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Free-for-all test set

Number of problems 28
Benchmark version 2.7.1
Date 2026-07-23 16:20:46.720828+00:00
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS w/ Radeon 780M Graphics
Run by @stephane-caron
Results file free_for_all.parquet
Results checksum bd181b93bf088a257d7ce5111d0b9cf002739e125a6c7b5bf9b990699b9911f8

Benchmark reports are copious as we aim to document comparison factors as much as possible. You can also jump to results directly.

Contents

Description

Community-built test set to benchmark QP solvers.

Solvers

solver version
clarabel 0.11.1
cvxopt 1.3.3
gurobi 13.0.2 (size-limited)
highs 1.15.1
kvxopt 1.3.3.1
osqp 1.1.3
piqp 0.6.3
proxqp 0.7.3
qpalm 1.2.6
scs 3.2.11
sip 0.0.2

All solvers were called via qpsolvers v4.13.0.

Results by settings

Default settings

Solvers are compared over the whole test set by shifted geometric mean (shm). Lower is better, 1.0 is the best.

Success rate (%) Runtime (shm) Primal residual (shm) Dual residual (shm) Duality gap (shm)
clarabel 92.9 2.4 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 67.9 6.6 1.0 1.0 1.0
gurobi 60.7 5.7 1.0 1.0 1.0
highs 67.9 3.5 1.0 20.3 1.0
kvxopt 75.0 12.4 1.0 1.0 1.0
osqp 78.6 1.9 1.0 3.1 1.0
piqp 100.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 75.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 92.9 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
scs 78.6 3.3 1.0 1.0 1.0
sip 89.3 1.6 1.0 1.0 1.0

High accuracy settings

Solvers are compared over the whole test set by shifted geometric mean (shm). Lower is better, 1.0 is the best.

Success rate (%) Runtime (shm) Primal residual (shm) Dual residual (shm) Duality gap (shm)
clarabel 92.9 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 17.9 3.3 1.0 1.0 99068.8
gurobi 25.0 2.8 1.0 2038629.1 408.7
highs 0.0 1.8 1.0 17777465770.7 17263445.2
kvxopt 17.9 6.2 1.0 1.0 99094.4
osqp 57.1 3.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
piqp 92.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 67.9 2.3 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 64.3 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.9
scs 71.4 1.7 1.1 1.0 1.0
sip 82.1 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.0

Low accuracy settings

Solvers are compared over the whole test set by shifted geometric mean (shm). Lower is better, 1.0 is the best.

Success rate (%) Runtime (shm) Primal residual (shm) Dual residual (shm) Duality gap (shm)
clarabel 92.9 2.8 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 64.3 8.6 1.0 1.0 1.0
gurobi 57.1 7.4 1.0 3.0 1.0
highs 53.6 3.2 1.0 17780.0 89.6
kvxopt 71.4 16.2 1.0 1.0 1.0
osqp 78.6 3.8 1.0 1.0 1.0
piqp 100.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 78.6 3.8 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 60.7 2.3 1.0 1.0 4.9
scs 78.6 4.1 1.0 1.0 1.0
sip 85.7 2.6 1.0 1.0 1.0

Mid accuracy settings

Solvers are compared over the whole test set by shifted geometric mean (shm). Lower is better, 1.0 is the best.

Success rate (%) Runtime (shm) Primal residual (shm) Dual residual (shm) Duality gap (shm)
clarabel 92.9 1.7 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 46.4 4.9 1.0 1.0 99.8
gurobi 53.6 4.2 1.0 2039.6 1.3
highs 14.3 2.6 1.0 17777500.3 17264.2
kvxopt 53.6 9.2 1.0 1.0 99.8
osqp 64.3 3.8 1.0 1.0 1.0
piqp 96.4 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 75.0 2.6 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 71.4 1.6 1.0 1.0 2.5
scs 75.0 2.6 1.0 1.0 1.0
sip 85.7 1.5 1.0 1.0 10.4

Results by metric

Success rate

Precentage of problems each solver is able to solve:

default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel 93 93 93 93
cvxopt 68 18 64 46
gurobi 61 25 57 54
highs 68 0 54 14
kvxopt 75 18 71 54
osqp 79 57 79 64
piqp 100 93 100 96
proxqp 75 68 79 75
qpalm 93 64 61 71
scs 79 71 79 75
sip 89 82 86 86

Rows are solvers and columns are settings. We consider that a solver successfully solved a problem when (1) it returned with a success status and (2) its solution satisfies optimality conditions within tolerance. The second table below summarizes the frequency at which solvers return success (1) and the corresponding solution did indeed pass tolerance checks.

