diff --git a/replacer.go b/replacer.go
index aad13e2a..88234046 100644
--- a/replacer.go
+++ b/replacer.go
@@ -125,6 +125,14 @@ func (r *Replacer) replace(input, empty string,
 	// iterate the input to find each placeholder
 	var lastWriteCursor int
 	for i := 0; i < len(input); i++ {
+
+		// check for escaped braces
+		if i > 0 && input[i-1] == phEscape && (input[i] == phClose || input[i] == phOpen) {
+			sb.WriteString(input[lastWriteCursor : i-1])
+			lastWriteCursor = i
+			continue
+		}
+
 		if input[i] != phOpen {
 			continue
 		}
@@ -135,6 +143,11 @@ func (r *Replacer) replace(input, empty string,
 			continue
 		}
 
+		// if necessary look for the first closing brace that is not escaped
+		for end > 0 && end < len(input)-1 && input[end-1] == phEscape {
+			end = strings.Index(input[end+1:], string(phClose)) + end + 1
+		}
+
 		// write the substring from the last cursor to this point
 		sb.WriteString(input[lastWriteCursor:i])
 
@@ -237,4 +250,4 @@ var nowFunc = time.Now
 // ReplacerCtxKey is the context key for a replacer.
 const ReplacerCtxKey CtxKey = "replacer"
 
-const phOpen, phClose = '{', '}'
+const phOpen, phClose, phEscape = '{', '}', '\\'
diff --git a/replacer_test.go b/replacer_test.go
index 4b561945..66bb5379 100644
--- a/replacer_test.go
+++ b/replacer_test.go
@@ -35,30 +35,86 @@ func TestReplacer(t *testing.T) {
 			input:  "{",
 			expect: "{",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{`,
+			expect: `{`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  "foo{",
 			expect: "foo{",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `foo\{`,
+			expect: `foo{`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  "foo{bar",
 			expect: "foo{bar",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `foo\{bar`,
+			expect: `foo{bar`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  "foo{bar}",
 			expect: "foo",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `foo\{bar\}`,
+			expect: `foo{bar}`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  "}",
 			expect: "}",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `\}`,
+			expect: `\}`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  "{}",
 			expect: "",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{\}`,
+			expect: `{}`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  `{"json": "object"}`,
 			expect: "",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{"json": "object"}`,
+			expect: `{"json": "object"}`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{"json": "object"\}`,
+			expect: `{"json": "object"}`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{"json": "object{bar}"\}`,
+			expect: `{"json": "object"}`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{"json": \{"nested": "object"\}\}`,
+			expect: `{"json": {"nested": "object"}}`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{"json": \{"nested": "{bar}"\}\}`,
+			expect: `{"json": {"nested": ""}}`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `pre \{"json": \{"nested": "{bar}"\}\}`,
+			expect: `pre {"json": {"nested": ""}}`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{"json": \{"nested": "{bar}"\}\} post`,
+			expect: `{"json": {"nested": ""}} post`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `pre \{"json": \{"nested": "{bar}"\}\} post`,
+			expect: `pre {"json": {"nested": ""}} post`,
+		},
 		{
 			input:  `{{`,
 			expect: "{{",
@@ -67,11 +123,39 @@ func TestReplacer(t *testing.T) {
 			input:  `{{}`,
 			expect: "",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `{"json": "object"\}`,
+			expect: "",
+		},
 		{
 			input:  `{unknown}`,
 			empty:  "-",
 			expect: "-",
 		},
+		{
+			input:  `back\slashes`,
+			expect: `back\slashes`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `double back\\slashes`,
+			expect: `double back\\slashes`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `placeholder {with \{ brace} in name`,
+			expect: `placeholder  in name`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `placeholder {with \} brace} in name`,
+			expect: `placeholder  in name`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `placeholder {with \} \} braces} in name`,
+			expect: `placeholder  in name`,
+		},
+		{
+			input:  `\{'group':'default','max_age':3600,'endpoints':[\{'url':'https://some.domain.local/a/d/g'\}],'include_subdomains':true\}`,
+			expect: `{'group':'default','max_age':3600,'endpoints':[{'url':'https://some.domain.local/a/d/g'}],'include_subdomains':true}`,
+		},
 	} {
 		actual := rep.ReplaceAll(tc.input, tc.empty)
 		if actual != tc.expect {
@@ -81,6 +165,35 @@ func TestReplacer(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func BenchmarkReplacer(b *testing.B) {
+	type testCase struct {
+		name, input, empty string
+	}
+
+	rep := testReplacer()
+
+	for _, bm := range []testCase{
+		{
+			name:  "no placeholder",
+			input: `simple string`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "placeholder",
+			input: `{"json": "object"}`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "escaped placeholder",
+			input: `\{"json": \{"nested": "{bar}"\}\}`,
+		},
+	} {
+		b.Run(bm.name, func(b *testing.B) {
+			for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+				rep.ReplaceAll(bm.input, bm.empty)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestReplacerSet(t *testing.T) {
 	rep := testReplacer()