Rust serialization benchmark

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

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. Other footnotes are located at the bottom.

Last updated: 2025-03-10 16:45:32

Runtime info

rustc version

rustc 1.87.0-nightly (3ea711f17 2025-03-09)
binary: rustc
commit-hash: 3ea711f17e3946ac3f4df11691584e2c56b4b0cf
commit-date: 2025-03-09
host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
release: 1.87.0-nightly
LLVM version: 20.1.0

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:                             4890.85
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 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 Itlb multihit:          Not affected
Vulnerability L1tf:                   Not affected
Vulnerability Mds:                    Not affected
Vulnerability Meltdown:               Not affected
Vulnerability Mmio stale data:        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 Tsx async abort:        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 0.1012.3	474.78 µs* 432.46 µs*	2.5898 ms	887.10 µs	804955	328941	284849	4.0817 ms
bincode 2.0.0	344.43 µs	2.2471 ms	696.20 µs	741295	303944	256422	3.7448 ms
bincode 1.3.3	543.96 µs	2.0485 ms	596.33 µs	1045784	373127	311553	4.4170 ms
bitcode 0.6.5	146.62 µs	1.4514 ms	63.191 µs	703710	288826	227322	2.4178 ms
borsh 1.5.5	551.68 µs	2.1524 ms	†	885780	362204	286248	3.9165 ms
capnp 0.20.6	522.87 µs	†	†	1443216	513986	426532	6.1556 ms
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	657.42 µs	5.1121 ms	3.3417 ms	1407835	403440	323561	4.6588 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	4.1002 ms	12.531 ms	†	1407835	403440	323561	4.7594 ms
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	2.2367 ms	4.9218 ms	3.2110 ms	1407835	403440	323561	4.6590 ms
databuf 0.5.0	275.17 µs	2.0404 ms	654.77 µs	765778	311715	263914	3.4779 ms
dlhn 0.1.7	730.93 µs	2.4914 ms	†	724953	301446	253056	3.1845 ms
flatbuffers 25.2.10	1.0277 ms	†	†	1276368	468539	388381	4.6961 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.140	3.7600 ms	5.7437 ms	†	1827461	470560	360727	5.4609 ms
json: simd-json 0.14.3	2.0878 ms	4.7200 ms	†	1827461	470560	360727	5.7669 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	1.3722 ms	3.0486 ms	1.4874 ms	784997	325384	277608	3.7237 ms
minicbor 0.26.1	532.20 µs	2.9605 ms	1.3664 ms	817830	332671	284034	3.8753 ms
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	5.4505 ms	4.2322 ms	2.7238 ms	818669	332556	284797	4.0432 ms
nanoserde 0.1.37	244.57 µs	2.0521 ms	†	1045784	373127	311553	4.1227 ms
postcard 1.1.1	423.37 µs	2.2130 ms	841.98 µs	724953	302399	252968	3.5830 ms
pot 3.0.1	2.2645 ms	6.6024 ms	4.9531 ms	971922	372513	303636	4.2505 ms
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	936.15 µs* 2.4225 ms*	3.3724 ms	†	884628	363130	314959	4.3859 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	1.1710 ms* 2.9564 ms*	3.6954 ms	†	884628	363130	314959	4.3759 ms
rkyv 0.8.10	246.65 µs	1.5481 ms* 1.9324 ms*	†	1011488	393526	325965	4.6936 ms
ron 0.8.1	11.632 ms	15.843 ms	14.233 ms	1607459	449158	349324	5.5707 ms
savefile 0.18.5	191.86 µs	2.1689 ms	†	1045800	373139	311562	4.1881 ms
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	659.90 µs	2.3729 ms	†	765778	311743	263822	3.4967 ms
serde-brief 0.1.1	1.5652 ms	4.7886 ms	3.0844 ms	1584946	413733	339964	4.8635 ms
serde_bare 0.5.0	704.00 µs	2.0327 ms	†	765778	311715	263914	3.4647 ms
speedy 0.8.7	199.32 µs	1.7537 ms	362.78 µs	885780	362204	286248	3.8196 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	73.357 ns*	170.47 µs*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	2.4860 ns* 2.1491 ms*	51.856 µs* 2.2298 ms*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	1.2433 ns* 375.90 µs*	10.511 µs* 388.36 µs*	7.4942 µs*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Borrow	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1012.3	30.88%* 33.90%*	56.04%	7.12%	87.42%	87.80%	79.80%	59.24%
