode
  • Varied challenge types (multiple choice, puzzles, builder)
  • Daily challenges with streak tracking
  • Offline progress saving
Features
Read full description

NEW: THE AI ARCADE. Eight games on the system design round that didn't exist three years ago: RAG, LLM serving, embeddings, guardrails, and GPU fleets. Free, no subscription, and it plays offline. The system design interview is the one where the whiteboard goes blank. You've read the books. You've watched the videos. But when the interviewer says "design Instagram," or now "design a retrieval system for our support bot," you freeze, because reading about consistent hashing at 2am is not the same as knowing it cold. System Design Arcade is the fix. It turns every building block into 60-second arcade levels you can actually finish. On the subway. In line for coffee. While waiting for CI. On a plane with no Wi-Fi. THE AI ARCADE AI engineering is its own interview round now, and most prep hasn't caught up. The AI Arcade drills the systems behind it: - Design a RAG System: chunk boundaries, hybrid retrieval, reranking, and the permission bug that ends careers - LLM Serving: batching, KV caches, streaming, and GPU memory as the binding constraint - Feed Ranking: retrieval, ranking, and the feedback loop that decides what a model can ever learn - Embeddings: what "similar" means, how many dimensions you need, and migrating models without silent breakage - Feature Stores: one definition, two readers, and point-in-time correctness between training and serving - ML Observability: catching a model that is wrong while every dashboard stays green - AI Guardrails: where the checks sit, prompt injection from untrusted text, and what a model is allowed to reach - GPU Infrastructure: memory, interconnect, scheduling, and the bill FIVE TRACKS, ONE CURRICULUM Concept Arcade: master one building block at a time. Caches, databases, queues, replication, sharding, load balancing. Problem Arcade: design complete systems end to end. URL Shortener, Rate Limiter, News Feed, Chat, Ride Sharing, and a new Key-Value Store. The classics, played out like boss fights. Tool Arcade: hands-on drills with the infrastructure you'll use on the job. Redis. Kafka. Docker. Kubernetes. And Vector Vault, the vector store behind semantic search. AI Arcade: the eight games above. Story Mode: narrative capstones that walk an onsite round end to end: a Twitter-style home timeline, a chat system, Dropbox, typeahead search, a rate limiter, and a URL shortener. CHALLENGE TYPES THAT DON'T FEEL LIKE FLASHCARDS Multiple choice, ordering puzzles, fill-in-the-blank, API Builder, Architecture Builder, and Scenario-Why drills. Each level mixes formats so your brain has to actually engage. The Scenario-Why drills train the reasoning behind the answer, not just the answer. REVIEW THAT SPACES ITSELF OUT Miss a challenge and it comes back in Power-Up Review. Clear it and it returns on a widening schedule, so what you learn stays learned. DAILY CHALLENGE A fresh challenge every day, the same one for you and your study buddy. Streak counter. Optional reminder notifications, opt in from Settings. BUILT FOR YOUR EYES Retro arcade aesthetic by default. Pixel fonts. Neon glow. Prefer something softer? Switch to the playful sticker-card vibe, or open the Theme Lab and tune background, glow, gradient, and font until it feels right. Read Aloud narrates every explanation, so you can learn while you walk. YOUR PROGRESS STAYS YOURS Start playing instantly: Level 1 of every game needs no account. A free sign-in with Apple, Google, GitHub, or email unlocks every level and backs up your progress across your iPhone and iPad. Progress saves on your device. We use product analytics to see which levels need work, never the content of your answers. FREE TO PLAY No ads. No paywalls. No subscription. Every level is free with a free account. New games ship every sprint. Start with Level 1.

Screenshots

Tech Interview Prep4 screens
System Design Arcade4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tech Interview Prep at daily against System Design Arcade's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tech Interview Prep ships an update daily, System Design Arcade every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Tech Interview Prep versus System Design Arcade: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTech Interview PrepSystem Design Arcade
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—13 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB39 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperAman NavaniHarsha Hassan Somashekara

In-app purchases

None

Tech Interview Prep

No in-app purchases

None

System Design Arcade

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tech Interview Prep free?
Tech Interview Prep is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is System Design Arcade free?
System Design Arcade is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Tech Interview Prep or System Design Arcade have ads?
Neither Tech Interview Prep nor System Design Arcade shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tech Interview Prep or System Design Arcade?
Tech Interview Prep ships an update daily, and System Design Arcade every 2 weeks. Most recently, Tech Interview Prep was updated on October 31, 2026 and System Design Arcade on October 31, 2026.

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