What is a good acceptance rate on LeetCode?

A good acceptance rate on LeetCode is generally considered to be around 30% to 50% or higher. However, the acceptance rate is a personal metric and can vary based on several factors, such as problem difficulty, individual skill level, and whether you're focusing on quality or quantity. Here's a breakdown of what you should consider when evaluating your LeetCode acceptance rate.

1. What is LeetCode’s Acceptance Rate?

• Acceptance Rate: LeetCode’s acceptance rate is the percentage of problems that you’ve solved successfully (i.e., your solution passed all the test cases) out of the total number of problems you've attempted. It’s calculated as:

  Acceptance Rate = (Number of Problems Solved Correctly / Total Number of Problems Attempted) * 100
  

• A higher acceptance rate generally reflects fewer incorrect submissions and successful problem-solving.

2. Average Acceptance Rate on LeetCode

• Beginners: For beginners, an acceptance rate of around 20% to 30% is typical, especially when you're just starting to tackle Medium and Hard problems. Beginners often face trial-and-error while learning new concepts, leading to a lower acceptance rate.

• Intermediate Users: For intermediate users, an acceptance rate between 30% and 50% is common. As your problem-solving skills improve and you start solving a broader range of problems, your acceptance rate should increase.

• Experienced Users: Experienced coders or those regularly practicing for technical interviews often have an acceptance rate of 50% or higher, especially after getting comfortable with Hard problems and optimizing solutions.

3. Factors Affecting LeetCode Acceptance Rate

a. Problem Difficulty

• Easy Problems: If you're solving mostly Easy problems, your acceptance rate might be higher, often 50% to 70%, since these problems typically have more straightforward solutions.

• Medium and Hard Problems: Solving Medium and Hard problems can lower your acceptance rate, especially if you're trying multiple approaches to optimize your solution. For more difficult problems, an acceptance rate between 30% and 50% is common.

b. Multiple Submissions

• Iterative Problem-Solving: LeetCode encourages multiple submissions to refine and optimize solutions. If you frequently submit code before solving the problem entirely or making optimizations, your acceptance rate may drop because incorrect attempts lower the rate.

• Quality of Submissions: If you prefer working through a problem until you're confident your solution is correct before submitting, you’ll likely maintain a higher acceptance rate.

c. Experimenting with Solutions

• Trying Different Approaches: If you're exploring different approaches (e.g., brute-force, dynamic programming, or recursion), you may submit multiple times before finding the best solution. This approach can lead to a lower acceptance rate but is a valuable part of learning.

d. Learning Phase

• Beginners: When you're just learning algorithms and data structures, it's normal to make mistakes and submit incorrect solutions, leading to a lower acceptance rate.

• Advanced Learners: As you gain more experience, you’ll naturally submit fewer incorrect solutions and your acceptance rate will improve.

4. Should You Worry About Your Acceptance Rate?

• Not a Perfect Measure of Skill: A lower acceptance rate doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not good at problem-solving. It could just indicate that you’re trying harder problems or experimenting with multiple approaches. In fact, trial-and-error is an important part of the learning process.

• Focus on Improvement: Instead of obsessing over your acceptance rate, focus on gradual improvement and solving problems efficiently. As you improve your understanding of algorithms, your acceptance rate will increase naturally.

5. How to Improve Your Acceptance Rate

a. Plan Before Coding

• Think Through the Problem: Before jumping into coding, take some time to think about the problem, understand the requirements, and choose the right approach. Planning reduces the likelihood of multiple incorrect submissions.

b. Study Time and Space Complexity

• Optimization: After submitting a working solution, check if it meets the time and space complexity requirements. Sometimes your solution will pass but can still be optimized. By optimizing from the start, you’ll improve your acceptance rate.

c. Learn from Mistakes

• Review Failed Submissions: Each time a submission fails, carefully review the failed test cases to understand why. By analyzing mistakes, you’ll learn how to improve your approach and avoid similar issues in the future.

d. Start with Easier Problems

• Build Confidence: Starting with Easy problems can help build confidence and improve your acceptance rate. As you improve, slowly transition to Medium and eventually Hard problems to challenge yourself while maintaining progress.

e. Study Solutions

• LeetCode Discuss: After solving a problem, compare your solution with others in the LeetCode Discuss section. This will help you learn more efficient or optimized approaches, allowing you to solve problems more effectively in the future.

Conclusion: What is a Good Acceptance Rate?

A good acceptance rate on LeetCode typically falls between 30% and 50% or higher, depending on your skill level and the types of problems you’re tackling. It’s normal to have a lower acceptance rate when solving Hard problems or when experimenting with multiple approaches.

Ultimately, your acceptance rate is just one metric and shouldn’t be your primary focus. Instead, prioritize learning and improving your problem-solving skills. As you become more proficient, your acceptance rate will naturally improve over time.