Geekbench Has a Free API — Benchmark Any CPU Without Running Tests Yourself

#api #cloud #performance #discuss

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!

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