[petepete]

    nvim --clean --startuptime /tmp/neovim

    003.174  000.001: --- NVIM STARTED ---

vs

    vim --clean --startuptime /tmp/vim

    004.274  000.001: --- VIM STARTED ---

Maybe your config had an impact on it, but config-free they're incredibly close.

[sdfghswe]

3/4 seconds??? Something's wrong with your system, right?

[petepete]

They're milliseconds!

I abbreviated the output, if you run the above command and check the file, at the top it says

   times in msec

[sdfghswe]

Oh that's awesome actually.