Rust serialization benchmark

The goal of these benchmarks is to provide thorough and complete benchmarks for various rust serialization frameworks.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Maintainers

These benchmarks are maintained by a small group of volunteers. Special thanks to:

These benchmarks are a work in progress

These benchmarks are still being developed and pull requests to improve benchmarks are welcome.

Interactive site

Calculate the number of messages per second that can be sent/received with various rust serialization frameworks and compression libraries. Documentation

Format

All tests benchmark the following properties (time or size):

Serialize: serialize data into a buffer
Deserialize: deserializes a buffer into a normal rust object
Borrow: deserializes a buffer into a rust object that borrows string data from the input, with lifetime
Size: the size of the buffer when serialized
Zlib: the size of the buffer after zlib compression
Zstd: the size of the buffer after zstd compression
Zstd Time: the time taken to compress the serialized buffer with zstd

Zero-copy deserialization libraries have an additional set of benchmarks:

Access: accesses a buffer as structured data
Read: runs through a buffer and reads fields out of it
Update: updates a buffer as structured data

Some benchmark results may be italicized and followed by an asterisk. Mouse over these for more details on what situation was benchmarked. Some common terms for those variants:

(populate): copying or converting from the "regular" input type to the type generated by the library
(convert): copying or converting back from the library's generated type to the "regular" input type after deserializing

Other footnotes are located at the bottom of the page.

Last updated: 2026-08-21 21:37:06

Runtime info

`rustc` version

rustc 1.100.0-nightly (8925ea358 2026-08-20)
binary: rustc
commit-hash: 8925ea358a0f265ca61026aadc7ecc506c545cbe
commit-date: 2026-08-20
host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
release: 1.100.0-nightly
LLVM version: 23.1.0

CPU info

Architecture:                            x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):                          32-bit, 64-bit
Address sizes:                           48 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
Byte Order:                              Little Endian
CPU(s):                                  4
On-line CPU(s) list:                     0-3
Vendor ID:                               AuthenticAMD
Model name:                              AMD EPYC 7763 64-Core Processor
CPU family:                              25
Model:                                   1
Thread(s) per core:                      2
Core(s) per socket:                      2
Socket(s):                               1
Stepping:                                1
BogoMIPS:                                4890.86
Flags:                                   fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc rep_good nopl tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid extd_apicid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq ssse3 fma cx16 pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt aes xsave avx f16c rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm cmp_legacy svm cr8_legacy abm sse4a misalignsse 3dnowprefetch osvw topoext vmmcall fsgsbase bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid rdseed adx smap clflushopt clwb sha_ni xsaveopt xsavec xgetbv1 xsaves user_shstk clzero xsaveerptr rdpru arat npt nrip_save tsc_scale vmcb_clean flushbyasid decodeassists pausefilter pfthreshold v_vmsave_vmload umip vaes vpclmulqdq rdpid fsrm
Virtualization:                          AMD-V
Hypervisor vendor:                       Microsoft
Virtualization type:                     full
L1d cache:                               64 KiB (2 instances)
L1i cache:                               64 KiB (2 instances)
L2 cache:                                1 MiB (2 instances)
L3 cache:                                32 MiB (1 instance)
NUMA node(s):                            1
NUMA node0 CPU(s):                       0-3
Vulnerability Gather data sampling:      Not affected
Vulnerability Ghostwrite:                Not affected
Vulnerability Indirect target selection: Not affected
Vulnerability Itlb multihit:             Not affected
Vulnerability L1tf:                      Not affected
Vulnerability Mds:                       Not affected
Vulnerability Meltdown:                  Not affected
Vulnerability Mmio stale data:           Not affected
Vulnerability Old microcode:             Not affected
Vulnerability Reg file data sampling:    Not affected
Vulnerability Retbleed:                  Not affected
Vulnerability Spec rstack overflow:      Vulnerable: Safe RET, no microcode
Vulnerability Spec store bypass:         Vulnerable
Vulnerability Spectre v1:                Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
Vulnerability Spectre v2:                Mitigation; Retpolines; STIBP disabled; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS Not affected; BHI Not affected
Vulnerability Srbds:                     Not affected
Vulnerability Tsa:                       Vulnerable: No microcode
Vulnerability Tsx async abort:           Not affected
Vulnerability Vmscape:                   Not affected

`log`

This data set is composed of HTTP request logs that are small and contain many strings.