bincode 2.0.0	42.57%	64.59%	9.08%	94.93%	95.03%	88.65%	64.56%
bincode 1.3.3	26.95%	70.85%	10.60%	67.29%	77.41%	72.96%	54.74%
bitcode 0.6.5	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
borsh 1.5.5	26.58%	67.43%	†	79.45%	79.74%	79.41%	61.73%
capnp 0.20.6	28.04%	†	†	48.76%	56.19%	53.30%	39.28%
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	22.30%	28.39%	1.89%	49.99%	71.59%	70.26%	51.90%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.58%	11.58%	†	49.99%	71.59%	70.26%	50.80%
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	6.56%	29.49%	1.97%	49.99%	71.59%	70.26%	51.90%
databuf 0.5.0	53.28%	71.13%	9.65%	91.89%	92.66%	86.13%	69.52%
dlhn 0.1.7	20.06%	58.26%	†	97.07%	95.81%	89.83%	75.92%
flatbuffers 25.2.10	14.27%	†	†	55.13%	61.64%	58.53%	51.49%
json: serde_json 1.0.140	3.90%	25.27%	†	38.51%	61.38%	63.02%	44.27%
json: simd-json 0.14.3	7.02%	30.75%	†	38.51%	61.38%	63.02%	41.93%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	10.69%	47.61%	4.25%	89.64%	88.76%	81.89%	64.93%
minicbor 0.26.1	27.55%	49.03%	4.62%	86.05%	86.82%	80.03%	62.39%
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	2.69%	34.29%	2.32%	85.96%	86.85%	79.82%	59.80%
nanoserde 0.1.37	59.95%	70.73%	†	67.29%	77.41%	72.96%	58.65%
postcard 1.1.1	34.63%	65.59%	7.51%	97.07%	95.51%	89.86%	67.48%
pot 3.0.1	6.47%	21.98%	1.28%	72.40%	77.53%	74.87%	56.88%
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	15.66%* 6.05%*	43.04%	†	79.55%	79.54%	72.18%	55.13%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	12.52%* 4.96%*	39.28%	†	79.55%	79.54%	72.18%	55.25%
rkyv 0.8.10	59.44%	93.75%* 75.11%*	†	69.57%	73.39%	69.74%	51.51%
ron 0.8.1	1.26%	9.16%	0.44%	43.78%	64.30%	65.07%	43.40%
savefile 0.18.5	76.42%	66.92%	†	67.29%	77.40%	72.96%	57.73%
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	22.22%	61.17%	†	91.89%	92.65%	86.16%	69.15%
serde-brief 0.1.1	9.37%	30.31%	2.05%	44.40%	69.81%	66.87%	49.71%
serde_bare 0.5.0	20.83%	71.40%	†	91.89%	92.66%	86.13%	69.78%
speedy 0.8.7	73.56%	82.76%	17.42%	79.45%	79.74%	79.41%	63.30%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	1.69%*	6.17%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	50.01%* 0.00%*	20.27%* 0.47%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	100.00%* 0.00%*	100.00%* 2.71%*	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 0.1012.3	6.7461 ms* 8.6989 ms*	8.0537 ms	8625005	6443961	6231572	72.780 ms
bincode 2.0.0	2.4170 ms	1.0241 ms	6000005	5378497	5346882	8.6136 ms
bincode 1.3.3	5.2258 ms	4.6165 ms	6000008	5378500	5346908	9.1810 ms
bitcode 0.6.5	1.4758 ms	799.17 µs	6000006	5182295	4921841	13.466 ms
borsh 1.5.5	6.1708 ms	4.3554 ms	6000004	5378496	5346866	8.6049 ms
capnp 0.20.6	6.3875 ms	†	14000088	7130367	6046182	81.221 ms
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	10.062 ms	53.649 ms	13125016	7524114	6757437	91.921 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	70.902 ms	139.64 ms	13122324	7524660	6759128	92.963 ms
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	35.577 ms	47.073 ms	13122324	7524660	6759128	92.931 ms
databuf 0.5.0	2.4209 ms	5.3578 ms	6000003	5378495	5346897	8.9352 ms
dlhn 0.1.7	6.0994 ms	8.0085 ms	6000003	5378495	5346897	8.7592 ms
flatbuffers 25.2.10	865.16 µs	†	6000024	5378434	5346878	8.6093 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.140	89.235 ms	89.447 ms	26192883	9566084	8584671	156.97 ms
json: simd-json 0.14.3	51.676 ms	70.148 ms	26192883	9566084	8584671	156.25 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	14.953 ms	16.456 ms	8125006	6494876	6391037	71.335 ms
minicbor 0.26.1	6.0593 ms	12.230 ms	8125006	6494907	6390894	71.000 ms
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	123.77 ms	26.818 ms	8125037	6493484	6386940	70.319 ms
