diff --git a/perf/benchmark-set.cc b/perf/benchmark-set.cc
index 9fe97c21c..c170acfc0 100644
--- a/perf/benchmark-set.cc
+++ b/perf/benchmark-set.cc
@@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ static void BM_SetOrderedInsert_1000(benchmark::State& state) {
   assert(hb_set_get_population(original) == set_size);
 
   for (auto _ : state) {
+    state.PauseTiming ();
     hb_set_t* data = hb_set_copy(original);
+    state.ResumeTiming ();
     for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
       hb_set_add(data, i);
     }