Comparing Search Algorithms

Reading that one search is O(n) while another is O(log n) or O(1) is one thing; watching them hunt for the exact same target side by side makes the difference unmistakable. Here they all are at once, running on the same data, so you can watch the fast ones snap straight to the answer while the linear scans comb through one slot at a time.

Every search advances step by step, testing values against the target. The counter tracks the number of comparisons each algorithm makes before finding the target (or confirming it is missing). Watch how quickly the divide-and-conquer algorithms discard half the list at a time, how interpolation search guesses where the target should sit, and how a hash table computes the target’s bucket directly.

Choose how many items to search through, type any value or pick a random target, and hit Search. New searches drop in here the week they launch, so the field grows as each algorithm goes live.