JWT decode benchmarks: the full matrix¶

Generated 2026-10-10 from bench/results-matrix/ by bench/compare.py, on Neoverse-N2 (aarch64), Linux. Run in Docker, one container per library, each limited to 1 CPU (pinned) and 500 MB with no swap; the JWKS server runs in a container of its own, outside that limit. Each case gets 1,000 untimed decodes, then 10,000 timed. Runtimes: Bun 1.3.14, CPython 3.14.8, Rust (release, LTO).

Each decode verifies the signature and checks exp and aud, as a real caller would, and each library's result is checked against the token's claims before timing. Times are µs per decode: the mean over 10,000 decodes of the same token, after 1,000 untimed (lower is better); (Nx) is the speed-up vs pyjwt 2.15.1. Fastest per row in bold; n/a where the library can't (see the end).

Key sources: an HMAC secret (HS256 only); a PEM public key, parsed once; a JWKS document of 3 keys, the signing key in the middle, picked by the token's kid; and that document fetched over HTTPS from a JWKS server (static-web-server, in its own container), timed in the steady state with the keys cached.

Headline: typical token, medium key¶

HMAC secret¶

PEM public key¶

JWKS document¶

JWKS URL, sync client¶

JWKS URL, async client¶

pyjwt 2.15.1 has no async JWKS client: speed-ups are vs its sync one.

First fetch from a JWKS URL¶

Milliseconds from a fresh client to its first decode: connect, TLS handshake, GET the JWKS, parse it, verify (typical token, RSA 3072). The median of 5 fresh clients, each on a new connection.

Not applicable¶

• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → struct, every key source, ES512: jsonwebtoken has no ES512 (P-521).
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → struct, JWKS URL, sync client: jsonwebtoken doesn't fetch JWKS URLs (it takes your own HTTP client and cache).
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → struct, JWKS URL, async client: jsonwebtoken doesn't fetch JWKS URLs (it takes your own HTTP client and cache).
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → Value, every key source, ES512: jsonwebtoken has no ES512 (P-521).
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → Value, JWKS URL, sync client: jsonwebtoken doesn't fetch JWKS URLs (it takes your own HTTP client and cache).
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → Value, JWKS URL, async client: jsonwebtoken doesn't fetch JWKS URLs (it takes your own HTTP client and cache).
• fast-jwt 6.3.3, JWKS URL, sync client: fast-jwt's JWKS support (get-jwks) is async only.
• fast-jwt 6.3.3, JWKS URL, async client, EdDSA: get-jwks converts JWKs with jwk-to-pem, which doesn't support OKP (Ed25519) keys.
• joserfc 1.7.5, JWKS URL, sync client: joserfc has no JWKS URL client.
• joserfc 1.7.5, JWKS URL, async client: joserfc has no JWKS URL client.
• jose 6.2.12, JWKS URL, sync client: jose's API is async only.
• pyjwt 2.15.1, JWKS URL, async client: PyJWT has no async JWKS client.

Notes¶

• ryjwt 0.1.1 → Struct: SecretKey, PublicKey, PublicKey.from_jwks, JWKSClient.decode and .adecode.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → Struct: JWKS URL: trusting the test CA through SSL_CERT_FILE.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → dict (msgspec): SecretKey, PublicKey, PublicKey.from_jwks, JWKSClient.decode and .adecode.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → dict (msgspec): JWKS URL: trusting the test CA through SSL_CERT_FILE.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → dict (jiter): SecretKey, PublicKey, PublicKey.from_jwks, JWKSClient.decode and .adecode.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → dict (jiter): JWKS URL: trusting the test CA through SSL_CERT_FILE.
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → struct: JWKS: each key turned into a DecodingKey once, picked per token by kid (decode_header).
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → struct: claims decoded into typed structs with the fields ryjwt's msgspec lane decodes; other claims ignored.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → BaseModel: SecretKey, PublicKey, PublicKey.from_jwks, JWKSClient.decode and .adecode.
• ryjwt 0.1.1 → BaseModel: JWKS URL: trusting the test CA through SSL_CERT_FILE.
• jsonwebtoken 11.1.0 (aws-lc-rs) → Value: JWKS: each key turned into a DecodingKey once, picked per token by kid (decode_header).
• fast-jwt 6.3.3: JWKS document: a verifier per key, made once, picked by the token's kid (read with createDecoder).
• fast-jwt 6.3.3: JWKS URL rows are fast-jwt + get-jwks 11.0.3 (fast-jwt's documented integration), so they time both: on every verify get-jwks converts the cached JWK to a PEM (with jwk-to-pem) and fast-jwt imports that PEM (createPublicKey), which is why they're slow.
• joserfc 1.7.5: jwt.decode(token, key, algorithms=[...]), then JWTClaimsRegistry(exp=..., aud=...).validate(token.claims), both essential.
• joserfc 1.7.5: keys imported once (OctKey, RSAKey, ECKey, OKPKey); JWKS document: a KeySet, which picks the key by kid.
• joserfc 1.7.5: EdDSA: joserfc warns on every decode (SecurityWarning: RFC 9864 deprecates EdDSA), as it does by default.
• jose 6.2.12: HMAC secret imported once (crypto.subtle.importKey); importSPKI, createLocalJWKSet, createRemoteJWKSet.
• pyjwt 2.15.1: PEM: the key loaded once, with load_pem_public_key.
• pyjwt 2.15.1: JWKS document: PyJWKSet, picking the key by get_unverified_header's kid.
• pyjwt 2.15.1: JWKS URL: PyJWKClient(cache_keys=True), its ssl_context trusting the test CA.