Percentage of problems where "solved" return codes are correct:

default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel 100 100 100 100
cvxopt 100 50 96 79
gurobi 100 64 96 93
highs 93 25 71 39
kvxopt 100 43 96 79
osqp 93 100 100 100
piqp 100 100 100 100
proxqp 96 100 100 100
qpalm 100 82 71 86
scs 100 96 100 96
sip 100 100 96 96

Computation time

We compare solver computation times over the whole test set using the shifted geometric mean. Intuitively, a solver with a shifted-geometric-mean runtime of Y is Y times slower than the best solver over the test set. See Metrics for details.

Shifted geometric mean of solver computation times (1.0 is the best):

default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel 2.4 1.2 2.8 1.7
cvxopt 6.6 3.3 8.6 4.9
gurobi 5.7 2.8 7.4 4.2
highs 3.5 1.8 3.2 2.6
kvxopt 12.4 6.2 16.2 9.2
osqp 1.9 3.2 3.8 3.8
piqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 3.0 2.3 3.8 2.6
qpalm 1.2 1.4 2.3 1.6
scs 3.3 1.7 4.1 2.6
sip 1.6 1.3 2.6 1.5

Rows are solvers and columns are solver settings. The shift is sh = 10. As in the OSQP and ProxQP benchmarks, we assume a solver's run time is at the time limit when it fails to solve a problem.

Optimality conditions

Primal residual

The primal residual measures the maximum (equality and inequality) constraint violation in the solution returned by a solver. We use the shifted geometric mean to compare solver primal residuals over the whole test set. Intuitively, a solver with a shifted-geometric-mean primal residual of Y is Y times less precise on constraints than the best solver over the test set. See Metrics for details.

Shifted geometric means of primal residuals (1.0 is the best):

default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
gurobi 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
highs 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
kvxopt 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
osqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
piqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
scs 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0
sip 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Rows are solvers and columns are solver settings. The shift is sh = 10. A solver that fails to find a solution receives a primal residual equal to the full primal tolerance.

Dual residual

The dual residual measures the maximum violation of the dual feasibility condition in the solution returned by a solver. We use the shifted geometric mean to compare solver dual residuals over the whole test set. Intuitively, a solver with a shifted-geometric-mean dual residual of Y is Y times less precise on the dual feasibility condition than the best solver over the test set. See Metrics for details.

Shifted geometric means of dual residuals (1.0 is the best):

default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
gurobi 1.0 2038629.1 3.0 2039.6
highs 20.3 17777465770.7 17780.0 17777500.3
kvxopt 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
osqp 3.1 1.0 1.0 1.0
piqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
scs 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
sip 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Rows are solvers and columns are solver settings. The shift is sh = 10. A solver that fails to find a solution receives a dual residual equal to the full dual tolerance.

Duality gap

The duality gap measures the consistency of the primal and dual solutions returned by a solver. A duality gap close to zero ensures that the complementarity slackness optimality condition is satisfied. We use the shifted geometric mean to compare solver duality gaps over the whole test set. Intuitively, a solver with a shifted-geometric-mean duality gap of Y is Y times less precise on the complementarity slackness condition than the best solver over the test set. See Metrics for details.

Shifted geometric means of duality gaps (1.0 is the best):

default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
cvxopt 1.0 99068.8 1.0 99.8
gurobi 1.0 408.7 1.0 1.3
highs 1.0 17263445.2 89.6 17264.2
kvxopt 1.0 99094.4 1.0 99.8
osqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
piqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
proxqp 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
qpalm 1.0 1.9 4.9 2.5
scs 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
sip 1.0 1.0 1.0 10.4

Rows are solvers and columns are solver settings. The shift is sh = 10. A solver that fails to find a solution receives a duality gap equal to the full gap tolerance.

