diff --git a/src/main/asciidoc/dataobjects.adoc b/src/main/asciidoc/dataobjects.adoc
index 5d2854569d7..b7c7ab9089e 100644
--- a/src/main/asciidoc/dataobjects.adoc
+++ b/src/main/asciidoc/dataobjects.adoc
@@ -758,6 +758,10 @@ Set the list of protocol versions to provide to the server during the Applicatio
 +++
 Set the connect timeout
 +++
+|[[connectionRecyclePolicy]]`connectionRecyclePolicy`|`link:enums.html#ConnectionRecyclePolicy[ConnectionRecyclePolicy]`|
++++
+set to <code>connectionRecyclePolicy</code> the policy in which connections are recycled
++++
 |[[crlPaths]]`crlPaths`|`Array of String`|
 +++
 Add a CRL path
diff --git a/src/main/generated/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptionsConverter.java b/src/main/generated/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptionsConverter.java
index 75d6daedd4c..6ae1230a241 100644
--- a/src/main/generated/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptionsConverter.java
+++ b/src/main/generated/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptionsConverter.java
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ static void fromJson(JsonObject json, HttpClientOptions obj) {
       });
       obj.setAlpnVersions(list);
     }
+    if (json.getValue("connectionRecyclePolicy") instanceof String) {
+      obj.setConnectionRecyclePolicy(io.vertx.core.http.impl.pool.Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy.valueOf((String)json.getValue("connectionRecyclePolicy")));
+    }
     if (json.getValue("decoderInitialBufferSize") instanceof Number) {
       obj.setDecoderInitialBufferSize(((Number)json.getValue("decoderInitialBufferSize")).intValue());
     }
@@ -121,6 +124,9 @@ static void toJson(HttpClientOptions obj, JsonObject json) {
       obj.getAlpnVersions().forEach(item -> array.add(item.name()));
       json.put("alpnVersions", array);
     }
+    if (obj.getConnectionRecyclePolicy() != null) {
+      json.put("connectionRecyclePolicy", obj.getConnectionRecyclePolicy().name());
+    }
     json.put("decoderInitialBufferSize", obj.getDecoderInitialBufferSize());
     if (obj.getDefaultHost() != null) {
       json.put("defaultHost", obj.getDefaultHost());
diff --git a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptions.java b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptions.java
index e50dbe547b0..4f30899ab04 100755
--- a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptions.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/HttpClientOptions.java
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 import io.vertx.codegen.annotations.DataObject;
 import io.vertx.core.buffer.Buffer;
+import io.vertx.core.http.impl.pool.Pool;
 import io.vertx.core.impl.Arguments;
 import io.vertx.core.json.JsonObject;
 import io.vertx.core.net.*;
@@ -160,6 +161,11 @@ public class HttpClientOptions extends ClientOptionsBase {
    */
   public static final int DEFAULT_DECODER_INITIAL_BUFFER_SIZE = 128;
 
+  /**
+   * Default policy on how to recycle HTTP connections in the connection POOL
+   */
+  public static final Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy DEFAULT_CONNECTION_RECYCLE_POLICY = Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy.FIFO;
+
   private boolean verifyHost = true;
   private int maxPoolSize;
   private boolean keepAlive;
@@ -188,6 +194,7 @@ public class HttpClientOptions extends ClientOptionsBase {
   private int maxRedirects;
   private boolean forceSni;
   private int decoderInitialBufferSize;
+  private Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy connectionRecyclePolicy;
 
   /**
    * Default constructor
@@ -231,6 +238,7 @@ public HttpClientOptions(HttpClientOptions other) {
     this.maxRedirects = other.maxRedirects;
     this.forceSni = other.forceSni;
     this.decoderInitialBufferSize = other.getDecoderInitialBufferSize();
+    this.connectionRecyclePolicy = other.getConnectionRecyclePolicy();
   }
 