nanoserde 0.1.37	1.4382 ms	1.1079 ms	6000008	5378500	5346908	8.5391 ms
postcard 1.1.1	478.77 µs	1.2706 ms	6000003	5378495	5346897	8.7050 ms
pot 3.0.1	40.993 ms	73.700 ms	10122342	6814618	6852252	83.720 ms
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	7.8238 ms* 8.8196 ms*	16.186 ms	8750000	6665735	6421877	73.871 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	15.837 ms* 32.268 ms*	28.935 ms	8750000	6665735	6421877	80.015 ms
rkyv 0.8.10	148.54 µs	186.72 µs* 206.25 µs*	6000008	5378500	5346872	8.7714 ms
ron 0.8.1	172.67 ms	237.15 ms	22192885	8970395	8137334	151.44 ms
savefile 0.18.5	198.07 µs	189.59 µs	6000024	5378519	5346896	8.6275 ms
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	5.1154 ms	4.8728 ms	6000004	5378496	5346866	8.8727 ms
serde-brief 0.1.1	22.837 ms	38.056 ms	15750015	8024540	6813667	94.556 ms
serde_bare 0.5.0	5.1859 ms	4.8683 ms	6000003	5378495	5346897	8.6688 ms
speedy 0.8.7	148.48 µs	148.73 µs	6000004	5378496	5346866	8.8207 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	102.62 ns*	2.2706 ms*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	2.4989 ns* 45.030 ns*	52.360 µs* 77.739 µs*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	1.2430 ns* 5.6165 ns*	38.893 µs* 38.866 µs*	100.25 µs*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1012.3	2.20%* 1.71%*	1.85%	69.57%	80.42%	78.98%	11.73%
bincode 2.0.0	6.14%	14.52%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.14%
bincode 1.3.3	2.84%	3.22%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	93.01%
bitcode 0.6.5	10.06%	18.61%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	63.41%
borsh 1.5.5	2.41%	3.41%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.24%
capnp 0.20.6	2.32%	†	42.86%	72.68%	81.40%	10.51%
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	1.48%	0.28%	45.71%	68.88%	72.84%	9.29%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	0.21%	0.11%	45.72%	68.87%	72.82%	9.19%
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	0.42%	0.32%	45.72%	68.87%	72.82%	9.19%
databuf 0.5.0	6.13%	2.78%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	95.57%
dlhn 0.1.7	2.43%	1.86%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	97.49%
flatbuffers 25.2.10	17.16%	†	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	99.18%
json: serde_json 1.0.140	0.17%	0.17%	22.91%	54.17%	57.33%	5.44%
json: simd-json 0.14.3	0.29%	0.21%	22.91%	54.17%	57.33%	5.46%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	0.99%	0.90%	73.85%	79.79%	77.01%	11.97%
minicbor 0.26.1	2.45%	1.22%	73.85%	79.79%	77.01%	12.03%
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	0.12%	0.55%	73.85%	79.81%	77.06%	12.14%
nanoserde 0.1.37	10.32%	13.42%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	100.00%
postcard 1.1.1	31.01%	11.71%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	98.09%
pot 3.0.1	0.36%	0.20%	59.27%	76.05%	71.83%	10.20%
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	1.90%* 1.68%*	0.92%	68.57%	77.75%	76.64%	11.56%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	0.94%* 0.46%*	0.51%	68.57%	77.75%	76.64%	10.67%
rkyv 0.8.10	99.96%	79.65%* 72.11%*	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	97.35%
ron 0.8.1	0.09%	0.06%	27.04%	57.77%	60.48%	5.64%
savefile 0.18.5	74.96%	78.45%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	98.98%
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	2.90%	3.05%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	96.24%
serde-brief 0.1.1	0.65%	0.39%	38.10%	64.58%	72.23%	9.03%
serde_bare 0.5.0	2.86%	3.06%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	98.50%
speedy 0.8.7	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	96.35%	92.05%	96.81%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	1.21%*	1.71%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	49.74%* 2.76%*	74.23%* 50.00%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	100.00%* 22.13%*	99.93%* 100.00%*	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 0.1012.3	918.79 µs* 836.88 µs*	3.0783 ms	1.7592 ms	489348	281173	249360	2.7072 ms
