Rust vs C: How Do They Really Stack Up?

How do you actually benchmark two different programming languages?
Not opinions.
Not hype.
Not what’s trending on social media.
Real data.

Today we take one of the most requested comparisons in software engineering — C vs Rust — and test them the only way that matters: by measuring the executables they produce, not the compilers themselves.

To do this right, we pulled out a set of legendary benchmarks developed and maintained for decades by engineer Roy Longbottom, whose work shaped how entire generations of programmers evaluated their systems. Roy’s suite allows us to test speed, accuracy, data integrity, pointer behavior, math stability, and memory throughput — everything a real language comparison needs.

Benchmarks Included
• Dhrystone — pointer-heavy, string-heavy, logic-heavy
• Whetstone — floating-point and math operations
• MemSpeed — memory throughput, scaling, and stalls
• Mandelbrot — algorithmic complexity and numerical accuracy
• Livermore Loops (coming soon) — the ultimate compiler stress test

This isn’t a “Rust good, C bad” conversation.
It’s not a “C forever, Rust is slow” argument.
It’s an engineering evaluation of actual performance and correctness.

Why This Matters

Rust is the new darling of systems programming.
C is the old warhorse that still powers the world.
Everyone has an opinion — but almost nobody brings data.

And when you measure correctly…
data wins.

Stick around to see what really happens when C and Rust go head-to-head in a fair fight.
And yes, at the end, we talk about the Rust-based OS you haven’t tried yet—Redox OS.

Roy Longbotom Website: http://www.roylongbottom.org.uk/
Mandelbrot Game: https://benchmarksgame-team.pages.deb...

Table of Contents
00:00 - Initial
00:47 - Different Program Language Testing
02:48 - C and Rust Test Methdology
04:07 - Dhrystone
04:30 - Whettones
05:07 - Mandelbrot
05:38 - Dhrystones Test
06:58 - Whetstone Test
08:12 - memspeed Test
09:18 - Mandelbrot Test
11:27 - What else is Needed?
12:01 - So What Happens if We match OS to Rust?
12:37 - Redox OS, a Rust OS
17:36 - Final Thoughts
19:32 - Livermoor Loops