This repo is inspired by grandchildrice ZK-VMs benchmarks, based on a16z ZK-VM benchmarks. grandchildrice benchmarks focuses on ZK-VMs capable of executing Rust programs (Jolt, Nexus, OpenVM, Pico, RiscZero, SP1, ZKM), aiming at fairness in conditions on powerful machines. The current repo extends these to ZK-VMs targeting zkDSLs, namely CairoM, Noir ProveKit and Miden.
The goal of the current benchmarks is to compare ZK-VMs in a context of client-side proving on consumer devices: laptop and mobile. The on-chain verification is discarded and proof size is less important.
As the language used to define programs might not exactly have the same features, an applicative approach has been taken: the benchmarked program is the most optimized version for a given zkDSL/ZK-VM. For example, the fibonacci program will use the native field of the ZK-VM when doable.
| ZK-VM | Fibonacci | SHA256 |
|---|---|---|
| Cairo | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cairo0 | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cairo M | ✅ | ✅ |
| Miden | ✅ | ❌ |
| Noir ProveKit | ✅ | ❌ |
| OpenVM | ✅ | ✅ |
| RiscZero | ✅ | ✅ |
| SP1 | ✅ | ✅ |
| stark-v | ✅ | ❌ |
| Valida | ✅ | ✅ |
| ZKM | ✅ | ✅ |
The following ZK-VMs are yet to be adapted: Ceno, Jolt, Nexus, Noir Barretenberg, Pico
The following table lists the versions of the ZK-VMs used in these benchmarks and their release dates.
| ZK-VM | Version / Commit | Release Date | Repository |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo | stwo-cairo 4bf779d (main) |
Jan 2026 | starkware-libs/stwo-cairo |
| Cairo0 | cairo-vm v3.0.1 |
Dec 2025 | lambdaclass/cairo-vm |
| Cairo M | stwo v1.0.0 |
Nov 2025 | starkware-libs/stwo |
| Miden | 0.20.1 |
Dec 2025 | 0xMiden/miden-vm |
| Noir ProveKit | — | — | worldfnd/ProveKit |
| OpenVM | v1.4.2 |
Dec 8, 2025 | openvm-org/openvm |
| RiscZero | 3.0.4 |
Nov 24, 2025 | risc0/risc0 |
| SP1 | 5.2.4 |
Dec 15, 2025 | succinctlabs/sp1 |
| stark-v | main branch | Jan 2026 | AntoineFONDEUR/stark-v |
| Valida | 1.0.0 |
Sep 24, 2025 | lita-xyz/valida |
| ZKM | v1.2.3 |
Dec 10, 2025 | ProjectZKM/Ziren |
Benchmarks can be done on ARM64 (MacOS) and x86 architectures.
Install all required toolchains:
Either launch all benchmarks in a single command:
make bench-allOr launch benchmark for a given ZK-VM:
make bench-<cairo|cairo-m|miden|noir-provekit|openvm|risczero|sp1|stark-v|valida|zkm>Not all the benchmarked ZK-VMs are working with similar guest programs. To still compare the different projects, an applicative approach has been taken: the most optimized version of the guest program for a project is used.
The computation of the 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 and 100,000 terms of the Fibonacci sequence are benchmarked.
For fibonacci, the program requirements are loose so the native field of a ZK-VM can be used in zkDSL, avoiding range checks while still computing the n-th term of a fibonacci sequence.
To properly compare the various ZK-VM projects, all projects should have the same expected security level, expressed in bits. The following table summarizes the expected security level of the ZK-VMs in these benchmarks.
| ZK-VM | Security level (bits) | Security model docs |
|---|---|---|
| Cairo | 96 | link |
| Cairo M | 96 | link |
| Miden | 96 | link |
| Noir ProveKit | 128 | link |
| OpenVM | 100 | link1, link2 |
| RiscZero | 96 | link |
| SP1 | 100 | link1, link2, link3 |
| Valida | 48 | link |
| ZKM | 100 | link1, link2 |
For FRI-STARKs related ZK-VMs, the security level is conjectured based on proximity gap proofs and "Toy Problem" related to FRI . This means the soundness is not proven in the traditional cryptographic sense see paper.
The security level is tunable:
- By modifying the number of queries, increasing the proof size
- By modifying the number of PoW bits (grinding) slightly increasing the proving time.
- By modifying the blowup factor, greatly increasing the proving time.
The end-to-end (E2E) duration corresponds to a production context, where one executes the compiled program, and generate a proof from the runner output:
Results can be found here. Note that any process on your device can influence the results.
If there are inconsistencies, errors, or improvements, contributions are welcome.