Go VS Zig benchmarks

Current benchmark data was generated on Mon May 19 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
go 1.go 1249ms 9.0ms 55.0MB 1227ms 10ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 1831ms 43ms 49.0MB 1800ms 17ms zig 0.14.0
go 1-m.go 2386ms 8.7ms 41.6MB 5307ms 40ms go 1.24.3

Input: 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1.go 113ms 1.7ms 5.6MB 100ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 155ms 3.9ms 7.0MB 143ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1-m.go 210ms 2.2ms 8.1MB 370ms 10ms go 1.24.3

coro-prime-sieve

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1-m.go 545ms 34ms 15.5MB 2127ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 739ms 8.5ms 268.3MB 683ms 43ms tinygo 0.37.0

Input: 1000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1-m.go 50ms 13ms 7.5MB 167ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 70ms 0.3ms 68.6MB 50ms 10ms tinygo 0.37.0

edigits

Input: 250001

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1.go 118ms 0.8ms 10.2MB 110ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 2263ms 1.7ms 2.5MB 2237ms 10ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 100000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1.go 35ms 1.6ms 8.2MB 30ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 379ms 2.2ms 1.9MB 363ms 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 636ms 3.6ms 1.4MB 2397ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3-m.go 672ms 1.3ms 5.5MB 2597ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 3-i.zig 1778ms 22ms 1.0MB 1770ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3.go 2021ms 2.1ms 48.8MB 2003ms 3ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 2715ms 13ms 1.0MB 2707ms 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 59ms 1.9ms 1.4MB 200ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3-m.go 73ms 0.4ms 5.5MB 193ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 3-i.zig 147ms 0.5ms 1.0MB 140ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3.go 194ms 1.1ms 49.1MB 177ms 3ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 227ms 0.9ms 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 87ms 1.5ms 1.0MB 80ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3-m.go 126ms 0.6ms 7.5MB 377ms 0ms go 1.24.3

Input: 250000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 11ms 0.8ms 1.0MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3-m.go 17ms 0.0ms 7.6MB 30ms 0ms go 1.24.3

helloworld

Input: QwQ

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1.go 0.8ms 0.0ms 0.4MB 0ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 0.9ms 0.0ms 1.1MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 1.4ms 0.1ms 3.4MB 0ms 0ms go 1.24.3

http-server

Input: 3000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1-http2.go 127ms 6.3ms 56.1MB 350ms 83ms go 1.24.3
go 2-m.go 394ms 6.3ms 174.8MB 710ms 633ms go 1.24.3
go 1-m.go 400ms 12ms 170.8MB 693ms 633ms go 1.24.3

Input: 500

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1-http2.go 30ms 1.2ms 27.6MB 60ms 17ms go 1.24.3
go 2-m.go 72ms 2.9ms 34.9MB 100ms 107ms go 1.24.3
go 1-m.go 75ms 0.8ms 36.6MB 103ms 110ms go 1.24.3

json-serde

Input: sample 5000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 2-ffi.go 47ms 1.2ms 40.9MB 40ms 7ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 142ms 2.1ms 18.6MB 133ms 0ms go 1.24.3

Input: canada 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 2-ffi.go 254ms 1.3ms 159.2MB 237ms 53ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 743ms 6.4ms 104.9MB 730ms 17ms go 1.24.3

knucleotide

Input: 2500000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1-m.zig 319ms 5.2ms 67.2MB 850ms 27ms zig 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 502ms 2.3ms 27.9MB 480ms 10ms zig 0.14.0
go 7-m.go 691ms 14ms 39.6MB 2427ms 27ms go 1.24.3

Input: 250000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1-m.zig 66ms 1.7ms 54.3MB 140ms 30ms zig 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 66ms 0.7ms 15.5MB 50ms 3ms zig 0.14.0
go 7-m.go 133ms 2.9ms 22.8MB 353ms 23ms go 1.24.3

lru

Input: 1000 1000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 33ms 1.1ms 2.8MB 23ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3.go 120ms 3.2ms 3.5MB 113ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 3.go 133ms 2.2ms 0.5MB 123ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

Input: 1000 3000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 94ms 3.9ms 2.8MB 87ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3.go 386ms 1.4ms 0.5MB 380ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 3.go 390ms 6.6ms 3.5MB 380ms 0ms go 1.24.3

