interviewing.io is the gold standard for one thing: a mock interview with an experienced engineer who has run real interviews. Sessions start at $179. The catch is that interviewing is a volume skill, and at $179 a rep, volume is exactly what you can't afford.
So here's how I'd replace it at every budget. I built one of the tools below, DevInterview.AI, so I've marked it. Every price comes from the vendor's own site, checked on October 19, 2026.
The short list
| Alternative | What you get | Price as billed |
|---|---|---|
| interviewing.io's AI Interviewer | Their own free AI interviewer for coding and system design | Free |
| Peer mocks on Aced (formerly Exponent) | Another candidate interviews you, then you swap | Free, 5 a month; Pro $79/mo or $12/mo billed yearly |
| DevInterview.AI (mine) | Unlimited live voice mock interviews: coding, system design, behavioral | First interview free; $19.99/mo, $49.99/qtr, $99.99/yr |
| DesignGurus | A 60-minute system design mock with a FAANG+ engineer | $159 (list $199); $215 with a target-company interviewer (list $269) |
| IGotAnOffer | A coach who's a calibrated interviewer for your target company and role | $50 a credit, 2 to 5 credits an hour |
If your budget is zero
Start with interviewing.io's own AI Interviewer. Per its site, it runs coding and system design interviews in the style of a FAANG mock, with feedback at the end, for free. The site doesn't say whether it talks or runs your code, so try one and see how it fits.
Then add peer mocks on Aced (formerly Exponent), which is where Pramp's sessions moved. You're matched with another candidate, you interview each other, and you trade notes. Free accounts get 5 a month.
The catch: your interviewer is another candidate, and every session needs scheduling.
If you can spend $20 a month
This is the gap I built DevInterview.AI for. It runs unlimited live voice interviews: a 30-minute coding round in an editor that runs your code, a 45-minute system design round on a canvas, and a 30-minute behavioral round. Coding and system design are set to your target company and level, behavioral to your level, and each round ends in a scored report with a hire verdict. The interviewer talks, asks follow-ups and pushes back on your choices, and it won't hand you the solution.
The first interview is free, no card. After that it's $19.99 a month, and a full year at $99.99 costs less than one interviewing.io session. Every rating it has ever received is public on its reviews page.
Where it falls short: it's an AI, not a senior engineer who has sat on hiring committees.
If you want a human for less than $179
DesignGurus sells a fixed-price 60-minute system design mock with a FAANG+ engineer: $159 (list price $199), or $215 (list $269) with an interviewer from your target company. If system design is the round you're worried about, the $159 mock gets you a human expert for less than one interviewing.io session.
IGotAnOffer lets you pick a coach who's a calibrated interviewer for the company and role you're interviewing for. A credit is $50, and coaches charge 2 to 5 credits for a one-hour session, a 45-minute mock plus 15 minutes of feedback, so roughly $100 to $250. At the low end that beats interviewing.io's price; at the high end it doesn't.
When interviewing.io is still worth it
In the last week or two before a real onsite, one session with an experienced interviewer, ideally from your target company, is worth the $179 or more if you can afford it. What isn't worth it is using $179 sessions to build a skill that takes dozens of reps. Do the volume cheaply first, then calibrate once.
Where this fits
Practicing out loud is step 3 of the plan I'd give a friend: learn the patterns on NeetCode, study system design on Hello Interview, practice out loud on DevInterview.AI, and, super optional, one human session on interviewing.io. The full 8-week version is here.
Prices checked on each vendor's own site on October 19, 2026. The full comparison, with sources, is on devinterview.ai.
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