diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 8630ae5..4e4aafb 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,3 +19,11 @@ ndarray = "0.12.1"
 [profile.release]
 opt-level = 3
 lto = "thin"
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+criterion = "0.3"
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "system"
+path = "src/benches/bench.rs"
+harness = false
diff --git a/src/benches/bench.rs b/src/benches/bench.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..93640c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/benches/bench.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+use criterion::{black_box, criterion_group, criterion_main, Criterion};
+use maxwell::Universe;
+
+fn simple_system(w: u32, h: u32) -> Universe {
+    let mut universe = Universe::new(w, h);
+    universe.init(0.0, 0.0);
+    for _ in 0..100 {
+        universe.advance(0.01);
+    }
+    universe
+}
+
+fn performance_benchmark(c: &mut Criterion) {
+    c.bench_function("complete system", |b| {
+        b.iter(|| simple_system(black_box(25), black_box(30)))
+    });
+}
+
+criterion_group!(benches, performance_benchmark);
+criterion_main!(benches);