bincode 2.0.0	334.61 µs	1.8611 ms	811.37 µs	367413	221291	206242	2.1900 ms
bincode 1.3.3	601.96 µs	1.8219 ms	848.15 µs	569975	240525	231884	2.5585 ms
bitcode 0.6.5	127.65 µs	1.2498 ms	170.47 µs	327688	200947	182040	756.25 µs
borsh 1.5.5	561.13 µs	1.8320 ms	†	446595	234236	209834	2.0394 ms
capnp 0.20.6	453.61 µs	†	†	803896	335606	280744	3.5611 ms
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	806.32 µs	4.8142 ms	3.4792 ms	1109831	344745	274333	3.4609 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.6996 ms	10.194 ms	†	1109821	344751	274345	3.4738 ms
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	1.8630 ms	4.7309 ms	3.4148 ms	1109821	344751	274345	3.5001 ms
databuf 0.5.0	326.84 µs	1.7158 ms	813.42 µs	356311	213062	198403	2.0169 ms
dlhn 0.1.7	774.72 µs	2.6043 ms	†	366496	220600	205586	1.9825 ms
flatbuffers 25.2.10	3.2289 ms	†	†	844168	345696	293916	3.5656 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.140	3.7085 ms	6.7250 ms	†	1623191	466527	359157	5.9366 ms
json: simd-json 0.14.3	2.2169 ms	4.6288 ms	†	1623191	466527	359157	5.7904 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	1.4922 ms	3.0034 ms	1.6984 ms	424533	245214	226077	2.2436 ms
minicbor 0.26.1	565.63 µs	3.3547 ms	1.8748 ms	428773	249857	228630	2.2738 ms
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	5.1252 ms	4.1078 ms	2.9588 ms	449745	252432	230965	2.3291 ms
nanoserde 0.1.37	275.26 µs	1.9403 ms	†	567975	239930	231872	2.4468 ms
postcard 1.1.1	449.58 µs	2.0591 ms	815.73 µs	367489	221913	207244	2.0421 ms
pot 3.0.1	2.3722 ms	6.3431 ms	5.2535 ms	599125	299158	247675	2.7239 ms
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	1.2847 ms* 3.0183 ms*	3.5265 ms	†	596811	305319	268737	3.0989 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	1.0569 ms* 3.0225 ms*	3.7696 ms	†	596811	305319	268737	3.0421 ms
rkyv 0.8.10	346.96 µs	1.5033 ms* 1.8538 ms*	†	603776	254776	219421	2.3134 ms
ron 0.8.1	7.3445 ms	17.492 ms	15.720 ms	1465223	434935	342907	5.7423 ms
savefile 0.18.5	211.90 µs	1.8192 ms	†	566991	239362	231478	2.4943 ms
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	623.83 µs	2.1282 ms	†	356311	212976	198423	1.9635 ms
serde-brief 0.1.1	1.3649 ms	5.3684 ms	3.7296 ms	1276014	373898	293384	3.6533 ms
serde_bare 0.5.0	769.88 µs	2.3105 ms	†	356311	213062	198403	1.9285 ms
speedy 0.8.7	264.86 µs	1.6247 ms	564.07 µs	449595	234970	210192	2.2807 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	73.887 ns*	421.91 ns*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	2.4875 ns* 2.4285 ms*	1.3542 µs* 2.4305 ms*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	1.2426 ns* 340.66 µs*	240.24 ns* 345.74 µs*	746.67 ns*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Borrow	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1012.3	13.89%* 15.25%*	40.60%	9.69%	66.96%	71.47%	73.00%	27.93%
bincode 2.0.0	38.15%	67.15%	21.01%	89.19%	90.81%	88.27%	34.53%
bincode 1.3.3	21.21%	68.60%	20.10%	57.49%	83.55%	78.50%	29.56%
bitcode 0.6.5	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
borsh 1.5.5	22.75%	68.22%	†	73.37%	85.79%	86.75%	37.08%
capnp 0.20.6	28.14%	†	†	40.76%	59.88%	64.84%	21.24%
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	15.83%	25.96%	4.90%	29.53%	58.29%	66.36%	21.85%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.45%	12.26%	†	29.53%	58.29%	66.35%	21.77%
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	6.85%	26.42%	4.99%	29.53%	58.29%	66.35%	21.61%
databuf 0.5.0	39.06%	72.84%	20.96%	91.97%	94.31%	91.75%	37.50%
dlhn 0.1.7	16.48%	47.99%	†	89.41%	91.09%	88.55%	38.15%
flatbuffers 25.2.10	3.95%	†	†	38.82%	58.13%	61.94%	21.21%
json: serde_json 1.0.140	3.44%	18.58%	†	20.19%	43.07%	50.69%	12.74%
