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The course version of the System Design Interview books, built around the diagrams that made them popular, plus a large library of real world architecture breakdowns. Probably the best known paid system design course after the Grokking series.
Course
System Design
Alex Xu
2 to 3 months
Intermediate
Subscription, about $16/mo billed annually
What it is
A subscription course covering system design fundamentals, worked interview designs and a growing set of case studies on how well known companies build their systems. It is the expanded, continuously updated form of the two System Design Interview books.
Why people rate it
The illustrations. System design is spatial and most explanations are not, so a resource that shows where every component sits, what flows between them and what changes at each scale is doing real work rather than decorating prose.
How it compares
Against the books, you get more depth, interactive content and ongoing additions. Against other courses, it leans toward breadth and visual explanation rather than rigour; pair it with something like Designing Data-Intensive Applications if you want the theory underneath.
Best for: visual learners preparing for design rounds, and engineers who want a steady supply of real architecture case studies.
Ready to start?
Opens on Alex Xu in a new tab.
Stuck on something specific?
Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Every session is free; a few slots open each week.
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