Benchmarks

Performance comparison between govalid and reflection-based validators

Performance Benchmarks

govalid is designed for maximum performance with zero allocations. Here are the latest benchmark results comparing govalid with reflection-based validators.

Latest Results

Benchmarked on: 2025-07-15
Platform: Darwin 24.5.0 arm64
Go version: go1.25-devel_a8e99ab19c

Raw Benchmark Data

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BenchmarkGoValidCELConcurrent-16             	1000000000	         0.09323 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidCELMultipleExpressions-16    	1000000000	         0.8409 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidCELCacheEffectiveness-16     	1000000000	         0.1015 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidCELBasic-16                  	618011162	         1.946 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidCELCrossField-16             	617148498	         1.953 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidCELStringLength-16           	605757344	         1.949 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidCELNumericComparison-16      	581620783	         2.036 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidEmail-16                     	31846465	        38.24 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundEmail-16                	 1840472	       649.4 ns/op	      90 B/op	       5 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorEmail-16                 	 1976113	       606.8 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkOzzoValidationEmail-16              	27997833	        44.04 ns/op	      24 B/op	       1 allocs/op
BenchmarkGookitValidateEmail-16              	  121108	     10481 ns/op	   16065 B/op	      74 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidEnum-16                      	539168131	         2.231 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidGT-16                        	609764490	         1.936 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundGT-16                   	19207836	        63.00 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorGT-16                    	21764314	        54.44 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidGTE-16                       	610084184	         1.946 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundGTE-16                  	19815618	        60.30 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidLT-16                        	626116629	         1.916 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundLT-16                   	19840449	        60.77 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidLTE-16                       	625070131	         1.969 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundLTE-16                  	19450260	        61.91 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidMaxItems-16                  	479873872	         2.520 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundMaxItems-16             	14759504	        80.30 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidMaxLength-16                 	77328928	        15.67 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundMaxLength-16            	16308603	        73.50 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorMaxLength-16             	 7367277	       161.6 ns/op	      32 B/op	       2 allocs/op
BenchmarkOzzoValidationMaxLength-16          	 6660802	       183.4 ns/op	     432 B/op	       4 allocs/op
BenchmarkGookitValidateMaxLength-16          	  115408	     10276 ns/op	   15632 B/op	      80 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidMinItems-16                  	428160852	         2.785 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundMinItems-16             	14833287	        79.81 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidMinLength-16                 	100000000	        11.60 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundMinLength-16            	17671692	        67.51 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorMinLength-16             	 7323378	       165.1 ns/op	      32 B/op	       2 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidRequired-16                  	623661589	         1.935 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundRequired-16             	13981681	        85.51 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorRequired-16              	625855254	         1.925 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkOzzoValidationRequired-16           	33811228	        34.91 ns/op	      24 B/op	       1 allocs/op
BenchmarkGookitValidateRequired-16           	  117372	     10089 ns/op	   15472 B/op	      72 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidURL-16                       	27992418	        42.54 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundURL-16                  	 4223242	       287.9 ns/op	     144 B/op	       1 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorURL-16                   	  149181	      7887 ns/op	     144 B/op	       1 allocs/op
BenchmarkOzzoValidationURL-16                	  153288	      7825 ns/op	     171 B/op	       2 allocs/op
BenchmarkGookitValidateURL-16                	  113994	      9850 ns/op	   15641 B/op	      75 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidUUID-16                      	32124428	        37.69 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoPlaygroundUUID-16                 	 4753952	       254.0 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkGoValidatorUUID-16                  	 6066202	       197.6 ns/op	       0 B/op	       0 allocs/op
BenchmarkOzzoValidationUUID-16               	 5034348	       238.0 ns/op	      24 B/op	       1 allocs/op
BenchmarkGookitValidateUUID-16               	  113701	     10603 ns/op	   15519 B/op	      74 allocs/op

Performance Comparison

vs go-playground/validator

Validator	govalid (ns/op)	go-playground/validator (ns/op)	Improvement	govalid Allocs	Competitor Allocs
Email	38.24ns	649.4	17.0x faster	0 allocs/op	5 allocs + 90 B/op
GT	1.936ns	63.00	32.5x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
GTE	1.946ns	60.30	31.0x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
LT	1.916ns	60.77	31.7x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
LTE	1.969ns	61.91	31.4x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
MaxItems	2.520ns	80.30	31.9x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
MaxLength	15.67ns	73.50	4.7x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
MinItems	2.785ns	79.81	28.7x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
MinLength	11.60ns	67.51	5.8x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
Required	1.935ns	85.51	44.2x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
URL	42.54ns	287.9	6.8x faster	0 allocs/op	1 allocs + 144 B/op
UUID	37.69ns	254.0	6.7x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
Enum	2.242ns	N/A (govalid exclusive)	govalid exclusive	0 allocs/op	N/A

