Benchmarks of Go serialization methods

This is a test suite for benchmarking various Go serialization methods.

Tested serialization methods

• encoding/gob
• encoding/json
• github.com/json-iterator/go
• github.com/alecthomas/binary
• github.com/davecgh/go-xdr/xdr
• github.com/Sereal/Sereal/Go/sereal
• github.com/ugorji/go/codec
• github.com/vmihailenco/msgpack/v4
• labix.org/v2/mgo/bson
• github.com/tinylib/msgp (code generator for msgpack)
• google.golang.org/protobuf (generated code)
• github.com/gogo/protobuf (generated code, optimized version of goprotobuf)
• go.dedis.ch/protobuf (reflection based)
• github.com/google/flatbuffers
• github.com/hprose/hprose-go/io
• github.com/glycerine/go-capnproto
• zombiezen.com/go/capnproto2
• github.com/andyleap/gencode
• github.com/pascaldekloe/colfer
• github.com/linkedin/goavro
• github.com/ikkerens/ikeapack
• github.com/niubaoshu/gotiny
• github.com/prysmaticlabs/go-ssz
• github.com/200sc/bebop (generated code)
• github.com/shamaton/msgpackgen (generated code)
• github.com/mus-format/mus-go

Running the benchmarks

go get -u -t
go test -bench='.*' ./

To update the table in the README:

./stats.sh

Recommendation

If performance, correctness and interoperability are the most important factors, gogoprotobuf is currently the best choice. It does require a pre-processing step (eg. via Go 1.4's "go generate" command).

But as always, make your own choice based on your requirements.

Data

The data being serialized is the following structure with randomly generated values:

type A struct {
    Name     string
    BirthDay time.Time
    Phone    string
    Siblings int
    Spouse   bool
    Money    float64
}

Results

2023-04-27 Results with Go 1.20.3 linux/amd64 on an AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U processor.

