diff --git a/xpra/codecs/pillow/encoder.py b/xpra/codecs/pillow/encoder.py
index aa83b2dc46..219ab9def2 100644
--- a/xpra/codecs/pillow/encoder.py
+++ b/xpra/codecs/pillow/encoder.py
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ def mask_value(a):
         #76-100   -> 1
         #51-76    -> 2
         #etc
-        level = max(1, min(5, (125-speed)//25))
+        level = max(0, min(5, (100-speed)//25))
         kwargs["compress_level"] = level
         #no need to expose to the client:
         #client_options["compress_level"] = level