Raw data

For operations, time per iteration; for size, bytes. Lower is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Borrow	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	443.14 µs* 418.68 µs*	2.5938 ms	854.26 µs	804955	328941	284849	3.6863 ms
bin-proto 0.12.8	4.5136 ms	4.6945 ms	†	1045784	373127	311553	5.0294 ms
bitcode 0.6.9	140.96 µs	1.4662 ms	59.998 µs	703710	288826	227322	2.5107 ms
borsh 1.8.0	550.63 µs	2.1558 ms	†	885780	362204	286248	4.1864 ms
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	587.84 µs 1.4942 ms*	†	†	1443216 1046865*	513986 481681*	426532 458024*	6.3071 ms 5.4620 ms*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	614.32 µs	5.0325 ms	3.5816 ms	1407835	403440	323561	4.7459 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	4.1174 ms	12.106 ms	†	1407835	403440	323561	5.0269 ms
flatbuffers 25.12.19	1.0401 ms	†	†	1276368	468539	388381	4.9117 ms
flexbuffers 25.12.19	6.7869 ms	7.2365 ms	5.6387 ms	1829756	714318	691541	15.028 ms
json: flexon 0.4.8	2.7574 ms	4.2182 ms	†	1827461	470560	360727	5.9997 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.151	3.7104 ms	6.1769 ms	†	1827461	470560	360727	5.6001 ms
json: simd-json 0.17.3	2.0827 ms	4.8108 ms	†	1827461	470560	360727	5.5075 ms
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	345.74 µs	2.5831 ms	955.95 µs	764996	315291	264212	3.5557 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	1.4826 ms	3.1795 ms	1.5277 ms	784997	325384	277608	3.8169 ms
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	370.24 µs	2.1474 ms	679.05 µs	784997	325384	277608	3.9156 ms
minicbor 2.3.0	478.22 µs	2.9687 ms	1.3744 ms	817830	332671	284034	4.1677 ms
nanoserde 0.2.1	262.66 µs	2.0880 ms	†	1045784	373127	311553	4.1226 ms
postcard 1.1.3	423.06 µs	2.2683 ms	678.87 µs	724953	302399	252968	3.2263 ms
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	904.72 µs* 2.3891 ms*	3.1559 ms* 3.3515 ms*	1.7513 ms	884628	363130	314959	4.4342 ms
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	949.65 µs* 2.4915 ms*	3.4183 ms* 3.4836 ms*	†	884628	363130	314959	4.6950 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	1.1942 ms* 3.0257 ms*	4.0249 ms* 4.0036 ms*	†	884628	363130	314959	4.7825 ms
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	1.6699 ms* 7.4644 ms*	7.4883 ms* 2.9341 ms*	†	884628	363130	314959	4.7839 ms
rkyv 0.8.18	248.79 µs	1.5598 ms* 1.9102 ms*	†	1011488	393526	325965	4.5593 ms
ron 0.12.2	12.277 ms	28.126 ms	25.721 ms	1607459	449158	349324	5.5792 ms
savefile 0.20.5	193.91 µs	2.1032 ms	†	1045800	373139	311562	4.2254 ms
serde-zap 0.1.0	200.76 µs	2.1884 ms	498.63 µs	741295	303944	256422	3.8464 ms
