diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a77124f..45a96dc 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ aes = ["encryption", "aes-gcm", "hkdf", "sha2"]
 chacha = ["encryption", "chacha20poly1305", "blake3"]
 ikm-management = []
 encrypt-at = []
+benchmark = ["criterion"]
 
 [dependencies]
 base64ct = { version = "1.6.0", default-features = false, features = ["std"] }
@@ -35,8 +36,8 @@ aes-gcm = { version = "0.10.3", default-features = false, features = ["std", "ae
 hkdf = { version = "0.12.4", default-features = false, features = ["std"], optional = true }
 sha2 = { version = "0.10.8", default-features = false, features = ["std"], optional = true }
 
-[dev-dependencies]
-criterion = "0.5.1"
+# Not in dev-dependencies so it can be optional
+criterion = { version = "0.5.1", optional = true }
 
 [[bench]]
 name = "decryption"