diff --git a/tools/apollo/generate b/tools/apollo/generate
index dd0b488ba..ea2897e0e 100755
--- a/tools/apollo/generate
+++ b/tools/apollo/generate
@@ -144,6 +144,10 @@ for test in tests:
     if name == "unit__fswatcher":
         files.append(os.path.normpath(os.path.join(dirname, "..", "data")))
 
+    # skip benchmark tests on diffs
+    if name.startswith("benchmark") and mode == "diff":
+        continue
+
     # larger timeout for benchmark tests
     prefix = ""
     if name.startswith("benchmark"):