diff --git a/src/Routing/UrlBuilder.php b/src/Routing/UrlBuilder.php
index f2044eef79e..142e42d8c06 100644
--- a/src/Routing/UrlBuilder.php
+++ b/src/Routing/UrlBuilder.php
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 use Statamic\Facades\Parse;
 use Statamic\Facades\URL;
 use Statamic\Support\Str;
+use Statamic\View\Antlers\Language\Runtime\EnvironmentDetails;
 
 class UrlBuilder implements UrlBuilderContract
 {
@@ -17,6 +18,17 @@ class UrlBuilder implements UrlBuilderContract
 
     protected $merged = [];
 
+    /**
+     * Names that mean something other than a variable to Antlers.
+     */
+    private const ANTLERS_KEYWORDS = [
+        'true', 'false', 'null', 'void', 'list', 'as', 'and', 'or', 'xor', 'not',
+        'if', 'elseif', 'else', 'unless', 'elseunless', 'endif', 'endunless',
+        'switch', 'once', 'endonce', 'noparse', 'endnoparse', 'stop', 'recursive', 'new',
+        'bwa', 'bwo', 'bxor', 'bnot', 'bsl', 'bsr',
+        'arr', 'merge', 'pluck', 'where', 'take', 'skip', 'orderby', 'groupby',
+    ];
+
     /**
      * @param  \Statamic\Contracts\Entries\Entry|\Statamic\Taxonomies\Term  $content
      * @return $this
@@ -48,11 +60,13 @@ public function build($route)
         // or they can be an array with a route for each locale.
         $route = (is_array($route)) ? $route[$this->content->locale()] : $route;
 
-        $route = $this->convertToAntlers($route);
+        if (($url = $this->fillPlaceholders($route)) === null) {
+            $route = $this->convertToAntlers($route);
 
-        $route = Parse::config($route);
+            $route = Parse::config($route);
 
-        $url = Antlers::parse($route, $this->routeData());
+            $url = Antlers::parse($route, $this->routeData());
+        }
 
         // Slugify it because we're dealing with URLs after all.
         $url = $this->slugify($url);
@@ -63,6 +77,62 @@ public function build($route)
         return URL::tidy($url, withTrailingSlash: false);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Most routes are only placeholders, like "/blog/{slug}" or "{parent_uri}/{slug}".
+     * Their values can be put straight in, without creating an Antlers parser for every URL.
+     *
+     * Returns null when Antlers is needed: the route is written in Antlers, a placeholder
+     * isn't a plain variable name, or its value isn't a plain string or integer.
+     */
+    private function fillPlaceholders($route): ?string
+    {
+        // Antlers also compiles component tags (<s:partial />), so anything that might be one is left to it.
+        if (! is_string($route) || Str::contains($route, ['{{', '<'])) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        $data = null;
+        $filled = true;
+
+        $url = preg_replace_callback('/{\s*([a-zA-Z0-9_\-]+)\s*}/', function ($match) use (&$data, &$filled) {
+            $name = $match[1];
+
+            if (! preg_match('/^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*$/', $name) || in_array(strtolower($name), self::ANTLERS_KEYWORDS, true)) {
+                $filled = false;
+
+                return '';
+            }
+
+            $data ??= $this->routeData();
+            $value = $data[$name] ?? null;
+
+            if (is_int($value)) {
+                return (string) $value;
+            }
+
+            // A value with braces in it would read as another placeholder or as Antlers.
+            if (is_string($value) && strpbrk($value, '{}') === false) {
+                return $value;
+            }
+
+            $filled = false;
+
+            return '';
+        }, $route);
+
+        // Any braces left over aren't placeholders, so Antlers decides what they mean.
+        if (! $filled || $url === null || strpbrk($url, '{}') !== false) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        // Creating an Antlers parser also records which tags and modifiers exist at that
+        // moment, and a tag registered after the view engine was created is only seen once
+        // that happens again. Building a URL has always done it, so it still does.
+        app(EnvironmentDetails::class);
+
+        return $url;
+    }
+
     private function convertToAntlers($route)
     {
         if (Str::contains($route, '{{')) {
diff --git a/tests/Routing/UrlBuilderTest.php b/tests/Routing/UrlBuilderTest.php
index 5699802c42f..0dc5507fd5b 100644
--- a/tests/Routing/UrlBuilderTest.php
+++ b/tests/Routing/UrlBuilderTest.php
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 
 namespace Tests\Routing;
 
+use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\DataProvider;
 use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\Test;
 use Statamic\Contracts\Routing\UrlBuilder;
+use Statamic\Facades\Antlers;
 use Tests\PreventSavingStacheItemsToDisk;
 use Tests\TestCase;
 