wincode 0.6.0	205.75 µs	1.7737 ms	367.47 µs	1045784	373127	311553	4.2857 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	76.631 ns*	1.0569 ms* 173.96 µs*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	2.4899 ns* 2.1152 ms*	50.118 µs* 2.1995 ms*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	1.2469 ns* 343.31 µs*	10.494 µs* 353.48 µs*	7.7899 µs*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Borrow	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	31.81%* 33.67%*	56.53%	7.02%	87.42%	87.80%	79.80%	68.11%
bin-proto 0.12.8	3.12%	31.23%	†	67.29%	77.41%	72.96%	49.92%
bitcode 0.6.9	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
borsh 1.8.0	25.60%	68.01%	†	79.45%	79.74%	79.41%	59.97%
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	23.98% 9.43%*	†	†	48.76% 67.22%*	56.19% 59.96%*	53.30% 49.63%*	39.81% 45.97%*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	22.95%	29.13%	1.68%	49.99%	71.59%	70.26%	52.90%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.42%	12.11%	†	49.99%	71.59%	70.26%	49.95%
flatbuffers 25.12.19	13.55%	†	†	55.13%	61.64%	58.53%	51.12%
flexbuffers 25.12.19	2.08%	20.26%	1.06%	38.46%	40.43%	32.87%	16.71%
json: flexon 0.4.8	5.11%	34.76%	†	38.51%	61.38%	63.02%	41.85%
json: serde_json 1.0.151	3.80%	23.74%	†	38.51%	61.38%	63.02%	44.83%
json: simd-json 0.17.3	6.77%	30.48%	†	38.51%	61.38%	63.02%	45.59%
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	40.77%	56.76%	6.28%	91.99%	91.61%	86.04%	70.61%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	9.51%	46.11%	3.93%	89.64%	88.76%	81.89%	65.78%
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	38.07%	68.28%	8.84%	89.64%	88.76%	81.89%	64.12%
minicbor 2.3.0	29.48%	49.39%	4.37%	86.05%	86.82%	80.03%	60.24%
nanoserde 0.2.1	53.67%	70.22%	†	67.29%	77.41%	72.96%	60.90%
postcard 1.1.3	33.32%	64.64%	8.84%	97.07%	95.51%	89.86%	77.82%
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	15.58%* 5.90%*	46.46%* 43.75%*	3.43%	79.55%	79.54%	72.18%	56.62%
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	14.84%* 5.66%*	42.89%* 42.09%*	†	79.55%	79.54%	72.18%	53.48%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	11.80%* 4.66%*	36.43%* 36.62%*	†	79.55%	79.54%	72.18%	52.50%
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	8.44%* 1.89%*	19.58%* 49.97%*	†	79.55%	79.54%	72.18%	52.48%
rkyv 0.8.18	56.66%	94.00%* 76.76%*	†	69.57%	73.39%	69.74%	55.07%
ron 0.12.2	1.15%	5.21%	0.23%	43.78%	64.30%	65.07%	45.00%
savefile 0.20.5	72.69%	69.71%	†	67.29%	77.40%	72.96%	59.42%
serde-zap 0.1.0	70.21%	67.00%	12.03%	94.93%	95.03%	88.65%	65.27%
wincode 0.6.0	68.51%	82.66%	16.33%	67.29%	77.41%	72.96%	58.58%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	1.63%*	0.99%* 6.03%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	50.08%* 0.00%*	20.94%* 0.48%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	100.00%* 0.00%*	100.00%* 2.97%*	100.00%*

