diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 52aa373..5233d0f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@chainsafe/benchmark",
-  "version": "1.1.0-rc.4",
+  "version": "1.1.0-rc.5",
   "repository": "git@github.com:chainsafe/benchmark.git",
   "author": "ChainSafe Systems",
   "license": "MIT",
diff --git a/src/benchmark/reporter.ts b/src/benchmark/reporter.ts
index 8b89ad5..36c5b0e 100644
--- a/src/benchmark/reporter.ts
+++ b/src/benchmark/reporter.ts
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ export class BenchmarkReporter {
 
           const ratio = result.averageNs / prevResult.averageNs;
           if (ratio > threshold) {
-            const fmt = this.indent() + color("fail", "  " + symbols.err) + " " + resultRow;
+            const fmt = this.indent() + color("fail", "  " + symbols.bang) + " " + resultRow;
             consoleLog(fmt);
             this.failed++;
             return;
diff --git a/src/benchmark/runner.ts b/src/benchmark/runner.ts
index ed4d4c2..7df341d 100644
--- a/src/benchmark/runner.ts
+++ b/src/benchmark/runner.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {BenchmarkReporter} from "./reporter.js";
 import {store} from "./globalState.js";
 
 export class BenchmarkRunner implements VitestRunner {
+  readonly triggerGC: boolean;
   readonly config: VitestRunnerConfig;
   readonly reporter: BenchmarkReporter;
   readonly prevBench: Benchmark | null;
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ export class BenchmarkRunner implements VitestRunner {
       setupFiles: benchmarkOpts.setupFiles ? benchmarkOpts.setupFiles.map((s) => path.resolve(s)) : [],
       retry: 0,
     };
+    this.triggerGC = benchmarkOpts.triggerGC ?? false;
     this.prevBench = prevBench;
     this.benchmarkOpts = benchmarkOpts;
     this.reporter = new BenchmarkReporter({prevBench, benchmarkOpts});
@@ -50,6 +52,12 @@ export class BenchmarkRunner implements VitestRunner {
   onAfterRunTask(task: Task): void {
     this.reporter.onTestFinished(task);
     store.removeOptions(task);
+
+    // To help maintain consistent memory usage patterns
+    // we trigger garbage collection manually
+    if (this.triggerGC && global.gc) {
+      global.gc();
+    }
   }
 
   onAfterRunFiles(files: File[]): void {
diff --git a/src/cli/options.ts b/src/cli/options.ts
index 9aba20d..5fb06c8 100644
--- a/src/cli/options.ts
+++ b/src/cli/options.ts
@@ -191,4 +191,10 @@ export const benchmarkOptions: ICliCommandOptions<CLIBenchmarkOptions> = {
     default: [],
     group: benchmarkGroup,
   },
+  triggerGC: {
+    type: "boolean",
+    description: "Trigger GC (if available) after every benchmark",
+    default: false,
+    group: benchmarkGroup,
+  },
 };
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 672740e..b6fd508 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ export type BenchmarkOpts = {
   skip?: boolean;
   /** Setup files to load before the test files */
   setupFiles?: string[];
+  /** Trigger GC cleanup every test to have consistent memory usage */
+  triggerGC?: boolean;
 };
 
 // Create partial only for specific keys