Brotli compression: configuration for Nginx and Apache

Brotli is a compression algorithm from Google that provides 15–25% better compression than Gzip at a comparable speed. This article covers configuring Brotli for Nginx and Apache, comparing it with Gzip, and verifying that it is working.

You can check whether a website supports Brotli with HTTP/2 Checker. To generate an Nginx configuration, use Nginx Generator on rechecker.ru.

Brotli vs. Gzip

Parameter	Gzip	Brotli
Compression ratio	Baseline	15–25% better
Compression speed	Faster	Comparable at levels 1–5
Compression levels	1–9	0–11
Browser support	100%	97%+
Static compression	Yes	Yes (pre-compressed)
Dynamic compression	Yes	Yes

Brotli is especially effective for text resources: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, and SVG.

Brotli compression levels

Level	Compression ratio	CPU usage	Recommendation
0–3	Low	Minimal	Dynamic compression
4–6	Medium	Moderate	Balanced
7–11	High	High	Static only

Level 4–5 is typically used for dynamic compression. For static files, use 9–11.

Nginx: configuring Brotli

Installing the module

Nginx does not include Brotli by default. Options:

Ubuntu/Debian (package):

CodeShell

apt install libnginx-mod-http-brotli-filter libnginx-mod-http-brotli-static

Build from source:

CodeShell

git clone https://github.com/google/ngx_brotli
cd ngx_brotli
git submodule update --init
# При сборке Nginx: --add-module=/path/to/ngx_brotli

Nginx configuration

CodeNginx

# Загрузка модулей (если отдельные .so)
load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_filter_module.so;
load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_static_module.so;

http {
    # Brotli для динамического сжатия
    brotli on;
    brotli_comp_level 5;
    brotli_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript 
                 application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss 
                 text/javascript image/svg+xml;
    
    # Brotli для статических файлов (если есть .br)
    brotli_static on;
    
    server {
        listen 443 ssl http2;
        server_name example.com;
        
        root /var/www/html;
    
        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
        }
        
        # Статические ресурсы с предварительным сжатием
        location ~* \.(js|css|svg|json)$ {
            brotli_static on;
            add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000";
        }
    }
}

Brotli directives

Directive	Default value	Description
`brotli`	off	Enable/disable
`brotli_comp_level`	6	Compression level
`brotli_types`	text/html	MIME types to compress
`brotli_min_length`	20	Minimum size (bytes)
`brotli_static`	off	Use .br files
`brotli_buffers`	32 4k	Buffers

Apache: configuring Brotli

mod_brotli

CodeShell

# Ubuntu/Debian
apt install libapache2-mod-brotli
a2enmod brotli
systemctl restart apache2

Configuration

CodeApache

<IfModule mod_brotli.c>
    AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS text/html text/plain text/css
    AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS application/javascript application/json
    AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS application/xml image/svg+xml
    
    BrotliCompressionLevel 5
    BrotliWindowSize 22
</IfModule>

Pre-compressing static files

For the highest compression ratio, compress files during the build:

CodeShell

# Установка brotli CLI
apt install brotli  # или npm install -g brotli

# Сжатие с уровнем 11
brotli -k -q 11 style.css -o style.css.br
brotli -k -q 11 app.js -o app.js.br

Nginx with brotli_static on will serve .br files if the client supports Brotli and requests the corresponding URL.

Verifying that it works

Content-Encoding header

CodeShell

curl -H "Accept-Encoding: br" -I https://example.com/style.css

Expected header: Content-Encoding: br

Response size

CodeShell

# Без сжатия
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{size_download}" https://example.com/style.css

# С Brotli
curl -s -H "Accept-Encoding: br" -o /dev/null -w "%{size_download}" https://example.com/style.css

Online check

HTTP/2 Checker on rechecker.ru checks Brotli and HTTP/2 support for any domain. Nginx Generator helps generate a configuration with Brotli enabled.

Using Brotli and Gzip together

The recommended configuration supports both algorithms:

CodeNginx

# Gzip как fallback
gzip on;
gzip_vary on;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript;

# Brotli с приоритетом
brotli on;
brotli_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript;

The server checks the Accept-Encoding header and serves Brotli if the client supports it (br in the header); otherwise, it serves Gzip (gzip).

Performance impact

Resource	Uncompressed	Gzip	Brotli
HTML 50 KB	50 KB	12 KB	10 KB
CSS 100 KB	100 KB	18 KB	14 KB
JS 200 KB	200 KB	55 KB	42 KB

Bandwidth savings directly affect LCP and FCP: less data means faster loading.

Recommendations

Enable Brotli alongside Gzip — a fallback for older clients
Use level 5 for dynamic compression — a balance between compression and CPU usage
Pre-compress static files — level 11, with minimal server load
Check Accept-Encoding — serve Brotli only when the client supports it
Add Vary: Accept-Encoding — for correct proxy caching

Brotli is a simple way to reduce traffic by 15–25% without changing code. Check your current configuration with HTTP/2 Checker and, if needed, use Nginx Generator to generate a configuration.

You can check whether a website supports Brotli with HTTP/2 Checker. To generate an Nginx configuration, use Nginx Generator on rechecker.ru.

Brotli vs. Gzip

Parameter	Gzip	Brotli
Compression ratio	Baseline	15–25% better
Compression speed	Faster	Comparable at levels 1–5
Compression levels	1–9	0–11
Browser support	100%	97%+
Static compression	Yes	Yes (pre-compressed)
Dynamic compression	Yes	Yes

Brotli is especially effective for text resources: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, and SVG.

