Compression Support by Browser
Chrome / Chromium
- ✓ Gzip: All versions
- ✓ Deflate: All versions
- ✓ Brotli: Version 50+ (2016)
- ◐ Zstandard: Behind flag (v123+)
Firefox
- ✓ Gzip: All versions
- ✓ Deflate: All versions
- ✓ Brotli: Version 44+ (2016)
- ✓ Zstandard: Version 126+ (2024)
Safari
- ✓ Gzip: All versions
- ✓ Deflate: All versions
- ✓ Brotli: Version 11+ (2017)
- ✗ Zstandard: Not supported
Edge
- ✓ Gzip: All versions
- ✓ Deflate: All versions
- ✓ Brotli: Version 15+ (2017)
- ◐ Zstandard: Behind flag (v123+)
Mobile Browser Support
iOS Safari
- Gzip and Deflate: All versions
- Brotli: iOS 11.0+ (2017)
- Zstandard: Not supported
Chrome for Android
- Gzip and Deflate: All versions
- Brotli: Version 50+ (2016)
- Zstandard: Behind flag (v123+)
Samsung Internet
- Gzip and Deflate: All versions
- Brotli: Version 5.0+ (2016)
- Zstandard: Not supported
Feature Detection
JavaScript Feature Detection
// Check Accept-Encoding support
function checkCompressionSupport() {
const acceptEncoding = navigator.acceptEncoding ||
navigator.mozAcceptEncoding ||
navigator.webkitAcceptEncoding;
if (acceptEncoding) {
console.log('Supported encodings:', acceptEncoding);
}
// Server-side detection is more reliable
fetch('/test', { headers: { 'Accept-Encoding': 'gzip, br, zstd' }})
.then(response => {
console.log('Content-Encoding:', response.headers.get('Content-Encoding'));
});
}
Legacy Browser Considerations
Supporting Older Browsers
- Always include gzip as a fallback - supported by all modern browsers
- Content negotiation - Let the server choose the best compression based on Accept-Encoding
- Progressive enhancement - Serve uncompressed content if no compression is supported
- Test thoroughly - Use tools like BrowserStack to test across different browsers
Implementation Notes
Best Practices for Cross-Browser Support
- Server Configuration: Configure your server to handle multiple compression algorithms
- Quality Settings: Use appropriate compression levels for different content types
- MIME Types: Ensure correct MIME types for compressed content
- Fallback Strategy: Always have a fallback to uncompressed content
- Testing: Test with real devices and browsers, not just developer tools
Future Support
Browser vendors are continually improving compression support. Keep an eye on:
- Zstandard adoption in mainstream browsers
- Improvements to existing compression algorithms
- New compression methods for specific content types
- Hardware acceleration for compression/decompression