json: simd-json 0.14.3	5.76%	27.00%	†	20.19%	43.07%	50.69%	13.06%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	8.55%	41.61%	10.04%	77.19%	81.95%	80.52%	33.71%
minicbor 0.26.1	22.57%	37.26%	9.09%	76.42%	80.42%	79.62%	33.26%
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	2.49%	30.43%	5.76%	72.86%	79.60%	78.82%	32.47%
nanoserde 0.1.37	46.37%	64.41%	†	57.69%	83.75%	78.51%	30.91%
postcard 1.1.1	28.39%	60.70%	20.90%	89.17%	90.55%	87.84%	37.03%
pot 3.0.1	5.38%	19.70%	3.24%	54.69%	67.17%	73.50%	27.76%
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	9.94%* 4.23%*	35.44%	†	54.91%	65.82%	67.74%	24.40%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	12.08%* 4.22%*	33.15%	†	54.91%	65.82%	67.74%	24.86%
rkyv 0.8.10	36.79%	83.14%* 67.42%*	†	54.27%	78.87%	82.96%	32.69%
ron 0.8.1	1.74%	7.14%	1.08%	22.36%	46.20%	53.09%	13.17%
savefile 0.18.5	60.24%	68.70%	†	57.79%	83.95%	78.64%	30.32%
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	20.46%	58.73%	†	91.97%	94.35%	91.74%	38.52%
serde-brief 0.1.1	9.35%	23.28%	4.57%	25.68%	53.74%	62.05%	20.70%
serde_bare 0.5.0	16.58%	54.09%	†	91.97%	94.31%	91.75%	39.21%
speedy 0.8.7	48.20%	76.92%	30.22%	72.89%	85.52%	86.61%	33.16%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	1.68%*	56.94%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	49.95%* 0.00%*	17.74%* 0.01%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	100.00%* 0.00%*	100.00%* 0.07%*	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 0.1012.3	4.5672 ms* 2.5584 ms*	8.3589 ms	1704643	1294259	1245668	11.757 ms
bincode 2.0.0	1.2190 ms	3.7032 ms	1406257	1117802	1062438	9.7202 ms
bincode 1.3.3	3.9414 ms	4.1942 ms	1854234	1141994	1048745	10.996 ms
bitcode 0.6.5	718.45 µs	2.3422 ms	971318	878034	850340	2.9277 ms
borsh 1.5.5	2.9199 ms	2.8871 ms	1521989	1108471	1038528	9.9964 ms
capnp 0.20.6	2.2469 ms	†	2724288	1546992	1239111	15.034 ms
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	3.0795 ms	17.955 ms	6012539	1695215	1464951	21.561 ms
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	23.045 ms	57.583 ms	6012373	1695146	1465025	21.019 ms
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	10.593 ms	21.895 ms	6012373	1695146	1465025	21.168 ms
databuf 0.5.0	1.3238 ms	3.7473 ms	1319999	1062631	1008334	8.9097 ms
dlhn 0.1.7	4.9708 ms	6.6144 ms	1311281	1077520	1046095	8.7287 ms
flatbuffers 25.2.10	5.2611 ms	†	2325620	1440289	1264800	13.394 ms
json: serde_json 1.0.140	20.042 ms	30.846 ms	9390461	2391679	1842767	34.907 ms
json: simd-json 0.14.3	11.635 ms	25.900 ms	9390461	2391679	1842767	35.759 ms
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	10.687 ms	11.359 ms	1745322	1261627	1228923	11.770 ms
minicbor 0.26.1	2.3403 ms	11.391 ms	1777386	1276218	1252558	13.181 ms
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	29.716 ms	17.759 ms	1770060	1277755	1263362	12.764 ms
nanoserde 0.1.37	1.3124 ms	2.9335 ms	1812404	1134820	1053109	10.177 ms
postcard 1.1.1	1.9828 ms	4.2152 ms	1311281	1083900	1041434	9.0511 ms
pot 3.0.1	13.573 ms	31.130 ms	2604812	1482233	1298928	16.224 ms
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	5.5177 ms* 9.4315 ms*	9.0767 ms	1859886	1338076	1295351	12.264 ms
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	5.5208 ms* 13.034 ms*	12.039 ms	1859886	1338076	1295351	12.904 ms
rkyv 0.8.10	918.82 µs	2.1694 ms* 2.6219 ms*	2075936	1383779	1210377	13.710 ms
ron 0.8.1	37.412 ms	92.620 ms	8677703	2233642	1826180	34.895 ms
savefile 0.18.5	864.44 µs	2.7406 ms	1791505	1128012	1051153	10.587 ms
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	3.1837 ms	3.3607 ms	1319999	1064380	1010708	8.9163 ms
serde-brief 0.1.1	6.7014 ms	22.272 ms	6951772	1796265	1567819	23.309 ms
serde_bare 0.5.0	4.8676 ms	4.8446 ms	1319999	1062645	1008349	8.8948 ms
speedy 0.8.7	762.32 µs	2.3920 ms	1584734	1119837	1037992	10.226 ms

