diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index dea11bb9f61..b442e48a3d0 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -430,6 +430,7 @@ gitlab:assets:compile:
     USE_DB: "false"
     SKIP_STORAGE_VALIDATION: "true"
     WEBPACK_REPORT: "true"
+    NO_COMPRESSION: "true"
   script:
     - yarn install --pure-lockfile --production --cache-folder .yarn-cache
     - bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:compile
diff --git a/changelogs/unreleased/32992-consider-using-zopfli-over-standard-gzip-compression-for-webpack-assets.yml b/changelogs/unreleased/32992-consider-using-zopfli-over-standard-gzip-compression-for-webpack-assets.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..93037d6181e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/unreleased/32992-consider-using-zopfli-over-standard-gzip-compression-for-webpack-assets.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+title: Use zopfli compression for frontend assets
+merge_request: 11798
+author:
diff --git a/config/webpack.config.js b/config/webpack.config.js
index c99298239b2..61f1eaaacd1 100644
--- a/config/webpack.config.js
+++ b/config/webpack.config.js
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ var DEV_SERVER_HOST = process.env.DEV_SERVER_HOST || 'localhost';
 var DEV_SERVER_PORT = parseInt(process.env.DEV_SERVER_PORT, 10) || 3808;
 var DEV_SERVER_LIVERELOAD = process.env.DEV_SERVER_LIVERELOAD !== 'false';
 var WEBPACK_REPORT = process.env.WEBPACK_REPORT;
+var NO_COMPRESSION = process.env.NO_COMPRESSION;
 
 var config = {
   // because sqljs requires fs.
@@ -221,11 +222,18 @@ if (IS_PRODUCTION) {
     }),
     new webpack.DefinePlugin({
       'process.env': { NODE_ENV: JSON.stringify('production') }
-    }),
-    new CompressionPlugin({
-      asset: '[path].gz[query]',
     })
   );
+
+  // zopfli requires a lot of compute time and is disabled in CI
+  if (!NO_COMPRESSION) {
+    config.plugins.push(
+      new CompressionPlugin({
+        asset: '[path].gz[query]',
+        algorithm: 'zopfli',
+      })
+    );
+  }
 }
 
 if (IS_DEV_SERVER) {