---
title: "RISC Zero (R0VM)"
description: "RISC Zero (R0VM): zkVM (RISC-V). Kind: zkVM (RISC-V). Arithmetisation / backend: FRI/STARK + Groth16 wrapper. Setup: Wrapper only. Maintained by: RISC Zero."
type: "option"
url: "https://zkpick.com/frameworks/risc-zero/"
section: "02 Choosing a framework"
authors:
  - "MarketComp"
publisher: "MarketComp"
version: "1.3"
updated: "2026-09-12"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
json: "https://zkpick.com/data/frameworks/risc-zero.json"
---

*By MarketComp. Updated 2026-09-12. Version 1.3. CC BY 4.0.*

# RISC Zero (R0VM) — *zkVM (RISC-V)*

> 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.

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.

**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

**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.

Maintained by: RISC Zero · Maturity: Production; longest track record · License: Apache-2.0 · Source: https://github.com/risc0/risc0

**In the framework selection matrix** (https://zkpick.com/frameworks/#frameworks-matrix-risc-zero-r0vm)

| Project | Kind | Arithmetisation / backend | Setup | Maintained by | Licence | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| RISC Zero R0VM | zkVM (RISC-V) | FRI/STARK + Groth16 wrapper | Wrapper only | RISC Zero | Apache-2.0 | Production; longest track record; 3.x line in 2026 |