   /**
@@ -283,6 +291,7 @@ private void init() {
     maxRedirects = DEFAULT_MAX_REDIRECTS;
     forceSni = DEFAULT_FORCE_SNI;
     decoderInitialBufferSize = DEFAULT_DECODER_INITIAL_BUFFER_SIZE;
+    connectionRecyclePolicy = DEFAULT_CONNECTION_RECYCLE_POLICY;
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -1041,6 +1050,23 @@ public HttpClientOptions setDecoderInitialBufferSize(int decoderInitialBufferSiz
     return this;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * set to {@code connectionRecyclePolicy} the policy in which connections are recycled
+   * @param connectionRecyclePolicy the connection recycle policy
+   * @returna reference to this, so the API can be used fluently
+   */
+  public HttpClientOptions setConnectionRecyclePolicy(Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy connectionRecyclePolicy) {
+    this.connectionRecyclePolicy = connectionRecyclePolicy;
+    return this;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * @return the current connections recycle policy
+   */
+  public Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy getConnectionRecyclePolicy() {
+    return connectionRecyclePolicy;
+  }
+
   @Override
   public boolean equals(Object o) {
     if (this == o) return true;
diff --git a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/ConnectionManager.java b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/ConnectionManager.java
index db7a1019677..ccc6984c9c2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/ConnectionManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/ConnectionManager.java
@@ -37,18 +37,21 @@ class ConnectionManager {
   private final Map<EndpointKey, Endpoint> endpointMap = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
   private final HttpVersion version;
   private final long maxSize;
+  private final Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy connectionPoolRecyclePolicy;
   private long timerID;
 
   ConnectionManager(HttpClientImpl client,
                     HttpClientMetrics metrics,
                     HttpVersion version,
                     long maxSize,
-                    int maxWaitQueueSize) {
+                    int maxWaitQueueSize,
+                    Pool.ConnectionRecyclePolicy connectionRecyclePolicy) {
     this.client = client;
     this.maxWaitQueueSize = maxWaitQueueSize;
     this.metrics = metrics;
     this.maxSize = maxSize;
     this.version = version;
+    this.connectionPoolRecyclePolicy = connectionRecyclePolicy;
   }
 