benchmark	iter	time/iter	bytes/op	allocs/op	tt.sec	tt.kb	ns/alloc
Benchmark_Gotiny_Marshal-16	2509231	653 ns/op	48	168	1.64	12044	3.89
Benchmark_Gotiny_Unmarshal-16	3494467	357 ns/op	47	112	1.25	16769	3.19
Benchmark_GotinyNoTime_Marshal-16	1665592	715 ns/op	48	168	1.19	7994	4.26
Benchmark_GotinyNoTime_Unmarshal-16	3763646	345 ns/op	48	96	1.30	18065	3.60
Benchmark_Msgp_Marshal-16	4259458	279 ns/op	97	128	1.19	41316	2.19
Benchmark_Msgp_Unmarshal-16	3301718	429 ns/op	97	112	1.42	32026	3.84
Benchmark_VmihailencoMsgpack_Marshal-16	870376	1231 ns/op	92	264	1.07	8007	4.66
Benchmark_VmihailencoMsgpack_Unmarshal-16	739293	1470 ns/op	92	160	1.09	6801	9.19
Benchmark_Json_Marshal-16	1069760	1537 ns/op	151	208	1.64	16217	7.39
Benchmark_Json_Unmarshal-16	257702	3933 ns/op	151	351	1.01	3906	11.21
Benchmark_JsonIter_Marshal-16	1000000	1015 ns/op	141	200	1.01	14130	5.08
Benchmark_JsonIter_Unmarshal-16	897181	1292 ns/op	141	216	1.16	12677	5.98
Benchmark_EasyJson_Marshal-16	1000000	1343 ns/op	151	896	1.34	15170	1.50
Benchmark_EasyJson_Unmarshal-16	1041213	1298 ns/op	151	112	1.35	15795	11.59
Benchmark_Bson_Marshal-16	722877	1491 ns/op	110	376	1.08	7951	3.97
Benchmark_Bson_Unmarshal-16	748554	1855 ns/op	110	224	1.39	8234	8.28
Benchmark_MongoBson_Marshal-16	764475	1499 ns/op	110	240	1.15	8409	6.25
Benchmark_MongoBson_Unmarshal-16	483150	2166 ns/op	110	408	1.05	5314	5.31
Benchmark_Gob_Marshal-16	201495	6363 ns/op	163	1616	1.28	3298	3.94
Benchmark_Gob_Unmarshal-16	37329	33507 ns/op	163	7768	1.25	610	4.31
Benchmark_XDR_Marshal-16	593994	1987 ns/op	92	439	1.18	5464	4.53
Benchmark_XDR_Unmarshal-16	769069	1573 ns/op	92	232	1.21	7075	6.78
Benchmark_UgorjiCodecMsgpack_Marshal-16	1000000	1538 ns/op	91	1240	1.54	9100	1.24
Benchmark_UgorjiCodecMsgpack_Unmarshal-16	529971	2164 ns/op	91	688	1.15	4822	3.15
Benchmark_UgorjiCodecBinc_Marshal-16	555745	2007 ns/op	95	1256	1.12	5279	1.60
Benchmark_UgorjiCodecBinc_Unmarshal-16	569472	2001 ns/op	95	688	1.14	5409	2.91
Benchmark_Sereal_Marshal-16	295790	4727 ns/op	132	832	1.40	3904	5.68
Benchmark_Sereal_Unmarshal-16	201170	5099 ns/op	132	976	1.03	2655	5.22
Benchmark_Binary_Marshal-16	502834	2571 ns/op	61	360	1.29	3067	7.14
Benchmark_Binary_Unmarshal-16	401703	2501 ns/op	61	320	1.00	2450	7.82
Benchmark_FlatBuffers_Marshal-16	1000000	1317 ns/op	95	376	1.32	9511	3.50
Benchmark_FlatBuffers_Unmarshal-16	2784686	401 ns/op	95	112	1.12	26512	3.59
Benchmark_CapNProto_Marshal-16	430296	3012 ns/op	96	4392	1.30	4130	0.69
Benchmark_CapNProto_Unmarshal-16	1210761	896 ns/op	96	192	1.09	11623	4.67
Benchmark_CapNProto2_Marshal-16	480901	2187 ns/op	96	1452	1.05	4616	1.51
Benchmark_CapNProto2_Unmarshal-16	1365840	770 ns/op	96	272	1.05	13112	2.83
Benchmark_Hprose_Marshal-16	2070277	522 ns/op	85	403	1.08	17655	1.30
Benchmark_Hprose_Unmarshal-16	748009	1667 ns/op	85	303	1.25	6378	5.50
Benchmark_Hprose2_Marshal-16	4282826	253 ns/op	85	0	1.09	36519	0.00
Benchmark_Hprose2_Unmarshal-16	1670266	752 ns/op	85	136	1.26	14240	5.53
Benchmark_Protobuf_Marshal-16	1000000	1025 ns/op	52	144	1.02	5200	7.12