vs go-validator/validator

Validator	govalid (ns/op)	go-validator/validator (ns/op)	Improvement	govalid Allocs	Competitor Allocs
Email	36.80ns	584.1	15.9x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
GT	1.825ns	53.57	29.4x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
MaxLength	15.58ns	155.7	10.0x faster	0 allocs/op	2 allocs + 32 B/op
MinLength	11.46ns	159.6	13.9x faster	0 allocs/op	2 allocs + 32 B/op
Required	1.914ns	1.929	1.0x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op
URL	41.68ns	7776	186.5x faster	0 allocs/op	1 allocs + 146 B/op
UUID	36.21ns	193.1	5.3x faster	0 allocs/op	0 allocs/op

vs ozzo-validation

Validator	govalid (ns/op)	ozzo-validation (ns/op)	Improvement	govalid Allocs	Competitor Allocs
Email	36.80ns	39.35	1.1x faster	0 allocs/op	1 allocs + 24 B/op
MaxLength	15.58ns	159.3	10.2x faster	0 allocs/op	4 allocs + 432 B/op
Required	1.914ns	33.69	17.6x faster	0 allocs/op	1 allocs + 24 B/op
URL	41.68ns	7739	185.6x faster	0 allocs/op	2 allocs + 170 B/op
UUID	36.21ns	231.5	6.4x faster	0 allocs/op	1 allocs + 24 B/op

vs gookit/validate

Validator	govalid (ns/op)	gookit/validate (ns/op)	Improvement	govalid Allocs	Competitor Allocs
Email	36.80ns	9559	259.8x faster	0 allocs/op	74 allocs + 15952 B/op
MaxLength	15.58ns	9125	585.5x faster	0 allocs/op	80 allocs + 15632 B/op
Required	1.914ns	8698	4543.1x faster	0 allocs/op	72 allocs + 15472 B/op
URL	41.68ns	9216	221.1x faster	0 allocs/op	75 allocs + 15641 B/op
UUID	36.21ns	9256	255.6x faster	0 allocs/op	74 allocs + 15514 B/op

Key Performance Insights

1. Zero Allocations

All govalid validators perform zero heap allocations, while competitors often allocate 0-5 objects per validation.

2. Sub-Nanosecond Efficiency

Simple validators (GT, LT, Required) execute in under 2ns, making them essentially free operations.

3. Complex Validation Optimization

Even complex validators like email and URL are optimized with:

Manual string parsing (no regex overhead)
Single-pass validation algorithms
Zero memory allocations

4. String Length Performance

Unicode-aware string validators are 4.8-6.0x faster despite proper UTF-8 handling.

govalid-Exclusive Features

Enum Validation

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// +govalid:enum=admin,user,guest
Role string

Performance: ~2.2ns with 0 allocations
No equivalent in go-playground/validator
Supports string, numeric, and custom types

Extended Collection Support

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// +govalid:maxitems=10
Items map[string]int  // Maps supported!

// +govalid:minitems=1
Channel chan string   // Channels supported!

Optimization Techniques

1. Code Generation

Compile-time validation functions (no runtime reflection)
Inlined simple operations for maximum speed
Direct field access with no interface overhead

2. External Helper Functions

Complex validators use optimized external functions for better performance.

3. Manual String Parsing

Character-by-character parsing instead of strings.Split
Direct indexing instead of strings.Contains
Single-pass algorithms for complex validation

4. Memory Optimization

Zero heap allocations across all validators
Stack-only operations for maximum cache efficiency
Minimal memory footprint in generated code

Running Benchmarks

To run benchmarks yourself:

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# Sync all benchmark documentation
make sync-benchmarks

# Run benchmarks manually
cd test
go test ./benchmark/ -bench=. -benchmem

Conclusion

govalid delivers exceptional performance improvements across all reflection-based validators:

Performance Improvements by Library

vs go-playground/validator: 4.8x to 44.8x faster
vs go-validator/validator: 1.0x to 186.5x faster
vs ozzo-validation: 1.1x to 185.6x faster
vs gookit/validate: 221.1x to 4543.1x faster

Additional Benefits

Zero allocations across all validators (vs 0-80 allocs for competitors)
Sub-3ns performance for simple operations
Extended type support (maps, channels, enums)
Production-ready with comprehensive test coverage

Choose govalid when performance matters and zero allocations are critical for your application’s success.