Brotli vs GZIP Compression: Which one is Best for 2025?

In today’s fast-moving web, website speed matters. Depending on whether you run a blog, online shop, or SaaS application, having a slow load speed will cause widely different problems, including increased bounce rates, poor SEO, and a frustrated audience.

This is where HTTP compression comes in, and two of the most discussed options are Brotli and GZIP. Both are highly effective compression algorithms that serve the same purpose – shrinking your website files to reduce load timing and improve performance as they’re delivered to a visitor’s browser.

Here’s the question that you want answered – Brotli vs GZIP Compression, which one should you use in 2025?

In this article, we will explain the differences between both algorithms, provide a comparison of real-world performance, and demonstrate how to enable them both on your WordPress site so you can benefit from a faster and more efficient site.

What Is Brotli Compression?

Brotli is a new open-source compression algorithm developed by Google in 2015 to compress better than GZIP at a higher compression ratio (it was made for web assets such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript).

Brotli has some similarities to GZIP in that it also compresses text-based content, but with a dictionary-based compression method and a much more sophisticated encoding model that gives you even smaller file sizes, faster page loads, and less bandwidth usage.

Key Features of Brotli Compression

• Google owns and has developed
• Built for and optimized for web performance
• Uses context modeling with a static dictionary
• 11 levels of compression (higher compression is better but slower)
• Supported and built into nearly all modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, etc.
• A great tool for compressing static content sent over HTTPS!

Why is Brotli still Important?

Users are demanding faster browsing, especially on their mobile devices, and Brotli can help you get there. When looking at Brotli vs GZIP Compression, Brotli is often 15–25% smaller in many cases (especially in the higher compression levels).

This has huge implications as it provides a faster page load, less data usage, and most importantly, a better user experience.

You might be able to reduce a GZIP 100KB file to 75KB with Brotli – a file size reduction with no visible difference in quality!

What Is GZIP Compression?

Before Brotli emerged on the scene, GZIP compression was the standard in the compression space, and it is still in use today. Developed in the early 90s, GZIP is a file compression format and algorithm.

GZIP is based on the DEFLATE algorithm and was meant to reduce the amount of information delivered at times when speed was a priority.

GZIP works by looking for data strings, patterns, and omitted text in your text files, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It targets the strings and patterns and outputs encodings of shorter representations.

When the browser receives the compressed file, it will accomplish the decompression process instantly, and users will view your entire webpage without waiting for a delay.

Key Features of GZIP Compression

• Implementation is based on the industry-standard DEFLATE algorithm.
• It can be applied to both static and dynamic content.
• Can perform real-time compression (fastest on the fly).
• University-supported functionality across all browsers and web servers.
• Compatibility with legacy systems and older tech stacks.

Why is GZIP still Important?

GZIP is old, but it is still so fast and incredibly effective, especially for compressing dynamic content like personalized pages and the contents of e-commerce carts after users add items.

GZIP’s decompression speed is usually faster than Brotli’s, as is GZIP’s compression speed. It is also hard to argue with what GZIP can do for very high-volume websites if ultimate speed is the top priority.

In the Brotli vs GZIP Compression debate, GZIP can easily win on processing speed, especially when your servers must compress files in real-time on the fly.

Real-World Example

• An uncompressed HTML file: 120 KB
• With GZIP compression (default level 6): ~80 KB
• With Brotli compression (level 11): ~60 KB
• However, GZIP compresses in milliseconds, whereas Brotli takes more time.

Pro Tip: Many hosting providers and CDNs enable GZIP by default—so you’re probably already using it, even if you didn’t configure it yourself.

Brotli vs. GZIP Compression: A Detailed Comparison

Choosing between Brotli and GZIP compression can feel confusing—you have two widely supported, fast, and equally effective compression methods that help your site load faster.

But both are operating differently below the scenes, and are differentiated further by the use case they are optimally designed for. We’ve made a thorough and parallel comparison to help decide the best option for your site in 2025!

1. Compression Algorithm

• GZIP is based on the DEFLATE compression algorithm, which combines LZ77 and Huffman coding. This is a simple, fast compression algorithm, which is optimized for speed over size.
• Brotli uses a multi-model dictionary-based compression model that uses Huffman coding and context modeling; meaning it is better at reducing file size.

