Bonnie++ review
A focused Linux benchmark for sequential, random, and filesystem operation testing.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Bonnie++ is an open-source command-line benchmark suite for testing hard-drive and filesystem performance on Linux. It is suited to technical users who want direct control over benchmark workloads and result output. The suite measures sequential file output and input, file rewriting, random seeks, and file creation, metadata, and deletion operations. It also reports throughput, CPU usage, and per-second operation rates. Bonnie++ is available as a free, open-source product rather than a tiered commercial service.
Its main strength is workload coverage within a command-line workflow. The published feature set includes sequential file benchmarks, rewrite testing, random seek testing, and file create, stat, and unlink tests. Direct I/O is available for bulk tests, while multi-process synchronization supports coordinated test runs. Results can be emitted as plain text for quick inspection or CSV for downstream analysis, making the tool practical for repeatable command-line measurement and comparison.
Bonnie++ is a focused choice rather than a broad, cross-platform disk testing application. Its supported platform is Linux, and it does not provide verified latency measurement. Tests should not be run on live production machines: they may severely affect system performance and consume disk space or inodes. Choose Bonnie++ when Linux filesystem behavior, sequential I/O, random seeks, and file operations are the priority. Choose an alternative when wider platform coverage or dedicated latency analysis matters more.
Bonnie++ pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Covers sequential I/O, rewriting, random seeks, and file operations
- Exports results as plain text or CSV for analysis
- Supports direct I/O and multi-process synchronization
- Where it doesn't
- Platform support is limited to Linux
- Running tests can consume disk space and affect system performance
- Does not provide verified latency measurement
Bonnie++ fact sheet, pricing and score →
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