Airbnb interview questions
264 verified questions reported by candidates across 1 role at Airbnb. Each one is archetype-tagged so you can see the pattern, slot the right STAR story, and practice out loud against an AI interviewer.
8 questions, grouped by role
Top 8 per role by quality score. For the full list per role, follow the role link in each section heading.
Software Engineer
All Software Engineer questions →- 1How would you architect a distributed real-time data processing system that can simultaneously handle streaming updates across multiple client platforms?onsite
- 2Design a Least Recently Used (LRU) cache with O(1) get and put operations. Walk me through your implementation strategy.technical
- 3Walk me through how you would architect a scalable file storage service similar to Dropbox or Google Drive.onsite
- 4Describe the time complexity of QuickSort, MergeSort, and BubbleSort, and explain their Big-O runtime characteristics.
- 5Walk me through how you would architect a scalable real-time chat system supporting both one-to-one and group messaging using WebSocket technology.onsite
- 6Walk me through how you would architect a distributed group messaging platform that supports real-time communication for 10 million concurrent users.technical
- 7Walk me through how you would architect a scalable news feed system that can handle millions of daily active users and real-time updates.technical
- 8Walk me through how you would architect a high-scale photo and video sharing platform like Instagram Stories with real-time updates.onsite
Common questions
It varies by role and round. A phone screen is usually 5–8 questions, on-site loops 15–25 across multiple interviewers. The full Airbnb loop tends to surface 30+ distinct prompt patterns across the rounds, which is what we've banked here.
Yes — every question on this page is verified, meaning at least one candidate reported being asked it in a real Airbnb interview. We don't pad the list with generic prompts that weren't reported.
Pick the role section most relevant to your interview, run three to five questions through the practice tool out loud, and read the per-answer scoring. Most candidates who land an offer report 8–15 practice sessions over two weeks before the interview.