Key Difference: Brotli has a static dictionary built in, which is able to identify common web phrases and patterns, which allows Brotli to compress HTML, CSS, and JS substantially better than GZIP.

Verdict: In terms of compression efficiency, Brotli wins, but GZIP is faster if you’re doing on-the-fly compression.

2. Compression Ratio (Smaller File Sizes)

The compression ratio refers to how much smaller a file becomes after being compressed.

From tests on Google Web Fundamentals, Brotli reduces static file sizes by 15–25% more than GZIP.

Verdict: Brotli is the winner for the smallest file size.

3. Compression & Decompression Speed

Let’s talk performance.

• GZIP compresses quickly, so it is suitable for dynamic content such as live pages, APIs, or user-generated content.
• Brotli decompresses at nearly the same speed as GZIP, but compression takes longer, especially at higher levels (like level 11).

Verdict: GZIP wins for dynamic compression. Brotli is better when you can pre-compress assets (e.g., using a build tool or CDN).

Developer Tip

If you’re using Node.js with Express, try the shrink-ray-current package to support Brotli and GZIP simultaneously with automatic browser detection.

4. Browser and Server Support

Browser Support

Both Brotli and GZIP are supported by all major browsers:

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari
• Edge
• Opera

Verdict: It’s a tie — you’re covered on all major browsers.

Server & CDN Support

• GZIP works out of the box on:
  • Apache
  • NGINX
  • IIS
  • LiteSpeed
• Brotli is supported on:
  • Apache (2.4.26+)
  • NGINX (1.9.11+ with ngx_brotli)
  • Cloudflare, Fastly, BunnyCDN, CDN77

However, Brotli may require extra modules or configuration on some servers.

Verdict: GZIP is universally supported by default; Brotli support is growing rapidly, but still needs tweaking in some environments.

5. Mobile Performance & Core Web Vitals

Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals strongly emphasize mobile performance. Since Brotli delivers smaller files, it reduces:

• Time to First Byte (TTFB)
• First Contentful Paint (FCP)
• Total Page Size

According to Web.dev tests, Brotli reduced page load times on 3G networks by up to 28% compared to GZIP.

Verdict: Brotli outperforms GZIP on mobile and slower networks.

6. Use Cases: Which One Should You Use?

Pro Tip: Use Brotli for static files (pre-compressed with your build process or CDN), and GZIP as a fallback for dynamic content or unsupported clients.

7. Compression Levels & Customization

GZIP supports 1–9 compression levels.

• Level 6 is the default — good speed/size balance.
• Level 9 is the slowest but compresses better.

Brotli supports 1–11 levels.

• Level 4–6 = solid balance for live compression.
• Level 11 = best file reduction, ideal for CDNs or static asset pipelines.

Verdict: Brotli provides more flexibility and higher compression at the cost of more CPU cycles.

Final Comparison Table: Brotli vs GZIP Compression

How to Enable Brotli and GZIP Compression on WordPress

Now that you have an idea about the differences between Brotli and GZIP Compression, the next step is to enable them on your WordPress site. The good news is that it’s not complicated.

Depending on your hosting provider, server stack, or CDN, there are numerous ways to enable Brotli and GZIP — be it manually or with a plugin. Here is how you do it step by step.

1. Enable Brotli via CDN (Recommended)

For example, if you are using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) like Cloudflare, enabling Brotli is a single-click process.

Steps to Enable Brotli in Cloudflare

1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard.
2. Navigate to Speed → Optimization, then scroll to the Brotli toggle.
3. Set it to ON and you are done.

At this point, Cloudflare will serve Brotli to all supported browsers and GZIP for the rest — no extra server configuration is required!

Bonus: Cloudflare also auto-compresses the most common static file types, such as .js, .css, .html, .svg, and .json.

2. Enable GZIP via .htaccess (Apache Servers)

If your WordPress site is run on an Apache server, you can enable GZIP compression using your .htaccess file.

Add the following code to .htaccess:

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascript
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/json
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/font-woff
</IfModule>

Works immediately after saving. Just clear the cache and test.

3. Enable Brotli on Apache (Requires Module)

To use Brotli with Apache, you’ll need mod_brotli, available in Apache 2.4.26 and up.

