Programming Language and compiler
Benchmarks

Zig VS C benchmarks

Current benchmark data was generated on Mon Mar 31 2025, full log can be found HERE

CONTRIBUTIONS are WELCOME!

[x86_64][4 cores] AMD EPYC 7763 64-Core Processor (Model 1)

* -m in a file name stands for multi-threading or multi-processing

* -i in a file name stands for direct intrinsics usage. (Usage of simd intrinsics via libraries is not counted)

* -ffi in a file name stands for non-stdlib FFI usage

* (You may find time < time(user) + time(sys) for some non-parallelized programs, the overhead is from GC or JIT compiler, which are allowed to take advantage of multi-cores as that's more close to real-world scenarios.)

binarytrees

Input: 18

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 1822ms 94ms 49.0MB 1787ms 20ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 154ms 1.6ms 7.0MB 140ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

edigits

Input: 250001

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 2250ms 2.7ms 2.5MB 2220ms 13ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 100000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 380ms 1.3ms 1.9MB 360ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

fannkuch-redux

Input: 11

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 2-m.zig 634ms 1.8ms 1.4MB 2393ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 3-i.zig 1767ms 0.8ms 1.0MB 1760ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 2716ms 0.8ms 1.0MB 2710ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 10

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 2-m.zig 60ms 0.8ms 1.4MB 200ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 3-i.zig 147ms 0.6ms 1.0MB 140ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 229ms 0.5ms 1.0MB 220ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

fasta

Input: 2500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 89ms 0.3ms 1.0MB 80ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 250000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 11ms 0.8ms 1.1MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

helloworld

Input: QwQ

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 1.0ms 0.0ms 1.0MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 1.c 1.1ms 0.1ms 1.4MB 0ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 1.c 1.3ms 0.1ms 2.1MB 0ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 1.c 1.3ms 0.0ms 2.1MB 0ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1

knucleotide

Input: 2500000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1-m.c 175ms 4.6ms 23.9MB 417ms 3ms gcc 14.2.0
c 1-m.c 288ms 1.1ms 25.8MB 987ms 23ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 499ms 8.5ms 26.3MB 477ms 7ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 250000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1-m.c 27ms 0.7ms 12.0MB 67ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 1-m.c 36ms 2.3ms 15.0MB 103ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 66ms 2.2ms 15.4MB 53ms 3ms zig 0.14.0

lru

Input: 1000 1000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 34ms 0.8ms 2.8MB 27ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 1000 3000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 92ms 0.9ms 2.8MB 83ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 100 500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 16ms 0.7ms 1.3MB 10ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

mandelbrot

Input: 5000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1-mffi.c 212ms 6.2ms 7.4MB 793ms 13ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 247ms 2.2ms 4.0MB 237ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 1-mffi.c 261ms 2.4ms 6.4MB 803ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 1-ffi.c 326ms 5.0ms 5.9MB 313ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 1-mffi.c 331ms 1.8ms 5.9MB 320ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 1-ffi.c 449ms 3.2ms 6.4MB 440ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1-ffi.c 536ms 8.1ms 6.7MB 527ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0

Input: 1000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 12ms 0.4ms 1.1MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 1-mffi.c 15ms 0.3ms 4.5MB 33ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1-ffi.c 16ms 0.0ms 3.0MB 10ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 1-mffi.c 16ms 0.3ms 3.0MB 10ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 1-mffi.c 17ms 0.6ms 3.6MB 40ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 1-ffi.c 22ms 0.6ms 3.6MB 10ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1-ffi.c 26ms 0.6ms 3.6MB 20ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0

merkletrees

Input: 17

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 855ms 3.1ms 41.0MB 827ms 13ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 173ms 2.3ms 11.0MB 160ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

nbody

Input: 5000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 3.zig 199ms 0.7ms 1.0MB 190ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 8-i.c 273ms 4.4ms 1.5MB 263ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
zig 2.zig 279ms 0.3ms 1.0MB 270ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 8-i.c 302ms 1.2ms 2.1MB 293ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 2.c 311ms 1.2ms 2.3MB 300ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 5.c 314ms 1.5ms 2.3MB 300ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 2.c 315ms 1.9ms 1.5MB 310ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 316ms 1.3ms 1.1MB 303ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 5.c 316ms 0.5ms 2.1MB 307ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5.c 316ms 1.1ms 1.5MB 310ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 2.c 318ms 2.1ms 2.1MB 310ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 8-i.c 332ms 0.8ms 2.3MB 323ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0

