{
  "type": "option",
  "name": "RISC Zero (R0VM)",
  "slug": "risc-zero",
  "section": {
    "id": "frameworks",
    "number": "02",
    "title": "Choosing a framework",
    "url": "https://zkpick.com/frameworks/"
  },
  "url": "https://zkpick.com/frameworks/risc-zero/",
  "markdown": "https://zkpick.com/md/frameworks/risc-zero.md",
  "category": "zkVM (RISC-V)",
  "summary": "RISC Zero (R0VM): zkVM (RISC-V). Kind: zkVM (RISC-V). Arithmetisation / backend: FRI/STARK + Groth16 wrapper. Setup: Wrapper only. Maintained by: RISC Zero. Licence: Apache-2.0. Status: Production; longest track record; 3.x line in 2026. Choose it when: Teams wanting the most operationally complete RISC-V zkVM today, including off-the-shelf outsourced proving, and who value documentation and stability over peak prover speed.",
  "description": "One of the earliest general-purpose RISC-V zkVMs, based on FRI/STARK with a Groth16 wrapper for on-chain verification. Ships an unusually complete operational surface: local proving, hosted remote proving, and a live decentralised proof market.",
  "notes": [],
  "sections": [],
  "strengths": [
    "Longest continuous production history among RISC-V zkVMs, with a large and mature documentation surface",
    "An end-to-end operational path, including outsourced proving, rather than a prover alone",
    "Runs adversarial analysis tooling as part of its own workflow"
  ],
  "tradeoffs": [
    "Historically slower than the fastest competitor on comparable benchmarks, partly a deliberate security-parameter tradeoff rather than an implementation gap",
    "Major versions turn over quickly — R0VM 2.0 in 2025, a 3.x line in 2026 — and each changes the circuit and the verifier, so pin a release and treat every major upgrade as a re-audit trigger",
    "The Groth16 wrapper inherits a trusted setup"
  ],
  "bestFit": "Teams wanting the most operationally complete RISC-V zkVM today, including off-the-shelf outsourced proving, and who value documentation and stability over peak prover speed.",
  "maintainers": "RISC Zero",
  "maturity": "Production; longest track record",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "source": "https://github.com/risc0/risc0",
  "facts": [
    {
      "table": "Framework selection matrix",
      "url": "https://zkpick.com/frameworks/#frameworks-matrix-risc-zero-r0vm",
      "name": "RISC Zero R0VM",
      "kind": "zkVM (RISC-V)",
      "arith": "FRI/STARK + Groth16 wrapper",
      "setup": "Wrapper only",
      "by": "RISC Zero",
      "license": "Apache-2.0",
      "status": "Production; longest track record; 3.x line in 2026"
    }
  ],
  "relatedFailureModes": [],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "SP1 — RISC-V zkVM",
      "url": "https://github.com/succinctlabs/sp1",
      "kind": "project"
    },
    {
      "title": "RISC Zero R0VM — zkVM",
      "url": "https://github.com/risc0/risc0",
      "kind": "project"
    },
    {
      "title": "RISC Zero trusted setup ceremony rationale",
      "url": "https://dev.risczero.com/api/trusted-setup-ceremony",
      "kind": "documentation"
    },
    {
      "title": "RISC Zero remote proving — hosted proving documentation",
      "url": "https://dev.risczero.com/api/generating-proofs/remote-proving",
      "kind": "documentation"
    },
    {
      "title": "ZKsync Airbender — RISC-V prover for ZKsync OS, with benchmark harness",
      "url": "https://github.com/matter-labs/zksync-airbender",
      "kind": "project"
    },
    {
      "title": "Zisk — Polygon's RISC-V zkVM",
      "url": "https://github.com/0xPolygonHermez/zisk",
      "kind": "project"
    },
    {
      "title": "Pico — Brevis's modular RISC-V zkVM",
      "url": "https://github.com/brevis-network/pico",
      "kind": "project"
    },
    {
      "title": "Nexus zkVM — source-available RISC-V zkVM",
      "url": "https://github.com/nexus-xyz/nexus-zkvm",
      "kind": "project"
    },
    {
      "title": "RISC-V architectural certification tests",
      "url": "https://github.com/riscv-non-isa/riscv-arch-test",
      "kind": "test suite"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-09-12",
  "version": "1.3",
  "canonical": "https://zkpick.com/frameworks/risc-zero/",
  "authors": [
    "MarketComp"
  ]
}