Benchmark_Protobuf_Unmarshal-16	1189854	1439 ns/op	52	184	1.71	6187	7.82
Benchmark_Pulsar_Marshal-16	974084	1166 ns/op	51	304	1.14	5033	3.84
Benchmark_Pulsar_Unmarshal-16	1195524	1136 ns/op	51	256	1.36	6166	4.44
Benchmark_Gogoprotobuf_Marshal-16	5046446	239 ns/op	53	64	1.21	26746	3.74
Benchmark_Gogoprotobuf_Unmarshal-16	3007797	352 ns/op	53	96	1.06	15941	3.67
Benchmark_Gogojsonpb_Marshal-16	71272	15293 ns/op	126	3121	1.09	899	4.90
Benchmark_Gogojsonpb_Unmarshal-16	54970	22405 ns/op	125	3378	1.23	691	6.63
Benchmark_Colfer_Marshal-16	9342464	157 ns/op	51	64	1.47	47739	2.45
Benchmark_Colfer_Unmarshal-16	3477394	292 ns/op	49	112	1.02	17039	2.61
Benchmark_Gencode_Marshal-16	6034485	204 ns/op	53	80	1.23	31982	2.55
Benchmark_Gencode_Unmarshal-16	5354996	322 ns/op	53	112	1.73	28381	2.88
Benchmark_GencodeUnsafe_Marshal-16	6939962	165 ns/op	46	48	1.15	31923	3.45
Benchmark_GencodeUnsafe_Unmarshal-16	5896057	223 ns/op	46	96	1.32	27121	2.32
Benchmark_XDR2_Marshal-16	4457760	259 ns/op	60	64	1.15	26746	4.05
Benchmark_XDR2_Unmarshal-16	5318547	206 ns/op	60	32	1.10	31911	6.46
Benchmark_GoAvro_Marshal-16	265651	4044 ns/op	47	728	1.07	1248	5.55
Benchmark_GoAvro_Unmarshal-16	131302	9988 ns/op	47	2544	1.31	617	3.93
Benchmark_GoAvro2Text_Marshal-16	198501	5475 ns/op	133	1320	1.09	2653	4.15
Benchmark_GoAvro2Text_Unmarshal-16	285451	4918 ns/op	133	736	1.40	3819	6.68
Benchmark_GoAvro2Binary_Marshal-16	775006	1516 ns/op	47	464	1.17	3642	3.27
Benchmark_GoAvro2Binary_Unmarshal-16	946983	1169 ns/op	47	544	1.11	4450	2.15
Benchmark_Ikea_Marshal-16	1000000	1125 ns/op	55	184	1.12	5500	6.11
Benchmark_Ikea_Unmarshal-16	1438875	933 ns/op	55	160	1.34	7913	5.83
Benchmark_ShamatonMapMsgpack_Marshal-16	1482009	828 ns/op	92	192	1.23	13634	4.32
Benchmark_ShamatonMapMsgpack_Unmarshal-16	1399692	812 ns/op	92	168	1.14	12877	4.84
Benchmark_ShamatonArrayMsgpack_Marshal-16	1529468	719 ns/op	50	160	1.10	7647	4.50
Benchmark_ShamatonArrayMsgpack_Unmarshal-16	1764112	675 ns/op	50	168	1.19	8820	4.02
Benchmark_ShamatonMapMsgpackgen_Marshal-16	4684315	245 ns/op	92	96	1.15	43095	2.56
Benchmark_ShamatonMapMsgpackgen_Unmarshal-16	2481304	486 ns/op	92	112	1.21	22827	4.34
Benchmark_ShamatonArrayMsgpackgen_Marshal-16	5872029	179 ns/op	50	64	1.06	29360	2.81
Benchmark_ShamatonArrayMsgpackgen_Unmarshal-16	4249507	265 ns/op	50	112	1.13	21247	2.37
Benchmark_SSZNoTimeNoStringNoFloatA_Marshal-16	390163	4420 ns/op	55	440	1.72	2145	10.05
Benchmark_SSZNoTimeNoStringNoFloatA_Unmarshal-16	141002	7252 ns/op	55	1184	1.02	775	6.12
Benchmark_Bebop_Marshal-16	7579790	153 ns/op	55	64	1.16	41688	2.40
Benchmark_Bebop_Unmarshal-16	9232676	127 ns/op	55	32	1.18	50779	4.00
Benchmark_FastJson_Marshal-16	1000000	1216 ns/op	133	504	1.22	13369	2.41
Benchmark_FastJson_Unmarshal-16	734396	1536 ns/op	133	1704	1.13	9818	0.90
Benchmark_MUS_Marshal-16	8805204	125 ns/op	46	48	1.10	40503	2.61
Benchmark_MUS_Unmarshal-16	7109659	181 ns/op	46	32	1.29	32704	5.68
Benchmark_MUSUnsafe_Marshal-16	12780822	111 ns/op	49	64	1.43	62626	1.74
Benchmark_MUSUnsafe_Unmarshal-16	37978525	30 ns/op	49	0	1.16	186094	0.00

