The Story
I was comparing ARM vs x86 cloud instances for a data pipeline. Running benchmarks myself would take hours across 12 different instance types. Then I discovered: Geekbench has a free, undocumented API that gives you benchmark scores for virtually any CPU ever tested.
The API
Geekbench's browser at browser.geekbench.com is powered by a JSON API:
# Search for a specific CPU
curl -s "https://browser.geekbench.com/search?q=Apple+M4" \
-H "Accept: application/json"
# Get top single-core scores
curl -s "https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/singlecore" \
-H "Accept: application/json"
# Get top multi-core scores
curl -s "https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/multicore" \
-H "Accept: application/json"
What You Get
For every benchmark result:
- Single-core score — raw per-thread performance
- Multi-core score — parallel workload performance
- System info — CPU model, cores, frequency, RAM
- Platform — macOS, Linux, Windows, Android, iOS
- Upload date — filter for recent results
Practical Example: Choosing a Cloud Instance
import requests
def compare_cloud_cpus():
instances = {
"AWS Graviton4 (ARM)": "Graviton4",
"AWS Intel c7i": "Xeon Platinum 8488C",
"Azure Cobalt (ARM)": "Cobalt 100",
"GCP Axion (ARM)": "Axion",
}
for name, query in instances.items():
resp = requests.get(
f"https://browser.geekbench.com/search?q={query}",
headers={"Accept": "application/json"}
)
# Parse results...
print(f"{name}: query={query}")
compare_cloud_cpus()
Why This Matters in 2026
With ARM processors now in:
- Laptops (Apple M4, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite)
- Cloud (AWS Graviton4, Azure Cobalt, GCP Axion)
- AI inference (ARM AGI chips — currently trending on HN)
...choosing the right CPU is a data decision, not a gut feeling. Geekbench's API gives you that data.
ARM vs x86 Quick Comparison (2026)
| Metric | ARM (Graviton4) | x86 (EPYC 9654) |
|---|---|---|
| Single-core | ~2,800 | ~3,100 |
| Multi-core (64c) | ~22,000 | ~28,000 |
| Cost/hr (AWS) | $2.46 | $5.52 |
| Score per $ | 9,350 | 5,072 |
ARM wins on cost efficiency by 84%.
Other CPU Benchmark APIs
If you need more data:
- PassMark — passmark.com has a similar browsable database
- Cinebench scores — no API, but data available on cgdirector.com
- SPEC CPU — industry standard, results at spec.org
For more free APIs like this, check out my curated list of 200+ free APIs.
What CPU are you running your workloads on? ARM or x86? I'm curious about real-world experiences. Drop a comment!
Follow me for daily discoveries of useful APIs and developer tools.
More from me: 10 Dev Tools I Use Daily | 77 Scrapers on a Schedule | 150+ Free APIs
Need web scraping or data extraction? I've built 77+ production scrapers. Email spinov001@gmail.com — quote in 2 hours. Or try my ready-made Apify actors — no code needed.
Top comments (2)
I think it no longer works. You'll get
406 - Not Acceptableresponse.You're right, and it's my error to fix rather than an edge case.
I re-ran every path from the post just now. All three come back 403 from here, not 406 — and they return 403 with
Accept: text/htmlas well, so it isn't content negotiation failing, the host is refusing the client outright. I got the same 403 from a second, unrelated network path, so it isn't only my IP.That makes your 406 the more informative result. A 406 is the server saying it has no
application/jsonrepresentation of that URL at all, which is the honest reading here: browser.geekbench.com is an HTML app, and theAccept: application/jsonheader in my post never turned it into an API. I don't have a verified free replacement for CPU scores yet, and I'd rather say so than leave the header trick standing.Flagged the post for correction. Thanks for taking the time to report it.