`mesh`

This data set is a single mesh. The mesh contains an array of triangles, each of which has three vertices and a normal vector.

Raw data

For operations, time per iteration; for size, bytes. Lower is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	7.3832 ms* 8.7249 ms*	7.5820 ms	8625005	6443961	6231572	72.525 ms
bin-proto 0.12.8	8.8497 ms	10.661 ms	6000008	5378500	5346908	8.5562 ms
bitcode 0.6.9	1.2947 ms	689.62 µs	6000006	5182295	4921841	13.313 ms
borsh 1.8.0	6.0630 ms	4.1522 ms	6000004	5378496	5346866	9.1178 ms
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	8.7854 ms 20.047 ms*	†	14000088 10401737*	7130367 7308001*	6046182 7922110*	80.588 ms 66.710 ms*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	8.7529 ms	44.867 ms	13125016	7524114	6757437	90.109 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	69.397 ms	113.36 ms	13122324	7524660	6759128	91.582 ms
flatbuffers 25.12.19	521.83 µs	†	6000024	5378434	5346878	8.6254 ms
flexbuffers 25.12.19	102.78 ms	78.159 ms	26609424	11901040	12486322	151.39 ms
json: flexon 0.4.8	68.762 ms	58.037 ms	26192883	9566084	8584671	156.79 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.151	86.382 ms	103.59 ms	26192883	9566084	8584671	154.36 ms
json: simd-json 0.17.3	53.187 ms	67.970 ms	26192883	9566084	8584671	169.35 ms
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	654.59 µs	3.8297 ms	7500005	6058442	6014500	10.355 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	19.735 ms	12.577 ms	8125006	6494876	6391037	69.297 ms
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	775.04 µs	1.4708 ms	8125006	6494876	6391037	69.280 ms
minicbor 2.3.0	5.1928 ms	11.599 ms	8125006	6494907	6390894	69.258 ms
nanoserde 0.2.1	1.6248 ms	844.17 µs	6000008	5378500	5346908	8.5696 ms
postcard 1.1.3	482.30 µs	6.6993 ms	6000003	5378495	5346897	8.6962 ms
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	9.0780 ms* 11.368 ms*	14.231 ms* 14.024 ms*	8750000	6665735	6421877	72.388 ms
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	7.8306 ms* 8.4460 ms*	11.039 ms* 11.809 ms*	8750000	6665735	6421877	73.114 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	15.417 ms* 32.723 ms*	28.647 ms* 28.944 ms*	8750000	6665735	6421877	76.807 ms
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	37.949 ms* 110.65 ms*	69.888 ms* 36.676 ms*	8750000	6665735	6421877	78.012 ms
rkyv 0.8.18	149.00 µs	200.14 µs* 199.83 µs*	6000008	5378500	5346872	8.5433 ms
ron 0.12.2	195.66 ms	580.32 ms	22192885	8970395	8137334	151.99 ms
savefile 0.20.5	149.15 µs	150.16 µs	6000024	5378519	5346896	8.5823 ms
serde-zap 0.1.0	496.60 µs	1.1796 ms	6000005	5378497	5346882	8.5474 ms
wincode 0.6.0	199.39 µs	149.30 µs	6000008	5378500	5346908	8.8420 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	106.39 ns*	13.835 ms* 2.2105 ms*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	2.4904 ns* 44.800 ns*	41.425 µs* 48.705 µs*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	1.2459 ns* 5.6093 ns*	38.910 µs* 38.922 µs*	77.622 µs*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	2.02%* 1.71%*	1.97%	69.57%	80.42%	78.98%	11.78%
bin-proto 0.12.8	1.68%	1.40%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.85%
bitcode 0.6.9	11.51%	21.65%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	64.17%
borsh 1.8.0	2.46%	3.60%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	93.70%
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	1.70% 0.74%*	†	42.86% 57.68%*	72.68% 70.91%*	81.40% 62.13%*	10.60% 12.81%*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	1.70%	0.33%	45.71%	68.88%	72.84%	9.48%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	0.21%	0.13%	45.72%	68.87%	72.82%	9.33%
flatbuffers 25.12.19	28.55%	†	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.05%
flexbuffers 25.12.19	0.14%	0.19%	22.55%	43.54%	39.42%	5.64%
json: flexon 0.4.8	0.22%	0.26%	22.91%	54.17%	57.33%	5.45%
json: serde_json 1.0.151	0.17%	0.14%	22.91%	54.17%	57.33%	5.53%
json: simd-json 0.17.3	0.28%	0.22%	22.91%	54.17%	57.33%	5.04%
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	22.76%	3.90%	80.00%	85.54%	81.83%	82.50%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	0.76%	1.19%	73.85%	79.79%	77.01%	12.33%
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	19.22%	10.15%	73.85%	79.79%	77.01%	12.33%
minicbor 2.3.0	2.87%	1.29%	73.85%	79.79%	77.01%	12.34%
nanoserde 0.2.1	9.17%	17.69%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.69%
postcard 1.1.3	30.89%	2.23%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	98.24%
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	1.64%* 1.31%*	1.05%* 1.06%*	68.57%	77.75%	76.64%	11.80%
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	1.90%* 1.76%*	1.35%* 1.26%*	68.57%	77.75%	76.64%	11.68%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	0.97%* 0.46%*	0.52%* 0.52%*	68.57%	77.75%	76.64%	11.12%
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	0.39%* 0.13%*	0.21%* 0.41%*	68.57%	77.75%	76.64%	10.95%
rkyv 0.8.18	100.00%	74.60%* 74.71%*	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	100.00%
ron 0.12.2	0.08%	0.03%	27.04%	57.77%	60.48%	5.62%
savefile 0.20.5	99.90%	99.43%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.55%
serde-zap 0.1.0	30.00%	12.66%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.95%
wincode 0.6.0	74.73%	100.00%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	96.62%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	1.17%*	0.28%* 1.76%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	50.03%* 2.78%*	93.93%* 79.89%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	100.00%* 22.21%*	100.00%* 99.97%*	100.00%*