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	73.797 ns*	713.79 ns*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	2.4850 ns* 5.8039 ms*	2.6029 µs* 5.8111 ms*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	1.2429 ns* 438.73 µs*	416.50 ns* 439.31 µs*	234.00 ns*

Comparison

Relative to best. Higher is better.

Serialize / deserialize speed and size

Crate	Serialize	Deserialize	Size	Zlib	Zstd	Zstd Time
bilrost 0.1012.3	15.73%* 28.08%*	25.95%	56.98%	67.84%	68.26%	24.90%
bincode 2.0.0	58.94%	58.58%	69.07%	78.55%	80.04%	30.12%
bincode 1.3.3	18.23%	51.72%	52.38%	76.89%	81.08%	26.63%
bitcode 0.6.5	100.00%	92.62%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
borsh 1.5.5	24.61%	75.14%	63.82%	79.21%	81.88%	29.29%
capnp 0.20.6	31.98%	†	35.65%	56.76%	68.63%	19.47%
cbor: cbor4ii 1.0.0	23.33%	12.08%	16.15%	51.79%	58.05%	13.58%
cbor: ciborium 0.2.2	3.12%	3.77%	16.16%	51.80%	58.04%	13.93%
cbor: serde_cbor 0.11.2	6.78%	9.91%	16.16%	51.80%	58.04%	13.83%
databuf 0.5.0	54.27%	57.89%	73.58%	82.63%	84.33%	32.86%
dlhn 0.1.7	14.45%	32.80%	74.07%	81.49%	81.29%	33.54%
flatbuffers 25.2.10	13.66%	†	41.77%	60.96%	67.23%	21.86%
json: serde_json 1.0.140	3.58%	7.03%	10.34%	36.71%	46.14%	8.39%
json: simd-json 0.14.3	6.17%	8.38%	10.34%	36.71%	46.14%	8.19%
messagepack: rmp-serde 1.3.0	6.72%	19.10%	55.65%	69.60%	69.19%	24.88%
minicbor 0.26.1	30.70%	19.04%	54.65%	68.80%	67.89%	22.21%
nachricht-serde 0.4.0	2.42%	12.22%	54.87%	68.72%	67.31%	22.94%
nanoserde 0.1.37	54.74%	73.95%	53.59%	77.37%	80.75%	28.77%
postcard 1.1.1	36.23%	51.47%	74.07%	81.01%	81.65%	32.35%
pot 3.0.1	5.29%	6.97%	37.29%	59.24%	65.46%	18.05%
protobuf: prost 0.13.5	13.02%* 7.62%*	23.90%	52.22%	65.62%	65.65%	23.87%
protobuf: protobuf 3.7.1	13.01%* 5.51%*	18.02%	52.22%	65.62%	65.65%	22.69%
rkyv 0.8.10	78.19%	100.00%* 82.74%*	46.79%	63.45%	70.25%	21.36%
ron 0.8.1	1.92%	2.34%	11.19%	39.31%	46.56%	8.39%
savefile 0.18.5	83.11%	79.16%	54.22%	77.84%	80.90%	27.65%
scale: parity-scale-codec 3.7.4	22.57%	64.55%	73.58%	82.49%	84.13%	32.84%
serde-brief 0.1.1	10.72%	9.74%	13.97%	48.88%	54.24%	12.56%
serde_bare 0.5.0	14.76%	44.78%	73.58%	82.63%	84.33%	32.91%
speedy 0.8.7	94.25%	90.69%	61.29%	78.41%	81.92%	28.63%

Zero-copy deserialization speed

Crate	Access	Read	Update
capnp 0.20.6	1.68%*	58.35%*	‡
flatbuffers 25.2.10	50.02%* 0.00%*	16.00%* 0.01%*	‡
rkyv 0.8.10	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)