Totals:

benchmark	iter	time/iter	bytes/op	allocs/op	tt.sec	tt.kb	ns/alloc
Benchmark_MUSUnsafe_-16	50759347	142 ns/op	98	64	7.21	497441	2.22
Benchmark_Bebop_-16	16812466	281 ns/op	110	96	4.73	184937	2.93
Benchmark_MUS_-16	15914863	307 ns/op	92	80	4.89	146416	3.84
Benchmark_GencodeUnsafe_-16	12836019	388 ns/op	92	144	4.99	118091	2.70
Benchmark_ShamatonArrayMsgpackgen_-16	10121536	445 ns/op	100	176	4.51	101215	2.53
Benchmark_Colfer_-16	12819858	449 ns/op	100	176	5.77	128326	2.56
Benchmark_XDR2_-16	9776307	465 ns/op	120	96	4.55	117315	4.85
Benchmark_Gencode_-16	11389481	527 ns/op	106	192	6.00	120728	2.75
Benchmark_Gogoprotobuf_-16	8054243	592 ns/op	106	160	4.77	85374	3.70
Benchmark_Msgp_-16	7561176	709 ns/op	194	240	5.36	146686	2.96
Benchmark_ShamatonMapMsgpackgen_-16	7165619	731 ns/op	184	208	5.24	131847	3.52
Benchmark_Hprose2_-16	5953092	1006 ns/op	170	136	5.99	101518	7.40
Benchmark_Gotiny_-16	6003698	1010 ns/op	95	280	6.07	57629	3.61
Benchmark_GotinyNoTime_-16	5429238	1060 ns/op	96	264	5.76	52120	4.02
Benchmark_ShamatonArrayMsgpack_-16	3293580	1395 ns/op	100	328	4.59	32935	4.25
Benchmark_ShamatonMapMsgpack_-16	2881701	1641 ns/op	184	360	4.73	53023	4.56
Benchmark_FlatBuffers_-16	3784686	1718 ns/op	190	488	6.50	72030	3.52
Benchmark_Ikea_-16	2438875	2058 ns/op	110	344	5.02	26827	5.98
Benchmark_Hprose_-16	2818286	2189 ns/op	170	706	6.17	48065	3.10
Benchmark_Pulsar_-16	2169608	2302 ns/op	103	560	4.99	22401	4.11
Benchmark_JsonIter_-16	1897181	2307 ns/op	282	416	4.38	53614	5.55
Benchmark_Protobuf_-16	2189854	2464 ns/op	104	328	5.40	22774	7.51
Benchmark_EasyJson_-16	2041213	2641 ns/op	303	1008	5.39	61930	2.62
Benchmark_GoAvro2Binary_-16	1721989	2685 ns/op	94	1008	4.62	16186	2.66
Benchmark_VmihailencoMsgpack_-16	1609669	2701 ns/op	184	424	4.35	29617	6.37
Benchmark_FastJson_-16	1734396	2752 ns/op	267	2208	4.77	46377	1.25
Benchmark_CapNProto2_-16	1846741	2957 ns/op	192	1724	5.46	35457	1.72
Benchmark_Bson_-16	1471431	3346 ns/op	220	600	4.92	32371	5.58
Benchmark_XDR_-16	1363063	3560 ns/op	184	671	4.85	25080	5.31
Benchmark_MongoBson_-16	1247625	3665 ns/op	220	648	4.57	27447	5.66
Benchmark_UgorjiCodecMsgpack_-16	1529971	3702 ns/op	182	1928	5.66	27845	1.92
Benchmark_CapNProto_-16	1641057	3908 ns/op	192	4584	6.41	31508	0.85
Benchmark_UgorjiCodecBinc_-16	1125217	4008 ns/op	190	1944	4.51	21379	2.06
Benchmark_Binary_-16	904537	5072 ns/op	122	680	4.59	11035	7.46
Benchmark_Json_-16	1327462	5470 ns/op	303	559	7.26	40248	9.79
Benchmark_Sereal_-16	496960	9826 ns/op	264	1808	4.88	13119	5.43
Benchmark_GoAvro2Text_-16	483952	10393 ns/op	267	2056	5.03	12945	5.05
Benchmark_SSZNoTimeNoStringNoFloatA_-16	531165	11672 ns/op	110	1624	6.20	5842	7.19
Benchmark_GoAvro_-16	396953	14032 ns/op	94	3272	5.57	3731	4.29
Benchmark_Gogojsonpb_-16	126242	37698 ns/op	252	6499	4.76	3181	5.80
Benchmark_Gob_-16	238824	39870 ns/op	327	9384	9.52	7816	4.25

Issues

The benchmarks can also be run with validation enabled.

