diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index af1552593..9c70dc729 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -124,6 +124,10 @@ harness = false
 name = "get_chat_msgs"
 harness = false
 
+[[bench]]
+name = "get_chatlist"
+harness = false
+
 [features]
 default = ["vendored"]
 internals = []
diff --git a/benches/get_chat_msgs.rs b/benches/get_chat_msgs.rs
index 6816094d0..680ac1275 100644
--- a/benches/get_chat_msgs.rs
+++ b/benches/get_chat_msgs.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ fn criterion_benchmark(c: &mut Criterion) {
             (0..len).map(|i| chatlist.get_chat_id(i).unwrap()).collect()
         });
 
-        c.bench_function("Load all chats", |b| {
+        c.bench_function("chat::get_chat_msgs (load messages from 10 chats)", |b| {
             b.to_async(AsyncStdExecutor)
                 .iter(|| get_chat_msgs_benchmark(black_box(&path.as_ref()), black_box(&chats)))
         });
diff --git a/benches/get_chatlist.rs b/benches/get_chatlist.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d7c1d2064
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benches/get_chatlist.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+use criterion::async_executor::AsyncStdExecutor;
+use criterion::{black_box, criterion_group, criterion_main, Criterion};
+
+use deltachat::chatlist::Chatlist;
+use deltachat::context::Context;
+
+async fn get_chat_list_benchmark(context: &Context) {
+    Chatlist::try_load(&context, 0, None, None).await.unwrap();
+}
+
+fn criterion_benchmark(c: &mut Criterion) {
+    // To enable this benchmark, set `DELTACHAT_BENCHMARK_DATABASE` to some large database with many
+    // messages, such as your primary account.
+    if let Ok(path) = std::env::var("DELTACHAT_BENCHMARK_DATABASE") {
+        let context =
+            async_std::task::block_on(async { Context::new(path.into(), 100).await.unwrap() });
+        c.bench_function("chatlist:try_load (Get Chatlist)", |b| {
+            b.to_async(AsyncStdExecutor)
+                .iter(|| get_chat_list_benchmark(black_box(&context)))
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+criterion_group!(benches, criterion_benchmark);
+criterion_main!(benches);