Programming Language and compiler
Benchmarks

Zig VS C benchmarks

Current benchmark data was generated on Tue Jul 01 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 2079ms 56ms 49.0MB 2047ms 17ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 152ms 1.7ms 7.0MB 140ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

edigits

Input: 250001

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 2256ms 12ms 2.5MB 2227ms 17ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 100000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 380ms 2.7ms 1.9MB 363ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

fannkuch-redux

Input: 11

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 2-m.zig 634ms 3.4ms 1.4MB 2393ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
zig 3-i.zig 1791ms 48ms 1.0MB 1780ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
zig 1.zig 2728ms 20ms 1.0MB 2720ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 10

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 2-m.zig 60ms 0.4ms 1.4MB 200ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
zig 3-i.zig 147ms 0.3ms 1.0MB 140ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
zig 1.zig 228ms 1.0ms 1.0MB 220ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

fasta

Input: 2500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 88ms 0.6ms 1.0MB 80ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 250000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 10ms 0.1ms 1.0MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

helloworld

Input: QwQ

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 0.9ms 0.0ms 1.1MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 1.c 1.2ms 0.0ms 2.1MB 0ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1.c 1.3ms 0.1ms 2.1MB 0ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1.c 1.3ms 0.2ms 1.3MB 0ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1

knucleotide

Input: 2500000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1-m.c 171ms 3.7ms 24.2MB 403ms 10ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1-m.c 298ms 5.1ms 25.7MB 993ms 23ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1-m.zig 321ms 1.7ms 67.1MB 853ms 20ms zig 0.14.1
zig 1.zig 504ms 4.0ms 27.9MB 480ms 13ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 250000_in

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1-m.c 28ms 1.2ms 13.6MB 60ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1-m.c 39ms 0.8ms 15.0MB 110ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1-m.zig 65ms 0.5ms 54.4MB 127ms 37ms zig 0.14.1
zig 1.zig 67ms 2.4ms 15.4MB 50ms 3ms zig 0.14.1

lru

Input: 1000 1000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 36ms 0.2ms 2.8MB 30ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 1000 3000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 90ms 0.4ms 2.8MB 80ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 100 500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 14ms 0.1ms 1.3MB 10ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

mandelbrot

Input: 5000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 1-mffi.c 231ms 18ms 7.6MB 853ms 10ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 249ms 1.1ms 4.1MB 240ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 1-mffi.c 264ms 0.4ms 6.6MB 820ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1-mffi.c 331ms 2.3ms 6.0MB 320ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 1-ffi.c 332ms 1.4ms 6.1MB 320ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 1-ffi.c 455ms 3.6ms 6.5MB 443ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1-ffi.c 542ms 0.4ms 6.8MB 530ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0

Input: 1000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 12ms 0.3ms 1.1MB 0ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 1-mffi.c 16ms 0.8ms 4.5MB 40ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1-ffi.c 16ms 0.2ms 3.0MB 10ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 1-mffi.c 16ms 0.2ms 3.0MB 10ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 1-mffi.c 18ms 0.4ms 3.6MB 43ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1-ffi.c 24ms 5.3ms 3.6MB 13ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1-ffi.c 26ms 0.9ms 3.9MB 20ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0

merkletrees

Input: 17

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 877ms 11ms 41.0MB 850ms 13ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 15

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 178ms 3.0ms 11.0MB 163ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

nbody

Input: 5000000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 3.zig 198ms 1.0ms 1.0MB 190ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 8-i.c 269ms 3.0ms 1.5MB 260ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
zig 2.zig 279ms 0.3ms 1.0MB 270ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 8-i.c 300ms 0.9ms 2.1MB 290ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 2.c 309ms 1.8ms 2.3MB 300ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 2.c 313ms 2.3ms 1.5MB 300ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 5.c 313ms 0.7ms 2.3MB 300ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 5.c 315ms 0.5ms 1.5MB 307ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
zig 1.zig 315ms 1.5ms 1.1MB 307ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 5.c 317ms 2.1ms 2.1MB 310ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 2.c 318ms 2.8ms 2.1MB 310ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 8-i.c 337ms 0.8ms 2.3MB 330ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0