VALIDATE=1 go test -bench='.*' ./

Unfortunately, several of the serializers exhibit issues:

1. (minor) BSON drops sub-microsecond precision from time.Time.
2. (minor) Ugorji Binc Codec drops the timezone name (eg. "EST" -> "-0500") from time.Time.

--- FAIL: BenchmarkBsonUnmarshal-8
    serialization_benchmarks_test.go:115: unmarshaled object differed:
        &{20b999e3621bd773 2016-01-19 14:05:02.469416459 -0800 PST f017c8e9de 4 true 0.20887343719329818}
        &{20b999e3621bd773 2016-01-19 14:05:02.469 -0800 PST f017c8e9de 4 true 0.20887343719329818}
--- FAIL: BenchmarkUgorjiCodecBincUnmarshal-8
    serialization_benchmarks_test.go:115: unmarshaled object differed:
        &{20a1757ced6b488e 2016-01-19 14:05:15.69474534 -0800 PST 71f3bf4233 0 false 0.8712180830484527}
        &{20a1757ced6b488e 2016-01-19 14:05:15.69474534 -0800 -0800 71f3bf4233 0 false 0.8712180830484527}

All other fields are correct however.

Additionally, while not a correctness issue, FlatBuffers, ProtoBuffers, Cap'N'Proto and ikeapack do not support time types directly. In the benchmarks an int64 value is used to hold a UnixNano timestamp.

3. (major) Goprotobuf has been disabled in the above, as it is no longer maintained and is incompatible with the latest changes to Google's Protobuf package. See discussions: 1, 2.

panic: protobuf tag not enough fields in ProtoBufA.state:

goroutine 148 [running]:
github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto.(*unmarshalInfo).computeUnmarshalInfo(0xc0000d9c20)
	/home/ken/src/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gogo/protobuf@v1.3.2/proto/table_unmarshal.go:341 +0x135f
github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto.(*unmarshalInfo).unmarshal(0xc0000d9c20, {0xcff820?}, {0xc000122fc0, 0x35, 0x35})
	/home/ken/src/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gogo/protobuf@v1.3.2/proto/table_unmarshal.go:138 +0x67
github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto.(*InternalMessageInfo).Unmarshal(0xc00013a8c0?, {0xe6d5f0, 0xc000114060}, {0xc000122fc0?, 0x35?, 0x35?})
	/home/ken/src/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gogo/protobuf@v1.3.2/proto/table_unmarshal.go:63 +0xd0
github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto.(*Buffer).Unmarshal(0xc00009fe28, {0xe6d5f0, 0xc000114060})
	/home/ken/src/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gogo/protobuf@v1.3.2/proto/decode.go:424 +0x153
github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto.Unmarshal({0xc000122fc0, 0x35, 0x35}, {0xe6d5f0, 0xc000114060})
	/home/ken/src/go/pkg/mod/github.com/gogo/protobuf@v1.3.2/proto/decode.go:342 +0xe6
github.com/alecthomas/go_serialization_benchmarks.Benchmark_Goprotobuf_Unmarshal(0xc0000d5680)
	/home/ken/src/go/src/github.com/alecthomas/go_serialization_benchmarks/serialization_benchmarks_test.go:853 +0x26a
testing.(*B).runN(0xc0000d5680, 0x1)
	/usr/local/go/src/testing/benchmark.go:193 +0x102
testing.(*B).run1.func1()
	/usr/local/go/src/testing/benchmark.go:233 +0x59
created by testing.(*B).run1
	/usr/local/go/src/testing/benchmark.go:226 +0x9c
exit status 2
FAIL	github.com/alecthomas/go_serialization_benchmarks	61.159s