`minecraft_savedata`

This data set is composed of Minecraft player saves that contain highly structured data.

Raw data

For operations, time per iteration; for size, bytes. Lower is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Borrow	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	869.44 µs* 809.63 µs*	3.1968 ms	1.7363 ms	489348	281173	249360	2.6540 ms
bin-proto 0.12.8	1.9222 ms	2.9232 ms	†	566975	239350	231475	2.4707 ms
bitcode 0.6.9	123.49 µs	1.2758 ms	169.58 µs	327688	200947	182040	761.38 µs
borsh 1.8.0	536.02 µs	1.8107 ms	†	446595	234236	209834	2.0991 ms
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	474.98 µs 1.0360 ms*	†	†	803896 489017*	335606 293127*	280744 271528*	3.5888 ms 2.6140 ms*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	725.34 µs	4.9175 ms	3.7854 ms	1109831	344745	274333	3.4817 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.8517 ms	10.150 ms	†	1109821	344751	274345	3.6909 ms
flatbuffers 25.12.19	3.3017 ms	†	†	849472	347816	294871	3.5310 ms
flexbuffers 25.12.19	7.8698 ms	7.0888 ms	5.7036 ms	1187688	557642	553730	6.2525 ms
json: flexon 0.4.8	2.7946 ms	4.9662 ms	†	1623191	466527	359157	5.8228 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.151	3.5444 ms	7.4156 ms	†	1623191	466527	359157	5.8012 ms
json: simd-json 0.17.3	2.2297 ms	4.7943 ms	†	1623191	466527	359157	5.7162 ms
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	326.60 µs	2.8180 ms	1.3002 ms	391251	236877	220395	2.2296 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	1.4542 ms	3.0470 ms	1.7024 ms	424533	245214	226077	2.2423 ms
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	333.02 µs	2.1259 ms	937.84 µs	416025	243812	224965	2.3349 ms
minicbor 2.3.0	572.67 µs	3.4181 ms	1.8558 ms	428773	249857	228630	2.3084 ms
nanoserde 0.2.1	267.01 µs	1.8766 ms	†	567975	239930	231872	2.5361 ms
postcard 1.1.3	449.50 µs	2.0485 ms	822.17 µs	367489	221913	207244	2.0320 ms
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	1.0880 ms* 2.9099 ms*	3.2626 ms* 3.4586 ms*	2.4373 ms	596811	305319	268737	2.9987 ms
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	1.3041 ms* 3.1290 ms*	3.5749 ms* 3.6371 ms*	†	596811	305319	268737	3.1380 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	1.1036 ms* 3.0420 ms*	3.7951 ms* 4.0373 ms*	†	596811	305319	268737	3.0964 ms
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	1.7381 ms* 6.8803 ms*	6.8729 ms* 3.0558 ms*	†	596811	305319	268737	2.9967 ms
rkyv 0.8.18	327.32 µs	1.5069 ms* 1.8567 ms*	†	603776	254776	219421	2.3584 ms
ron 0.12.2	8.2689 ms	28.873 ms	26.936 ms	1465223	434935	342907	5.6747 ms
savefile 0.20.5	215.72 µs	1.8959 ms	†	566991	239362	231478	2.4654 ms
serde-zap 0.1.0	231.55 µs	1.9615 ms	667.74 µs	367413	221291	206242	2.1041 ms
