diff --git a/benchmarks/src/jmh/java/io/grpc/netty/HeadersBenchmark.java b/benchmarks/src/jmh/java/io/grpc/netty/HeadersBenchmark.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..db262294b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/benchmarks/src/jmh/java/io/grpc/netty/HeadersBenchmark.java
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2016, Google Inc. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+ * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
+ * met:
+ *
+ *    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+ * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+ *    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+ * copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer
+ * in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
+ * distribution.
+ *
+ *    * Neither the name of Google Inc. nor the names of its
+ * contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
+ * this software without specific prior written permission.
+ *
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+ * "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+ * LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+ * A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+ * OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+ * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+ * LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
+ * DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
+ * THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+ * (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
+ * OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ */
+
+package io.grpc.netty;
+
+import io.grpc.Metadata;
+import io.grpc.Metadata.AsciiMarshaller;
+import io.grpc.netty.Utils;
+import io.netty.handler.codec.http2.Http2Headers;
+import io.netty.util.AsciiString;
+
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.Benchmark;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.BenchmarkMode;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.Mode;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.OutputTimeUnit;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.Param;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.Scope;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.Setup;
+import org.openjdk.jmh.annotations.State;
+
+import java.util.UUID;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+
+/**
+ * Header encoding benchmark.
+ */
+@State(Scope.Benchmark)
+public class HeadersBenchmark {
+  @Param({"10", "20", "50", "100"})
+  public int headerCount;
+
+  @Param({"false", "true"})
+  public boolean validate;
+
+  private final AsciiMarshaller<String> keyMarshaller = new AsciiMarshaller<String>() {
+    @Override
+    public String toAsciiString(String value) {
+      return value;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String parseAsciiString(String serialized) {
+      return serialized;
+    }
+  };
+
+  private Metadata metadata = new Metadata();
+  private AsciiString scheme = new AsciiString("https");
+  private AsciiString defaultPath = new AsciiString("/Service.MethodMethodMethod");
+  private AsciiString authority = new AsciiString("authority.googleapis.bogus");
+
+  @Setup
+  public void setUp() throws Exception {
+    for (int i = 0; i < headerCount; i++) {
+      metadata.put(Metadata.Key.of("key-" + i, keyMarshaller), UUID.randomUUID().toString());
+    }
+    Utils.validateHeaders = validate;
+  }
+
+  @Benchmark
+  @BenchmarkMode(Mode.SampleTime)
+  @OutputTimeUnit(TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS)
+  public Http2Headers convertHeaders() {
+    return Utils.convertClientHeaders(metadata, scheme, defaultPath, authority);
+  }
+}
+
diff --git a/netty/src/main/java/io/grpc/netty/Utils.java b/netty/src/main/java/io/grpc/netty/Utils.java
index 38ba2bcae3..3cb53b1ef1 100644
--- a/netty/src/main/java/io/grpc/netty/Utils.java
+++ b/netty/src/main/java/io/grpc/netty/Utils.java
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import static io.grpc.internal.GrpcUtil.CONTENT_TYPE_KEY;
 import static io.grpc.internal.GrpcUtil.USER_AGENT_KEY;
 import static io.netty.util.CharsetUtil.UTF_8;
 
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
 import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
 
 import io.grpc.Metadata;
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ import javax.net.ssl.SSLSession;
 /**
  * Common utility methods.
  */
+@VisibleForTesting
 class Utils {
 
   public static final AsciiString STATUS_OK = AsciiString.of("200");
@@ -84,6 +86,9 @@ class Utils {
   public static final AttributeKey<SSLSession> SSL_SESSION_ATTR_KEY =
       AttributeKey.valueOf(SSLSession.class, "ssl-session");
 
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  static boolean validateHeaders = false;
+
   public static Metadata convertHeaders(Http2Headers http2Headers) {
     return new Metadata(convertHeadersToArray(http2Headers));
   }
@@ -155,8 +160,7 @@ class Utils {
 
   private static Http2Headers convertMetadata(Metadata headers) {
     Preconditions.checkNotNull(headers, "headers");
-    boolean validate = true;
-    Http2Headers http2Headers = new DefaultHttp2Headers(validate, headers.headerCount());
+    Http2Headers http2Headers = new DefaultHttp2Headers(validateHeaders, headers.headerCount());
     byte[][] serializedHeaders = TransportFrameUtil.toHttp2Headers(headers);
     for (int i = 0; i < serializedHeaders.length; i += 2) {
       AsciiString name = new AsciiString(serializedHeaders[i], false);