Brotli compression levels

Level	Compression ratio	CPU usage	Recommendation
0–3	Low	Minimal	Dynamic compression
4–6	Medium	Moderate	Balanced
7–11	High	High	Static only

Level 4–5 is typically used for dynamic compression. For static files, use 9–11.

Nginx: configuring Brotli

Installing the module

Nginx does not include Brotli by default. Options:

Ubuntu/Debian (package):

CodeShell

apt install libnginx-mod-http-brotli-filter libnginx-mod-http-brotli-static

Build from source:

CodeShell

git clone https://github.com/google/ngx_brotli
cd ngx_brotli
git submodule update --init
# При сборке Nginx: --add-module=/path/to/ngx_brotli

Nginx configuration

CodeNginx

# Загрузка модулей (если отдельные .so)
load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_filter_module.so;
load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_static_module.so;

http {
    # Brotli для динамического сжатия
    brotli on;
    brotli_comp_level 5;
    brotli_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript 
                 application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss 
                 text/javascript image/svg+xml;
    
    # Brotli для статических файлов (если есть .br)
    brotli_static on;
    
    server {
        listen 443 ssl http2;
        server_name example.com;
        
        root /var/www/html;
    
        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
        }
        
        # Статические ресурсы с предварительным сжатием
        location ~* \.(js|css|svg|json)$ {
            brotli_static on;
            add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000";
        }
    }
}

Brotli directives

Directive	Default value	Description
`brotli`	off	Enable/disable
`brotli_comp_level`	6	Compression level
`brotli_types`	text/html	MIME types to compress
`brotli_min_length`	20	Minimum size (bytes)
`brotli_static`	off	Use .br files
`brotli_buffers`	32 4k	Buffers

Apache: configuring Brotli

mod_brotli

CodeShell

# Ubuntu/Debian
apt install libapache2-mod-brotli
a2enmod brotli
systemctl restart apache2

Configuration

CodeApache

<IfModule mod_brotli.c>
    AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS text/html text/plain text/css
    AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS application/javascript application/json
    AddOutputFilterByType BROTLI_COMPRESS application/xml image/svg+xml
    
    BrotliCompressionLevel 5
    BrotliWindowSize 22
</IfModule>

Pre-compressing static files

For the highest compression ratio, compress files during the build:

CodeShell

# Установка brotli CLI
apt install brotli  # или npm install -g brotli

# Сжатие с уровнем 11
brotli -k -q 11 style.css -o style.css.br
brotli -k -q 11 app.js -o app.js.br

Nginx with brotli_static on will serve .br files if the client supports Brotli and requests the corresponding URL.

Verifying that it works

Content-Encoding header

CodeShell

curl -H "Accept-Encoding: br" -I https://example.com/style.css

Expected header: Content-Encoding: br

Response size

CodeShell

# Без сжатия
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{size_download}" https://example.com/style.css

# С Brotli
curl -s -H "Accept-Encoding: br" -o /dev/null -w "%{size_download}" https://example.com/style.css

Online check

HTTP/2 Checker on rechecker.ru checks Brotli and HTTP/2 support for any domain. Nginx Generator helps generate a configuration with Brotli enabled.

Using Brotli and Gzip together

The recommended configuration supports both algorithms:

CodeNginx

# Gzip как fallback
gzip on;
gzip_vary on;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript;

# Brotli с приоритетом
brotli on;
brotli_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript;

The server checks the Accept-Encoding header and serves Brotli if the client supports it (br in the header); otherwise, it serves Gzip (gzip).

Performance impact

Resource	Uncompressed	Gzip	Brotli
HTML 50 KB	50 KB	12 KB	10 KB
CSS 100 KB	100 KB	18 KB	14 KB
JS 200 KB	200 KB	55 KB	42 KB

Bandwidth savings directly affect LCP and FCP: less data means faster loading.

Recommendations

Enable Brotli alongside Gzip — a fallback for older clients
Use level 5 for dynamic compression — a balance between compression and CPU usage
Pre-compress static files — level 11, with minimal server load
Check Accept-Encoding — serve Brotli only when the client supports it
Add Vary: Accept-Encoding — for correct proxy caching

Brotli is a simple way to reduce traffic by 15–25% without changing code. Check your current configuration with HTTP/2 Checker and, if needed, use Nginx Generator to generate a configuration.

Brotli vs. Gzip

Brotli compression levels

Nginx: configuring Brotli

Installing the module

Nginx configuration

Brotli directives

Apache: configuring Brotli

mod_brotli

Configuration

Pre-compressing static files

Verifying that it works

Content-Encoding header

Response size

Online check

Using Brotli and Gzip together

Performance impact

Recommendations

The website loads slowly

Terms by topic

Brotli: what it is and how it compares to Gzip

Gzip: what it is and how to enable compression

HTTP/2: what it is and why it is needed

Meta tags: what they are and why they matter

Cache-Control, ETag, Expires: managing caching with headers

HTTP headers: a complete reference for developers

Cookie security: Secure, HttpOnly, and SameSite attributes

Check your website

Feedback

Brotli vs. Gzip

Brotli compression levels

Nginx: configuring Brotli

Installing the module

Nginx configuration

Brotli directives

Apache: configuring Brotli

mod_brotli

Configuration

Pre-compressing static files

Verifying that it works

Content-Encoding header

Response size

Online check

Using Brotli and Gzip together

Performance impact

Recommendations

The website loads slowly

Terms by topic

Brotli: what it is and how it compares to Gzip

Gzip: what it is and how to enable compression

HTTP/2: what it is and why it is needed

Meta tags: what they are and why they matter

Cache-Control, ETag, Expires: managing caching with headers

HTTP headers: a complete reference for developers

Cookie security: Secure, HttpOnly, and SameSite attributes

Check your website