wincode 0.6.0	243.43 µs	1.6316 ms	533.15 µs	566975	239350	231475	2.5389 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	75.893 ns*	599.69 µs* 425.06 ns*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	2.4912 ns* 2.1674 ms*	1.3488 µs* 2.1521 ms*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	1.2458 ns* 329.18 µs*	156.31 ns* 329.09 µs*	732.82 ns*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Borrow	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	14.20%* 15.25%*	39.91%	9.77%	66.96%	71.47%	73.00%	28.69%
bin-proto 0.12.8	6.42%	43.64%	†	57.80%	83.96%	78.64%	30.82%
bitcode 0.6.9	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
borsh 1.8.0	23.04%	70.46%	†	73.37%	85.79%	86.75%	36.27%
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	26.00% 11.92%*	†	†	40.76% 67.01%*	59.88% 68.55%*	64.84% 67.04%*	21.22% 29.13%*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	17.03%	25.94%	4.48%	29.53%	58.29%	66.36%	21.87%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.21%	12.57%	†	29.53%	58.29%	66.35%	20.63%
flatbuffers 25.12.19	3.74%	†	†	38.58%	57.77%	61.74%	21.56%
flexbuffers 25.12.19	1.57%	18.00%	2.97%	27.59%	36.04%	32.88%	12.18%
json: flexon 0.4.8	4.42%	25.69%	†	20.19%	43.07%	50.69%	13.08%
json: serde_json 1.0.151	3.48%	17.20%	†	20.19%	43.07%	50.69%	13.12%
json: simd-json 0.17.3	5.54%	26.61%	†	20.19%	43.07%	50.69%	13.32%
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	37.81%	45.27%	13.04%	83.75%	84.83%	82.60%	34.15%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	8.49%	41.87%	9.96%	77.19%	81.95%	80.52%	33.96%
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	37.08%	60.01%	18.08%	78.77%	82.42%	80.92%	32.61%
minicbor 2.3.0	21.56%	37.32%	9.14%	76.42%	80.42%	79.62%	32.98%
nanoserde 0.2.1	46.25%	67.98%	†	57.69%	83.75%	78.51%	30.02%
postcard 1.1.3	27.47%	62.28%	20.63%	89.17%	90.55%	87.84%	37.47%
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	11.35%* 4.24%*	39.10%* 36.89%*	6.96%	54.91%	65.82%	67.74%	25.39%
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	9.47%* 3.95%*	35.69%* 35.08%*	†	54.91%	65.82%	67.74%	24.26%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	11.19%* 4.06%*	33.62%* 31.60%*	†	54.91%	65.82%	67.74%	24.59%
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	7.10%* 1.79%*	18.56%* 41.75%*	†	54.91%	65.82%	67.74%	25.41%
rkyv 0.8.18	37.73%	84.66%* 68.71%*	†	54.27%	78.87%	82.96%	32.28%
ron 0.12.2	1.49%	4.42%	0.63%	22.36%	46.20%	53.09%	13.42%
savefile 0.20.5	57.25%	67.29%	†	57.79%	83.95%	78.64%	30.88%
serde-zap 0.1.0	53.33%	65.04%	25.40%	89.19%	90.81%	88.27%	36.19%
wincode 0.6.0	50.73%	78.19%	31.81%	57.80%	83.96%	78.64%	29.99%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	1.64%*	0.03%* 36.77%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	50.01%* 0.00%*	11.59%* 0.01%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	100.00%* 0.00%*	100.00%* 0.05%*	100.00%*

