shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Design Gurus?

Design Gurus is the tech interview prep platform built by ex-FAANG hiring managers. Get courses, mock interviews, and resume reviews to land your dream job. Start free. - designgurus.io

Depends. Worth buying if you're actively prepping for FAANG-style coding or system design interviews and want the original Grokking material at a low entry price. Skip it if you're not interviewing soon or prefer video-first learning, and think twice about the lifetime plan per Reddit users.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~20 public sources; many review snippets are truncated, so quotes are full post titles rather than body text.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo usability evidence in sources
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources
  • Security postureNo findings; no public security page found

Pricing

Annual plan

From $59 (per 2026 comparison post)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Lifetime planOne-time fee (amount unconfirmed)
Free start$0

Best for

  • FAANG system design interview prep
  • Coding-pattern drilling before onsites
  • Budget buyers ($59 entry)
  • Senior (L5/L6) design prep

Not for

  • Anyone not actively interviewing — it will sit unused
  • Video-first learners — ByteByteGo's visual style fits better
  • Buyers wanting one canonical Grokking course — duplication confuses
  • Devs happy with free LeetCode plus the open GitHub material

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Reddit users report lifetime-subscription regret; check refund terms before committing.

medium

Permanent 55% discount codes suggest the list price is rarely the real price.

medium

Two 'Grokking System Design' courses exist (Educative vs Design Gurus); confirm which you're buying.

low

No public security page found — minor, but unusual for a paid platform.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Run by ex-FAANG hiring managers, per its own site.
  • Original creators of the Grokking system design course.
  • Broad catalog: coding patterns, system design, mocks, salary negotiation.
  • Free open-source companion repo on GitHub.
  • Third-party reviewers claim 100K+ developers use it.

Cons

  • Reddit thread explicitly warns against the lifetime subscription.
  • Detailed critical user reviews exist ('I would like to warn you').
  • Educative sells near-identical Grokking courses; buyers get confused.
  • Reviews often double as discount-code marketing (55% off).

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 11 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x4review x5security x1news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • From $59 (per 2026 comparison post)

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Cheap $59 entry; lifetime plan draws complaints
  • Ease of use. No usability evidence in sources
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Courses, mocks, resume reviews, free companion
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources
  • Security posture. No findings; no public security page found
  • 100K+ Reported users Third-party reviewer claim
  • $59 Starting price Cited in 2026 course comparison
  • Yes Free option 'Start free' + open-source GitHub companion

Pricing

Annual plan

From $59 (per 2026 comparison post)

  • Course access while subscribed
  • Most common starting point

Lifetime plan

One-time fee (amount unconfirmed)

  • Perpetual access
  • Reddit users advise caution

Free start

$0

  • 'Start free' per homepage
  • Open-source companion repo on GitHub

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Opinions split: many credit the original Grokking material for system design prep, while Reddit threads warn against the lifetime plan and heavy marketing.

“Do not buy the design guru's Grokking Lifetime subscription”
Reddit, r/leetcode (post title)
“Hi, I would like to warn you. An honest and lengthy review”
Reddit, r/leetcode (post title)
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources; many review snippets are truncated, so quotes are full post titles rather than body text.

Worth it for FAANG interview prep on a budget; skip the lifetime plan and expect Grokking duplication with Educative.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources; many review snippets are truncated, so quotes are full post titles rather than body text.

Sources

  1. Design Gurus homepagedesigngurus.io
    official
  2. Design Gurus pricing pagedesigngurus.io
    official
  3. Reddit: Do not buy the Grokking Lifetime subscriptionreddit.com
    review
  4. Reddit: An honest and lengthy review (warning)reddit.com
    review
  5. Blind: Educative or Design Gurus — which Grokking is legitteamblind.com
    review
  6. Medium: DesignGurus.io Review 2025 (55% discount code)medium.com
    review
  7. System Design Handbook: Is Design Gurus' course worth it (100K+ devs)systemdesignhandbook.com
    review
  8. Design Gurus blog: Best courses compared 2026 ($59 price point)designgurus.io
    official
  9. GitHub: design-gurus/grokking-system-design free companiongithub.com
    official
  10. Design Gurus security page (not found)designgurus.io
    security
  11. Crunchbase: Design Gurus company profilecrunchbase.com
    news

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.