diff --git a/instant-xml/Cargo.toml b/instant-xml/Cargo.toml
index 32d6c15..da019f0 100644
--- a/instant-xml/Cargo.toml
+++ b/instant-xml/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,4 +13,9 @@ thiserror = "1.0.29"
 xmlparser = "0.13.3"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
+bencher = "0.1.5"
 similar-asserts = "1.4.2"
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "decode"
+harness = false
diff --git a/instant-xml/benches/decode.rs b/instant-xml/benches/decode.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e35c0ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/instant-xml/benches/decode.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+use std::borrow::Cow;
+
+use bencher::Bencher;
+use bencher::{benchmark_group, benchmark_main};
+use instant_xml::{from_str, FromXml};
+
+fn decode_short_ascii(bench: &mut Bencher) {
+    let xml = "<Element><inner>foobar</inner></Element>";
+    bench.iter(|| {
+        from_str::<Element>(xml).unwrap();
+    })
+}
+
+fn decode_longer_ascii(bench: &mut Bencher) {
+    let mut xml = String::with_capacity(4096);
+    xml.push_str("<Element><inner>");
+    for _ in 0..64 {
+        xml.push_str("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz");
+        xml.push_str("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ");
+        xml.push_str("0123456789");
+    }
+    xml.push_str("</inner></Element>");
+
+    bench.iter(|| {
+        from_str::<Element>(&xml).unwrap();
+    })
+}
+
+fn decode_short_escaped(bench: &mut Bencher) {
+    let xml = "<Element><inner>foo &amp; bar</inner></Element>";
+    bench.iter(|| {
+        from_str::<Element>(xml).unwrap();
+    })
+}
+
+fn decode_longer_escaped(bench: &mut Bencher) {
+    let mut xml = String::with_capacity(4096);
+    xml.push_str("<Element><inner>");
+    for _ in 0..64 {
+        xml.push_str("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz");
+        xml.push_str("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ");
+        xml.push_str("0123456789");
+        xml.push_str("&quot;");
+    }
+    xml.push_str("</inner></Element>");
+
+    bench.iter(|| {
+        from_str::<Element>(&xml).unwrap();
+    })
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, FromXml)]
+struct Element<'a> {
+    #[allow(dead_code)]
+    inner: Cow<'a, str>,
+}
+
+benchmark_group!(
+    benches,
+    decode_short_ascii,
+    decode_longer_ascii,
+    decode_short_escaped,
+    decode_longer_escaped,
+);
+benchmark_main!(benches);