WiscKey minimizes CPU usage compared to LevelDB by eliminating the log file, which reduces the CPU cost associated with encoding and writing key-value pairs. While LevelDB has higher CPU usage due to its single writer protocol and background compaction using one thread, WiscKey’s architecture allows for garbage collection to be decoupled and performed later, minimizing its impact on foreground performance. Consequently, WiscKey generally exhibits lower CPU usage during workloads, except when utilizing multiple background threads for prefetching.