[flashgordon]

Google is actually far from the most competitive when it comes to matching. There used to be a time when they used to atleast match Facebook but now given the set of scandals from FB, they are openly refusing to match an FB offer and I have known candidates who have gone to Google despite this (possibly for "ethical" brand and saner work life balance).

[quicklime]

Can anyone comment on the difference in work-life balance between Google and Facebook? Maybe $/hour (or some non-linear equivalent) would be a better metric than just total compensation.

[flashgordon]

This is pretty hard and is usually anecdotal as both companies claim a standard 40 hour week and great WLB (FB does boast about its break fast fix fast culture). I usually use the "interviewer age" as a proxy (not a great one but something). My interviewers at Google have usually been "older" people with families etc where as at FB they are usually the "energetic" ones. Interview questions reflect this too. I found Google ones are usually more testing of experience and are generally well rounded than FB ones (ok let us do leetcode problem # 35, 46 and 82 in an hour).

[UncleMeat]

Depends entirely on the team. There are teams at google with heavy on call or crunch times. There are teams where everybody works ordinary hours.