   synchronized void start(boolean checkExpired) {
@@ -127,7 +130,8 @@ void getConnection(String peerHost, boolean ssl, int port, String host,
             endpointMap.remove(key);
           },
           connectionMap::put,
-          connectionMap::remove);
+          connectionMap::remove,
+          connectionPoolRecyclePolicy);
         return new Endpoint(pool, metric);
       });
       Object metric;
diff --git a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/HttpClientImpl.java b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/HttpClientImpl.java
index bc0f92ae234..51cbdfb8c51 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/HttpClientImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/HttpClientImpl.java
@@ -155,8 +155,9 @@ public HttpClientImpl(VertxInternal vertx, HttpClientOptions options) {
       throw new IllegalStateException("Cannot have pipelining with no keep alive");
     }
     long maxWeight = options.getMaxPoolSize() * options.getHttp2MaxPoolSize();
-    websocketCM = new ConnectionManager(this, metrics, HttpVersion.HTTP_1_1, maxWeight, options.getMaxWaitQueueSize());
-    httpCM = new ConnectionManager(this, metrics, options.getProtocolVersion(), maxWeight, options.getMaxWaitQueueSize());
+    websocketCM = new ConnectionManager(this, metrics, HttpVersion.HTTP_1_1, maxWeight, options.getMaxWaitQueueSize(), options.getConnectionRecyclePolicy());
+
+    httpCM = new ConnectionManager(this, metrics, options.getProtocolVersion(), maxWeight, options.getMaxWaitQueueSize(), options.getConnectionRecyclePolicy());
     proxyType = options.getProxyOptions() != null ? options.getProxyOptions().getType() : null;
     httpCM.start(options.getKeepAliveTimeout() > 0 || options.getHttp2KeepAliveTimeout() > 0);
     websocketCM.start(options.getKeepAliveTimeout() > 0 || options.getHttp2KeepAliveTimeout() > 0);
diff --git a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/pool/Pool.java b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/pool/Pool.java
index 7fbf205b3f2..a12db9160c2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/pool/Pool.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/vertx/core/http/impl/pool/Pool.java
@@ -45,9 +45,9 @@
  * can mix connections with different concurrency (HTTP/1 and HTTP/2) and this flexibility is necessary.
  *
  * When a connection is created an {@link #initialWeight} is added to the current weight.
- * When the channel is connected the {@link ConnectionListener#onConnectSuccess} callback
+ * When the channel is connected, the {@link ConnectionListener#onConnectSuccess} callback
  * provides the initial weight returned by the connect method and the actual connection weight so it can be used to
- * correct the current weight. When the channel fails to connect the {@link ConnectionListener#onConnectFailure} failure
+ * correct the current weight. When the channel fails to connect, the {@link ConnectionListener#onConnectFailure} failure
  * provides the initial weight so it can be used to correct the current weight.
  *
  * When a connection is recycled and reaches its full capacity (i.e {@code Holder#concurrency == Holder#capacity},
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
  * When a waiter asks for a connection, it is either added to the queue (when it's not empty) or attempted to be
  * served (from the pool or by creating a new connection) or failed. The {@link #waitersCount} is the number
  * of total waiters (the waiters in {@link #waitersQueue} but also the inflight) so we know if we can close the pool
- * or not. The {@link #waitersCount} is incremented when a waiter wants to acquire a connection succesfully (i.e
+ * or not. The {@link #waitersCount} is incremented when a waiter wants to acquire a connection successfully (i.e
  * it is either added to the queue or served from the pool) and decremented when the it gets a reply (either with
  * a connection or with a failure).
  *
@@ -89,6 +89,16 @@ public String toString() {
       return "Holder[removed=" + removed + ",capacity=" + capacity + ",concurrency=" + concurrency + ",expirationTimestamp=" + expirationTimestamp + "]";
     }
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Defines the policy in which connections will be reused in the pool
+   *
+   */
+  public enum ConnectionRecyclePolicy {
+    FIFO, // Maintains the available connection as a queue, keep connections for longer
+    LIFO // Maintains the available connection as a stack, allowing more connections to expire
+  }
+
   private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Pool.class);
 
   private final ConnectionProvider<C> connector;
@@ -108,13 +118,16 @@ public String toString() {
   private boolean closed;
   private final Handler<Void> poolClosed;
 
+  private final ConnectionRecyclePolicy connectionRecyclePolicy;
+
   public Pool(ConnectionProvider<C> connector,
               int queueMaxSize,
               long initialWeight,
               long maxWeight,
               Handler<Void> poolClosed,
               BiConsumer<Channel, C> connectionAdded,
-              BiConsumer<Channel, C> connectionRemoved) {
+              BiConsumer<Channel, C> connectionRemoved,
+              ConnectionRecyclePolicy connectionRecyclePolicy) {
     this.maxWeight = maxWeight;
     this.initialWeight = initialWeight;
     this.connector = connector;
@@ -123,6 +136,7 @@ public Pool(ConnectionProvider<C> connector,
     this.available = new ArrayDeque<>();
     this.connectionAdded = connectionAdded;
     this.connectionRemoved = connectionRemoved;
+    this.connectionRecyclePolicy = connectionRecyclePolicy;
   }
 
   public synchronized int waitersInQueue() {
@@ -350,13 +364,23 @@ private void recycleConnection(Holder<C> conn, int c, long timestamp) {
       connector.close(conn.connection);
     } else {
       if (conn.capacity == 0) {
-        available.add(conn);
+        returnConnectionToPool(conn);
       }
       conn.expirationTimestamp = timestamp;
       conn.capacity = newCapacity;
     }
   }
 
+  private void returnConnectionToPool(Holder<C> conn) {
+    switch (this.connectionRecyclePolicy) {
+      case FIFO:
+        available.add(conn);
+        break;
+      case LIFO:
+        available.offerFirst(conn);
+    }
+  }
+
   private void initConnection(Holder<C> holder, ContextInternal context, long concurrency, C conn, Channel channel, long weight) {
     this.weight += initialWeight - weight;
     holder.context = context;