`mk48`

This data set is composed of mk48.io game updates that contain data with many exploitable patterns and invariants.

Raw data

For operations, time per iteration; for size, bytes. Lower is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	4.5704 ms* 2.5966 ms*	8.4997 ms	1704643	1294259	1245668	11.914 ms
bin-proto 0.12.8	5.9665 ms	6.5080 ms	1791489	1127998	1051146	10.603 ms
bitcode 0.6.9	699.44 µs	2.3623 ms	971318	878034	850340	3.0479 ms
borsh 1.8.0	2.9708 ms	2.8412 ms	1521989	1108471	1038528	10.186 ms
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	2.6388 ms 4.5152 ms*	†	2724288 1616255*	1546992 1278764*	1239111 1125654*	14.561 ms 8.6932 ms*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	2.8895 ms	19.285 ms	6012539	1695215	1464951	21.269 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	24.199 ms	54.178 ms	6012373	1695146	1465025	21.465 ms
flatbuffers 25.12.19	5.1374 ms	†	2325620	1439185	1268060	13.472 ms
flexbuffers 25.12.19	40.562 ms	37.204 ms	5352680	2658295	2777967	35.069 ms
json: flexon 0.4.8	14.922 ms	25.360 ms	9390461	2391679	1842767	35.165 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.151	18.940 ms	33.896 ms	9390461	2391679	1842767	34.998 ms
json: simd-json 0.17.3	11.917 ms	27.086 ms	9390461	2391679	1842767	35.394 ms
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	943.05 µs	5.6361 ms	1458773	1156055	1137788	9.9443 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	10.427 ms	10.769 ms	1745322	1261627	1228923	11.669 ms
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	1.1052 ms	4.5698 ms	1675866	1230968	1195006	11.042 ms
minicbor 2.3.0	2.2578 ms	11.698 ms	1777386	1276218	1252558	12.904 ms
nanoserde 0.2.1	1.2966 ms	2.8196 ms	1812404	1134820	1053109	10.496 ms
postcard 1.1.3	1.7358 ms	4.4829 ms	1311281	1083900	1041434	8.7673 ms
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	3.5539 ms* 8.0401 ms*	9.0006 ms* 10.210 ms*	1859886	1338076	1295351	12.298 ms
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	5.4395 ms* 9.3762 ms*	9.0717 ms* 9.8162 ms*	1859886	1338076	1295351	12.563 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	5.5462 ms* 12.888 ms*	12.145 ms* 13.020 ms*	1859886	1338076	1295351	12.651 ms
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	9.2739 ms* 33.060 ms*	24.541 ms* 10.920 ms*	1859886	1338076	1295351	12.584 ms
rkyv 0.8.18	968.98 µs	2.1860 ms* 2.6418 ms*	2075936	1383779	1210377	13.136 ms
ron 0.12.2	41.955 ms	183.04 ms	8677703	2233642	1826180	34.512 ms
savefile 0.20.5	863.66 µs	2.8299 ms	1791505	1128012	1051153	10.335 ms
serde-zap 0.1.0	750.26 µs	4.2909 ms	1406257	1117802	1062438	9.6193 ms
wincode 0.6.0	628.32 µs	2.2780 ms	1791489	1127998	1051146	10.359 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	80.167 ns*	2.0216 ms* 484.20 ns*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	2.4895 ns* 5.4678 ms*	2.5713 µs* 5.5747 ms*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	1.2446 ns* 439.79 µs*	385.57 ns* 441.59 µs*	236.78 ns*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1015.0	13.75%* 24.20%*	25.72%	56.98%	67.84%	68.26%	25.58%
