This work applies the variational principles of Lagrange and Hamilton to the assessment of numerical methods of linear structural analysis. Different numerical methods are used to simulate the behaviour of three structural configurations and benchmarked in their computation of the Lagrangian action integral over time. According to the principle of energy conservation, the difference at each time step between the kinetic and the strain energies must equal the work done by the external forces. By computing this difference, the degree of accuracy of each combination of numerical methods can be assessed. Moreover, it is often difficult to perceive numerical instabilities due to the inherent complexities of the modelled structures. By means of the proposed procedure, these complexities can be globally controlled and visualized in a straightforward way. The paper presents the variational principles to be considered for the collection and computation of the energy-related parameters (kinetic, strain, dissipative, and external work). It then introduces a systematic framework within which the numerical methods can be compared in a qualitative as well as in a quantitative manner. Finally, a series of numerical experiments is conducted using three simple 2D models subjected to the effect of four different dynamic loadings.