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What the benchmark found
In a comparison published September 15, 2025, Phoronix tested Ubuntu 24.04 under WSL2 on Windows 11 Pro 25H2 against Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS installed directly on the same computer. Across more than 50 benchmarks, WSL2 reached a geometric mean of 87% of bare-metal Ubuntu performance. The aggregate favored bare metal, though it does not mean every individual task ran 13% slower in WSL2.
The result is best read as evidence that WSL2 can deliver performance close to native Linux for many tasks, while still leaving a measurable overall gap in this test. Phoronix attributed much of the difference to workloads involving I/O. The report describes default configurations rather than a tuned WSL2 setup. See Phoronix’s test methodology and results.
How the test was configured
Both operating systems ran on the same hardware: an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB Crucial T705 PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD. The comparison used Ubuntu 24.04 in WSL2 with Windows 11 Pro 25H2, and Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS on bare metal. Phoronix reported that both operating systems and WSL were at their defaults.
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That controls for hardware differences within this comparison, but it does not make the result universal. Different processors, Windows or WSL releases, Linux distributions, storage, file locations, and configuration choices can change the outcome. The 87% figure is a geometric mean across this benchmark set, not a promise for a particular application or a population-wide estimate.
Performance depends on the workload
Large builds and I/O-intensive work
Larger, more I/O-intensive source builds took longer under WSL2 in the reported tests. LLVM compilation showed a more noticeable impact than smaller projects; the report’s published results also showed bare-metal Ubuntu fastest in the displayed LLVM, PHP, and Wasmer compilation cases. For build-heavy development, this makes both the project’s size and where its files live important parts of the comparison. Review the compilation results.
Cryptography and light scripting
WSL2 was faster in several of the listed OpenSSL algorithm tests. The aggregate results also note WSL2 ahead of bare metal in light, single-threaded PHP and Python scripting. Those wins do not overturn the suite’s overall result; they show why “WSL2 speed” cannot be reduced to one workload or a single blanket claim.
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GPU workloads
GPU results need separate interpretation because WSL does not use the same GPU path as native Linux. Microsoft’s FAQ says GPU access in WSL routes through the Windows GPU using /dev/dxg. A WSL GPU benchmark therefore measures that WSL/Windows route, not an identical native-Linux software path. Read Microsoft’s WSL FAQ.
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WSL2 runs Linux in a managed lightweight virtual machine with a full Linux kernel. Microsoft identifies performance across operating-system file systems as an exception in its WSL version comparison and advises keeping project files on the same operating system as the tools that work on them. For Linux tools running in WSL2, keep active project files in the WSL Linux filesystem rather than repeatedly accessing them through a Windows-mounted path when filesystem performance matters. Microsoft’s WSL version comparison explains the cross-filesystem caveat.
This is practical guidance about the boundary between Windows and Linux filesystems; it is not evidence that every project stored in WSL’s filesystem will run at bare-metal speed. Results still depend on the workload and the particular setup.
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Is WSL2 as fast as Ubuntu installed directly?
Not consistently, based on the available direct comparison. On the tested Ryzen 9 9950X3D system, default Ubuntu 24.04 in WSL2 averaged 87% of the bare-metal Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS result across more than 50 benchmarks. Some tasks favored WSL2, while large I/O-intensive builds contributed to the overall gap.
Microsoft’s statement that WSL2 “outperforms WSL 1 in several ways” compares WSL2 with WSL1, not with bare-metal Ubuntu. It also calls out the cross-operating-system filesystem performance exception. Keep those comparisons distinct when evaluating claims about WSL2 speed.
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Quick Recap
How to apply the results to your own workflow
- For everyday Linux development: WSL2’s near-native aggregate result in this one test suggests it can be a practical option, but the benchmark does not predict every application’s performance.
- For large builds or frequent file operations: keep working files in the WSL Linux filesystem and measure your actual build or test workload.
- For cryptography or light scripting: do not assume bare metal always wins; some tests in those categories favored WSL2.
- For GPU work: account for WSL’s Windows-mediated GPU route rather than treating it as the same environment as native Linux.
- When comparing results: check the Windows, WSL, and Ubuntu versions, file location, hardware, and whether the systems are using default or tuned settings.
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