Settings

There are 4 settings: default, high_accuracy, low_accuracy and mid_accuracy. They validate solutions using the following tolerances:

tolerance default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
dual 1 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
gap 1 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
primal 1 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
runtime 10 10 10 10

Solvers for each settings are configured as follows:

solver parameter default high_accuracy low_accuracy mid_accuracy
clarabel tol_feas - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
clarabel tol_gap_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
clarabel tol_gap_rel - 0 0 0
cvxopt feastol - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
gurobi FeasibilityTol - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
gurobi OptimalityTol - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
gurobi TimeLimit 10.0 10 10 10
highs dual_feasibility_tolerance - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
highs primal_feasibility_tolerance - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
highs time_limit 10.0 10 10 10
kvxopt feastol - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
osqp eps_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
osqp eps_rel - 0 0 0
osqp time_limit 10.0 10 10 10
piqp check_duality_gap - 1 1 1
piqp eps_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
piqp eps_duality_gap_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
piqp eps_duality_gap_rel - 0 0 0
piqp eps_rel - 0 0 0
proxqp check_duality_gap - 1 1 1
proxqp eps_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
proxqp eps_duality_gap_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
proxqp eps_duality_gap_rel - 0 0 0
proxqp eps_rel - 0 0 0
qpalm eps_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
qpalm eps_rel - 0 0 0
qpalm time_limit 10.0 10 10 10
scs eps_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
scs eps_rel - 0 0 0
scs time_limit_secs 10.0 10 10 10
sip eps_abs - 1e-09 0.001 1e-06
sip eps_rel - 0 0 0
sip time_limit 10.0 10 10 10

Known limitations

The following issues have been identified as impacting the fairness of this benchmark. Keep them in mind when drawing conclusions from the results.

  • #60: Conversion to SOCP limits performance of ECOS
  • #88: CPU thermal throttling

CPU info

Property Value
arch X86_64
arch_string_raw x86_64
bits 64
brand_raw AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS w/ Radeon 780M Graphics
count 16
family 25
flags 3dnowext, 3dnowprefetch, abm, adx, aes, amd_lbr_v2, aperfmperf, apic, arat, avx, avx2, avx512_bf16, avx512_bitalg, avx512_vbmi2, avx512_vnni, avx512_vpopcntdq, avx512bitalg, avx512bw, avx512cd, avx512dq, avx512f, avx512ifma, avx512vbmi, avx512vbmi2, avx512vl, avx512vnni, avx512vpopcntdq, bmi1, bmi2, bpext, cat_l3, cdp_l3, clflush, clflushopt, clwb, clzero, cmov, cmp_legacy, constant_tsc, cpb, cppc, cpuid, cpuid_fault, cqm, cqm_llc, cqm_mbm_local, cqm_mbm_total, cqm_occup_llc, cr8_legacy, cx16, cx8, dbx, de, decodeassists, erms, extapic, extd_apicid, f16c, flush_l1d, flushbyasid, fma, fpu, fsgsbase, fsrm, fxsr, fxsr_opt, gfni, ht, hw_pstate, ibpb, ibrs, ibrs_enhanced, ibs, invpcid, irperf, lahf_lm, lbrv, lm, mba, mca, mce, misalignsse, mmx, mmxext, monitor, movbe, msr, mtrr, mwaitx, nonstop_tsc, nopl, npt, nrip_save, nx, ospke, osvw, osxsave, overflow_recov, pae, pat, pausefilter, pci_l2i, pclmulqdq, pdpe1gb, perfctr_core, perfctr_llc, perfctr_nb, perfmon_v2, pfthreshold, pge, pku, pni, popcnt, pqe, pqm, pse, pse36, rapl, rdpid, rdpru, rdrand, rdrnd, rdseed, rdt_a, rdtscp, rep_good, sep, sha, sha_ni, skinit, smap, smca, smep, ssbd, sse, sse2, sse4_1, sse4_2, sse4a, ssse3, stibp, succor, svm, svm_lock, syscall, tce, topoext, tsc, tsc_scale, umip, user_shstk, v_spec_ctrl, vaes, vgif, vmcb_clean, vme, vmmcall, vnmi, vpclmulqdq, wbnoinvd, wdt, x2apic, x2avic, xgetbv1, xsave, xsavec, xsaveerptr, xsaveopt, xsaves, xtopology
l1_data_cache_size 262144
l1_instruction_cache_size 262144
l2_cache_associativity 6
l2_cache_line_size 1024
l2_cache_size 8388608
l3_cache_size 1048576
model 117
python_version 3.14.6.final.0 (64 bit)
stepping 2
vendor_id_raw AuthenticAMD