Is Python 3.11 faster?

Yes, Python 3.11 is significantly faster than previous versions. The Python development team has made notable improvements in performance, especially in terms of execution speed. According to benchmarks, Python 3.11 shows improvements of 10-60% over Python 3.10 in various operations.

Key Improvements in Python 3.11:

1. Faster CPython Execution:

   • The CPython 3.11 release includes a new optimization strategy, targeting reduced overhead during function calls, and faster bytecode execution. This leads to a notable speedup in both small and large Python programs.

2. Specialization of Code Paths:

   • Python 3.11 includes adaptive specializing interpreters, which optimize frequently used paths in the code. This means that functions that are called repeatedly can be optimized for speed at runtime, allowing for much faster execution in cases where the same operations are performed multiple times.

3. Optimized Error Handling:

   • Another major improvement is in error handling. Python 3.11 improves the clarity and performance of exceptions, reducing the overhead when exceptions are raised and caught.

Benchmarks:

• On average, Python 3.11 has been found to be 1.25x faster than Python 3.10 based on benchmarks from the Python Performance Benchmark Suite.
• Some specific tasks, like function calls and certain computations, see even greater performance gains (up to 50%).

Example Performance Gains:

• String operations, function call overhead, and math operations show major performance boosts.
• Projects that depend heavily on Python's core functionality will benefit the most from this performance increase.

Conclusion:

Python 3.11 is significantly faster compared to previous versions due to improvements in the interpreter and specialized optimizations. If your project involves performance-critical tasks, upgrading to Python 3.11 can provide noticeable improvements in execution speed.

Sources:

• Python.org Release Notes for Python 3.11
• Real Python on Python 3.11 Performance