bin-proto 0.12.8	10.53%	33.59%	54.22%	77.84%	80.90%	28.75%
bitcode 0.6.9	89.83%	92.54%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
borsh 1.8.0	21.15%	76.94%	63.82%	79.21%	81.88%	29.92%
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	23.81% 13.92%*	†	35.65% 60.10%*	56.76% 68.66%*	68.63% 75.54%*	20.93% 35.06%*
cbor: cbor4ii 1.2.2	21.74%	11.34%	16.15%	51.79%	58.05%	14.33%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	2.60%	4.03%	16.16%	51.80%	58.04%	14.20%
flatbuffers 25.12.19	12.23%	†	41.77%	61.01%	67.06%	22.62%
flexbuffers 25.12.19	1.55%	5.88%	18.15%	33.03%	30.61%	8.69%
json: flexon 0.4.8	4.21%	8.62%	10.34%	36.71%	46.14%	8.67%
json: serde_json 1.0.151	3.32%	6.45%	10.34%	36.71%	46.14%	8.71%
json: simd-json 0.17.3	5.27%	8.07%	10.34%	36.71%	46.14%	8.61%
messagepack: msgpacker 0.7.1	66.63%	38.79%	66.58%	75.95%	74.74%	30.65%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.1	6.03%	20.30%	55.65%	69.60%	69.19%	26.12%
messagepack: zerompk 0.7.1	56.85%	47.84%	57.96%	71.33%	71.16%	27.60%
minicbor 2.3.0	27.83%	18.69%	54.65%	68.80%	67.89%	23.62%
nanoserde 0.2.1	48.46%	77.53%	53.59%	77.37%	80.75%	29.04%
postcard 1.1.3	36.20%	48.76%	74.07%	81.01%	81.65%	34.76%
protobuf: buffa 0.9.1	17.68%* 7.81%*	24.29%* 21.41%*	52.22%	65.62%	65.65%	24.78%
protobuf: prost 0.14.4	11.55%* 6.70%*	24.10%* 22.27%*	52.22%	65.62%	65.65%	24.26%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.2	11.33%* 4.88%*	18.00%* 16.79%*	52.22%	65.62%	65.65%	24.09%
protobuf: protobuf 4.35.1-release	6.78%* 1.90%*	8.91%* 20.02%*	52.22%	65.62%	65.65%	24.22%
rkyv 0.8.18	64.84%	100.00%* 82.75%*	46.79%	63.45%	70.25%	23.20%
ron 0.12.2	1.50%	1.19%	11.19%	39.31%	46.56%	8.83%
savefile 0.20.5	72.75%	77.25%	54.22%	77.84%	80.90%	29.49%
serde-zap 0.1.0	83.75%	50.95%	69.07%	78.55%	80.04%	31.69%
wincode 0.6.0	100.00%	95.96%	54.22%	77.84%	80.90%	29.42%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp: capnp 0.27.0	1.55%*	0.02%* 79.63%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.12.19	49.99%* 0.00%*	15.00%* 0.01%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.18	100.00%* 0.00%*	100.00%* 0.09%*	100.00%*

Footnotes:

* mouse over for situational details

† this deserialization capability is not supported

‡ buffer mutation is not supported (capnp and flatbuffers may but not for rust)

Rust serialization benchmark

Contributing

Maintainers

These benchmarks are a work in progress

Interactive site

Format

Last updated: 2026-08-21 21:37:06

rustc version

CPU info

log

Raw data

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Comparison

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

mesh

Raw data

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Comparison

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

minecraft_savedata

Raw data

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Comparison

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

mk48

Raw data

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Comparison

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Footnotes:

`rustc` version

`log`

`mesh`

`minecraft_savedata`

`mk48`