Input: 500000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 3.zig 22ms 0.1ms 1.0MB 10ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 8-i.c 29ms 0.5ms 1.5MB 20ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
zig 2.zig 30ms 0.0ms 1.0MB 20ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 8-i.c 33ms 0.5ms 2.1MB 27ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 33ms 0.1ms 1.1MB 30ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 2.c 33ms 0.3ms 1.5MB 30ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 2.c 34ms 0.5ms 2.3MB 23ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 5.c 34ms 0.6ms 2.3MB 30ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 5.c 34ms 0.1ms 1.5MB 30ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 2.c 34ms 0.9ms 2.1MB 30ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5.c 35ms 0.9ms 2.1MB 30ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 8-i.c 36ms 0.4ms 2.3MB 30ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0

nsieve

Input: 12

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 274ms 3.8ms 40.2MB 257ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 1.c 280ms 23ms 41.1MB 263ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1.c 300ms 13ms 40.3MB 283ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
c 1.c 311ms 7.1ms 40.8MB 293ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 2.zig 325ms 2.5ms 6.0MB 313ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 10

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 50ms 2.9ms 10.9MB 40ms 0ms zig 0.14.1
c 1.c 52ms 3.9ms 11.8MB 43ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 1.c 53ms 3.3ms 11.7MB 43ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 1.c 58ms 2.4ms 11.0MB 50ms 0ms zigcc 0.14.1
zig 2.zig 81ms 0.8ms 2.3MB 70ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

pidigits

Input: 8000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 2453ms 3.5ms 2.2MB 2427ms 17ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
zig 1.zig 564ms 2.2ms 1.8MB 553ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

spectral-norm

Input: 8000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 3-m.c 737ms 1.3ms 2.0MB 2893ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 6-im.c 953ms 1.8ms 2.0MB 3750ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 4-m.c 988ms 1.5ms 2.0MB 3890ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 6-im.c 1003ms 2.1ms 3.3MB 3940ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 4-m.c 1120ms 3.0ms 3.3MB 4407ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 1161ms 30ms 2.0MB 4523ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 5-im.c 1334ms 14ms 3.3MB 5230ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 1836ms 7.3ms 3.3MB 7223ms 7ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 3691ms 6.4ms 1.4MB 3683ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 4000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 3-m.c 194ms 0.6ms 2.0MB 737ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 6-im.c 245ms 0.6ms 2.0MB 940ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 6-im.c 258ms 0.7ms 3.3MB 990ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 4-m.c 258ms 0.4ms 2.0MB 997ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 4-m.c 287ms 0.2ms 3.3MB 1103ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 295ms 3.4ms 2.0MB 1137ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 5-im.c 342ms 1.7ms 3.3MB 1310ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 464ms 1.1ms 3.3MB 1803ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 925ms 2.3ms 1.3MB 913ms 0ms zig 0.14.1

Input: 2000

lang code time stddev peak-mem mem time(user) time(sys) compiler compiler/runtime
c 3-m.c 56ms 0.8ms 2.0MB 197ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 6-im.c 68ms 0.4ms 2.3MB 247ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 6-im.c 71ms 0.2ms 3.4MB 250ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 4-m.c 72ms 0.5ms 2.0MB 260ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 4-m.c 78ms 0.6ms 3.3MB 280ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 5-im.c 80ms 0.4ms 2.0MB 293ms 0ms gcc 15.1.0
c 5-im.c 93ms 1.9ms 3.3MB 333ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
c 3-m.c 123ms 0.4ms 3.3MB 453ms 0ms clang 14.0.0-1ubuntu1.1
zig 1.zig 233ms 1.3ms 1.3MB 223ms 0ms zig 0.14.1