Input: 500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 3.zig 22ms 0.3ms 1.0MB 10ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 8-i.c 29ms 0.4ms 1.5MB 20ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
zig 2.zig 30ms 0.2ms 1.0MB 20ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 8-i.c 33ms 0.5ms 2.1MB 27ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 2.c 34ms 1.0ms 1.5MB 30ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 5.c 34ms 0.5ms 2.3MB 30ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 2.c 34ms 1.0ms 2.3MB 27ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
zig 1.zig 34ms 0.4ms 1.1MB 30ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 5.c 34ms 0.6ms 2.1MB 30ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5.c 34ms 0.5ms 1.5MB 30ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 8-i.c 36ms 0.1ms 2.3MB 30ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 2.c 37ms 2.6ms 2.1MB 30ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1

nsieve

Input: 12

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1.c 252ms 2.1ms 41.0MB 237ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
zig 1.zig 263ms 1.5ms 40.1MB 250ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 1.c 268ms 1.9ms 40.2MB 250ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
c 1.c 269ms 5.7ms 40.9MB 250ms 3ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 2.zig 322ms 3.8ms 6.0MB 313ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 10

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1.c 49ms 1.1ms 11.6MB 40ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
zig 1.zig 52ms 1.4ms 10.8MB 40ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
c 1.c 53ms 2.9ms 11.5MB 40ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1.c 57ms 3.1ms 11.0MB 47ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.0
zig 2.zig 81ms 1.3ms 2.3MB 70ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

pidigits

Input: 8000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 2465ms 18ms 2.2MB 2437ms 13ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 569ms 2.6ms 1.6MB 560ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

spectral-norm

Input: 8000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 6-im.c 951ms 9.5ms 2.0MB 3740ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 4-m.c 968ms 1.5ms 2.0MB 3803ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 6-im.c 1003ms 0.8ms 3.3MB 3940ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 1089ms 3.6ms 2.0MB 4287ms 3ms gcc 14.2.0
c 4-m.c 1129ms 14ms 3.3MB 4427ms 7ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 1335ms 7.2ms 3.3MB 5240ms 7ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 1849ms 16ms 3.4MB 7250ms 20ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 1980ms 13ms 2.0MB 7780ms 3ms gcc 14.2.0
zig 1.zig 3705ms 29ms 1.4MB 3693ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 6-im.c 248ms 5.1ms 2.0MB 953ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 4-m.c 253ms 1.6ms 2.0MB 967ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 6-im.c 259ms 1.4ms 3.3MB 990ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 290ms 15ms 2.0MB 1103ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 4-m.c 294ms 9.2ms 3.3MB 1117ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 351ms 17ms 3.4MB 1333ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 468ms 7.2ms 3.3MB 1807ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 496ms 2.9ms 2.0MB 1933ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
zig 1.zig 922ms 1.2ms 1.3MB 910ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 2000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 4-m.c 71ms 0.5ms 2.1MB 257ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 6-im.c 73ms 2.6ms 3.3MB 250ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 6-im.c 73ms 6.2ms 2.0MB 257ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 4-m.c 78ms 0.7ms 3.1MB 280ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 80ms 0.7ms 2.0MB 287ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
c 5-im.c 93ms 0.7ms 3.3MB 330ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 124ms 1.1ms 3.1MB 453ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 131ms 0.9ms 2.0MB 490ms 0ms gcc 14.2.0
zig 1.zig 234ms 0.8ms 1.3MB 223ms 0ms zig 0.14.0