With the release of BoxLang 1.7, our primary focus has been on improving the performance of our parser and bytecode generation pipeline. This article presents a comparison of BoxLang’s compilation performance against the current CFML engines. Future benchmarks will include other languages under similar workloads, but our immediate goal is to deliver measurable performance improvements to the CFML ecosystem, helping organizations achieve greater efficiency while preserving their existing technology investments, and provide to them a modern alternative and future.
Compiler Results
We ran head-to-head tests against Adobe ColdFusion 2025 and Lucee 6.2.2, compiling the entire ColdBox framework (about 200 files). Here's what we found:
BoxLang vs. Adobe CF 2025
- BoxLang: 5,310ms
- Adobe CF: 76,601ms
- Result: BoxLang is 14x faster 🚀
Yeah, you read that right. Fourteen times faster than Adobe. That's not a typo.
BoxLang vs. Lucee 6.2.2
- BoxLang: 2,230ms
- Lucee: 5,865ms
- Result: BoxLang is 2.6x faster 🔥
Application performance depends on many factors. This benchmark focuses solely on first-hit performance—the speed of compiling your code. We’ll publish runtime performance numbers soon, but consider this our first installment. Our goal is to make BoxLang as fast as possible across every dimension. We already hold an edge over Lucee and are leaving Adobe CF far behind in this area.
Why Should You Care?
Look, we know "compilation performance" sounds like one of those technical specs that only engineers get excited about. But here's the thing—it actually matters a lot for your day-to-day work:
- Faster development cycles: Your code changes compile instantly, keeping you in the flow
- Lightning-quick deployments: Push to production without the painful wait
- Better developer experience: Nobody likes watching loading spinners
- Massive apps? No problem: The bigger your codebase, the more these gains compound
When you're dealing with enterprise applications that have thousands of files, these performance improvements aren't just nice to have—they're game-changers. Especially since with ColdBox, our compiler is a first-class citizen. We want developers to publish their applications in byte-code format.
We're Showing Our Work
We're not just throwing numbers at you and hoping you believe us. The entire test harness is available on GitHub for you to run yourself.
All tests were run on the same hardware (24-core i9, 64GB RAM, SSD) with Java 21, using cold-start scenarios with cleared caches. We ran each test three times and averaged the results. This is as apples-to-apples as it gets.
This Is Just the Beginning
Remember when we announced that BoxLang's Query of Queries was 5x faster than Lucee and 17x faster than Adobe? This is part of the same story. We're committed to making BoxLang the fastest JVM language out there, period.
And we're not stopping here. Runtime performance benchmarks are coming soon, and we're continuing to optimize every aspect of the platform. Our TechEmpower benchmarks are coming and this will show how BoxLang stacks against Python, PHP, CFML, etc.
Ready to Experience the Speed?
BoxLang gives you 100% Java interoperability, modern language features, and now industry-leading performance—all while keeping the CFML syntax you already know.
Whether you're maintaining legacy applications or building new ones, BoxLang delivers the performance your applications needs.
Want to see what BoxLang can do for your team? Check out our plans and give your development workflow the upgrade it's been waiting for.
📚 Resources
- Try BoxLang Online
- Complete Release Notes
- BoxLang Documentation
- BoxLang+ Subscription Plans
- GitHub Repository
Download
Please visit our download page or our quick installation guides to upgrade your installation.
Professional Open Source
BoxLang is a professional open-source product, with three different licences:
- Open-Source Apache2
- BoxLang +
- BoxLang ++
BoxLang is free, open-source software under the Apache 2.0 license. We encourage and support community contributions. BoxLang+ and BoxLang ++ are commercial versions offering support and enterprise features. Our licensing model is based on fairness and the golden rule: Do to others as you want them to do to you. No hidden pricing or pricing on cores, RAM, SaaS, multi-domain or ridiculous ways to get your money. Transparent and fair.
Join us and redefine development on the JVM Ready to learn more? Explore BoxLang's Features, Documentation, and Community.
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