Input: 100 500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 16ms 1.3ms 1.3MB 10ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 3.go 51ms 0.8ms 3.5MB 40ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 3.go 65ms 2.7ms 0.4MB 60ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

mandelbrot

Input: 5000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 248ms 0.8ms 4.1MB 240ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 3228ms 12ms 7.7MB 3223ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 4064ms 9.9ms 3.4MB 4057ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

Input: 1000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 12ms 0.1ms 1.1MB 10ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 136ms 1.0ms 3.7MB 130ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 173ms 4.0ms 0.5MB 167ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

merkletrees

Input: 17

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1.go 820ms 45ms 63.1MB 800ms 10ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 859ms 8.1ms 41.0MB 830ms 17ms zig 0.14.0
go 2.go 1144ms 3.1ms 55.0MB 1120ms 3ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 1-m.go 1485ms 22ms 40.9MB 3127ms 40ms go 1.24.3
go 2-m.go 1732ms 20ms 47.1MB 3760ms 50ms go 1.24.3

Input: 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 1.go 174ms 2.9ms 9.8MB 160ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
zig 1.zig 175ms 1.5ms 11.0MB 163ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 2.go 213ms 5.6ms 17.2MB 197ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 1-m.go 334ms 1.2ms 12.1MB 667ms 27ms go 1.24.3
go 2-m.go 375ms 1.6ms 13.9MB 780ms 33ms go 1.24.3

nbody

Input: 5000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 3.zig 198ms 0.9ms 1.0MB 190ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 2.zig 279ms 0.5ms 1.0MB 270ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 315ms 1.1ms 1.1MB 310ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 349ms 0.2ms 3.5MB 340ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 353ms 6.1ms 0.4MB 343ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

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
zig 2.zig 30ms 0.1ms 1.0MB 20ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
zig 1.zig 34ms 0.4ms 1.1MB 30ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 37ms 0.6ms 0.4MB 30ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 1.go 38ms 1.3ms 3.5MB 30ms 0ms go 1.24.3

nsieve

Input: 12

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 259ms 2.9ms 40.2MB 243ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 301ms 21ms 39.5MB 287ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 1.go 307ms 11ms 71.6MB 293ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 2.zig 330ms 0.5ms 6.0MB 320ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 2.go 427ms 3.7ms 20.4MB 413ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 2.go 746ms 1.8ms 21.7MB 733ms 10ms go 1.24.3

Input: 10

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 51ms 2.6ms 10.9MB 40ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 53ms 2.6ms 10.1MB 43ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 1.go 58ms 1.1ms 21.6MB 50ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 2.zig 81ms 0.8ms 2.3MB 70ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 2.go 109ms 1.9ms 4.9MB 100ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0
go 2.go 181ms 2.1ms 5.8MB 170ms 0ms go 1.24.3

pidigits

Input: 8000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 8.go 1191ms 8.1ms 8.6MB 1180ms 3ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 2462ms 12ms 2.2MB 2437ms 10ms zig 0.14.0

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 8.go 283ms 4.5ms 8.6MB 273ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 566ms 0.9ms 1.8MB 560ms 0ms zig 0.14.0

regex-redux

Input: 2500000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 3.go timeout 0.0ms 122.2MB 4987ms 50ms go 1.24.3
go 3.go timeout 0.0ms 123.4MB 4977ms 10ms tinygo 0.37.0

Input: 250000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 3.go 1750ms 14ms 20.3MB 1727ms 30ms go 1.24.3
go 3.go 2262ms 24ms 27.0MB 2247ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

secp256k1

Input: 2000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 0-ffi.go 91ms 2.0ms 5.1MB 87ms 0ms go 1.24.3

Input: 500

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 0-ffi.go 27ms 0.8ms 5.2MB 20ms 0ms go 1.24.3

spectral-norm

Input: 8000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 4-m.go 1909ms 16ms 5.6MB 7410ms 7ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 3665ms 9.0ms 5.6MB 3663ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 3690ms 7.6ms 1.4MB 3680ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go timeout 0.0ms 0.5MB 4990ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 4-m.go 480ms 0.9ms 5.5MB 1843ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 915ms 1.2ms 3.5MB 910ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 923ms 1.2ms 1.3MB 910ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 1396ms 0.6ms 0.5MB 1390ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0

Input: 2000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
go 4-m.go 125ms 0.1ms 5.5MB 450ms 0ms go 1.24.3
zig 1.zig 232ms 0.7ms 1.3MB 220ms 0ms zig 0.14.0
go 1.go 233ms 2.1ms 3.5MB 223ms 0ms go 1.24.3
go 1.go 352ms 1.1ms 0.4MB 340ms 0ms tinygo 0.37.0