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n. / Cost and performance
P95 latency
Definition
P95 latency is the response time that 95% of requests are faster than, so only the slowest 5% take longer. It shows what slow-but-normal requests feel like better than an average does.
In more detail
Averages hide the tail. If most runs take 3 s and one in twenty takes 40 s, the average looks fine but users feel the slow ones. Watching P50, P95 and P99 together tells you the typical experience and the worst realistic one, and a rising P95 is often the first sign of a provider slowdown or a looping agent.
Example
Out of 1,000 runs sorted by duration, the 950th takes 18 s. Your P95 latency is 18 s.
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