Apache Brotli Configuration Example:

<IfModule mod_brotli.c>
  AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS text/html text/plain text/css application/javascript application/json
</IfModule>

Make sure the Brotli module is installed and enabled:

a2enmod brotli
systemctl restart apache2

Note: Not all shared hosting providers allow Brotli module installation. Use a VPS or dedicated host for full control.

4. Enable GZIP and Brotli on NGINX

If your WordPress site is running on NGINX, you’ll need to modify the server configuration file (usually. /etc/nginx/nginx.conf).

GZIP Setup for NGINX

gzip on;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;

Brotli Setup for NGINX (with ngx_brotli module)

brotli on;
brotli_comp_level 6;
brotli_types text/plain text/css application/javascript application/json text/xml application/xml;

After changes:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Brotli requires the ngx_brotli module compiled into NGINX. Services like RunCloud or SpinupWP offer this out of the box.

5. Use WordPress Plugins (No Coding)

If you like no-code, you can easily turn on compression with a number of plugins in WordPress.

Best Plugins for turning on compression:

• WP Rocket – GZIP is enabled by default, and Brotli can be enabled through the Cloudflare integration.
• W3 Total Cache – GZIP compression is enabled under the Browser Cache settings.
• Autoptimize + Brotli Plugin (Mr. Clay) – Adds Brotli compression support for static assets.

Bonus: Pair any of these with Cloudflare or LiteSpeed Cache for optimal performance.

6. Verify Compression Is Working

Once you enable Brotli or GZIP, it’s time to test and confirm everything’s working as expected.

Tools to Check Compression:

• GTmetrix
• Google PageSpeed Insights
• Check GZIP Compression
• [Curl Command](via terminal): curl -H "Accept-Encoding: br" -I https://yourdomain.com

Look for this in the response:

Content-Encoding: br

If you see Content-Encoding: br or gzip, it’s working!

Pro Tip: Combine Compression with Caching

To maximize Brotli or GZIP compression functionality, you should also:

• Implement object caching (Redis or Memcached)
• Enable browser caching
• Use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3
• Minimize your CSS and JavaScript

Compression works best when paired with other performance techniques.

So… Brotli or GZIP? Here’s What You Should Do

Now that we’ve covered Brotli vs GZIP Compression in every major aspect—compression ratio, speed, compatibility, mobile optimization, and WordPress setup— you’re probably asking yourself:

“Which one should I use for my website?”

Let’s keep it simple:

Use Brotli If

• You’re mostly serving static content (HTML, CSS, JS)
• You want the best compression ratio
• Your server or CDN supports Brotli (e.g., Cloudflare, NGINX)
• You want to optimize mobile performance and Core Web Vitals

Use GZIP If

• You’re serving dynamic content that’s created on the fly
• You need universal compatibility (older servers, legacy browsers)
• You want faster compression speed
• You’re looking for an easy, plug-and-play implementation

Best Case? Use Both

Many modern server stacks (particularly with Cloudflare, or around Apache + NGINX) can allow you to serve Brotli if supported and otherwise fall back to GZIP if the client/browser is too old to support Brotli.

Think of it like this:

• Brotli = sleek, modern, efficient
• GZIP = reliable, compatible, fast

Final Take: Brotli vs GZIP Compression — What’s the Smarter Move?

In the end, deciding between Brotli vs GZIP compression isn’t about which one is objectively “better” — it’s about the right tool for the job.

If your goal is maximum performance, especially with static content like HTML, CSS, and JS files, Brotli wins hands down. Its superior compression ratio will reduce the size of the files, speed mobile loading, and improve Core Web Vitals scores — which all have the potential to positively improve your SEO and user experience.

Meanwhile, GZIP is an expert for dynamic content, older systems, and situations where speed and real-time compression are preferred. It is still well-supported and performs adequately.

Make Brotli your primary compression method and GZIP your fail case if clients and systems are unsupported or dynamic. Many of today’s hosting stacks and CDNs can do this configuration out of the box.

For personal blogs or enterprise sites with massive traffic, enabling compression is one of the cheapest and fastest upgrades you can do.

So while you’re reading this, do not hesitate. Have a quick look at your current setup, enable Brotli and GZIP where necessary, and reap the performance benefits!

FAQs About Brotli vs GZIP Compression