02 — Framework · Failure mode

Benchmarking the demo instead of the workload

Selection is driven by published throughput numbers on a trivial program. The real workload is dominated by foreign-field arithmetic or a hash loop with a completely different cost profile, and peak memory — not wall-clock time — turns out to decide feasibility.

By MarketComp Updated 2026-09-12 v1.3 About the authors Changelog

Mitigation

Prototype your most expensive component in the top candidates and measure prover time, peak RAM and cost per proof on the hardware you will actually rent.

Cite this page

MarketComp (2026). Benchmarking the demo instead of the workload. The ZK Field Manual (Version 1.3). MarketComp. https://zkpick.com/frameworks/failure-modes/benchmarking-the-demo-instead-of-the-workload/

@misc{zkfieldmanual-benchmarking-the-demo-instead-of-the-wor,
  title        = {Benchmarking the demo instead of the workload — The ZK Field Manual},
  author       = {MarketComp},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.3},
  howpublished = {\url{https://zkpick.com/frameworks/failure-modes/benchmarking-the-demo-instead-of-the-workload/}},
  note         = {Accessed: YYYY-MM-DD}
}