@@ -130,6 +132,104 @@ public function it_removes_consecutive_slashes_left_by_null_values()
         );
     }
 
+    #[Test]
+    public function it_builds_placeholder_routes_without_antlers()
+    {
+        Antlers::shouldReceive('parse')->never();
+
+        $this->assertEquals('/blog/post', $this->builder->build('/blog/{slug}'));
+        $this->assertEquals('/blog/2015/01/02/post', $this->builder->build('/blog/{year}/{month}/{ day }/{slug}'));
+        $this->assertEquals('/blog/foo/bar/post.html', $this->builder->build('blog/{slashed}/{slug}.html/'));
+        $this->assertEquals('/test/bar-baz', $this->builder->merge(['foo' => 'Bar baz', 'number' => 5])->build('/test/{foo}'));
+        $this->assertEquals('/test/5', $this->builder->build('/test/{number}'));
+        $this->assertEquals('/blog/test', $this->builder->build('/blog/test'));
+    }
+
+    #[Test]
+    #[DataProvider('routesNeedingAntlersProvider')]
+    public function it_uses_antlers_when_a_route_is_more_than_placeholders($route, $merge)
+    {
+        $expected = Antlers::parse(
+            preg_replace('/{\s*([a-zA-Z0-9_\-]+)\s*}/', '{{ $1 }}', $route),
+            array_merge($this->entry->routeData(), $merge)
+        );
+
+        Antlers::partialMock()->shouldReceive('parse')->once()->passthru();
+
+        $this->builder->merge($merge)->build($route);
+
+        $this->assertNotNull($expected);
+    }
+
+    #[Test]
+    public function it_uses_antlers_when_a_route_might_contain_a_component_tag()
+    {
+        Antlers::partialMock()->shouldReceive('parse')->once()->andReturn('/blog/from-antlers');
+
+        $this->assertSame('/blog/from-antlers', $this->builder->build('/blog/<s:foo />/{slug}'));
+    }
+
+    public static function routesNeedingAntlersProvider()
+    {
+        return [
+            'written in antlers' => ['/blog/{{ slug }}', []],
+            'missing value' => ['/blog/{missing}/{slug}', []],
+            'null value' => ['/blog/{nothing}/{slug}', ['nothing' => null]],
+            'array value' => ['/blog/{list_of}/{slug}', ['list_of' => ['a', 'b']]],
+            'boolean value' => ['/blog/{flag}/{slug}', ['flag' => true]],
+            'float value' => ['/blog/{price}/{slug}', ['price' => 1.5]],
+            'value with braces' => ['/blog/{foo}/{slug}', ['foo' => 'a{slug}b']],
+            'value with antlers' => ['/blog/{foo}/{slug}', ['foo' => '{{ slug }}']],
+            'hyphenated name' => ['/blog/{my-field}/{slug}', ['my-field' => 'x']],
+            'name starting with a digit' => ['/blog/{2nd}/{slug}', ['2nd' => 'x']],
+            'antlers keyword' => ['/blog/{true}/{slug}', ['true' => 'x']],
+            'leftover braces' => ['/blog/{ not a placeholder }/{slug}', []],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    #[Test]
+    public function placeholder_routes_give_the_same_url_as_antlers_for_names_antlers_knows()
+    {
+        // A value in the route data wins over a tag or modifier of the same name in Antlers,
+        // but not over the language's own words. Either way a placeholder has to give
+        // whatever Antlers gives, including when Antlers can't parse it.
+        $words = [
+            'true', 'TRUE', 'false', 'null', 'Null', 'void', 'list', 'as', 'and', 'And', 'or', 'xor', 'not',
+            'if', 'elseif', 'else', 'unless', 'elseunless', 'endif', 'endunless', 'switch', 'once', 'endonce',
+            'noparse', 'endnoparse', 'stop', 'recursive', 'new', 'bwa', 'bwo', 'bxor', 'bnot', 'bsl', 'bsr',
+            'arr', 'merge', 'pluck', 'where', 'take', 'skip', 'orderby', 'groupby', 'gt', 'gte', 'lt', 'lte', 'eq', 'ne',
+            'in', 'is', 'isnt', 'view', 'this',
+            'id', 'slug', 'title', 'year', 'month', 'day', 'mount', 'parent_uri', 'depth', 'collection', 'locale', 'site', 'url', 'uri',
+        ];
+
+        $names = collect(app('statamic.tags')->keys())
+            ->merge(app('statamic.modifiers')->keys())
+            ->merge($words)
+            ->unique()
+            ->filter(fn ($name) => preg_match('/^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*$/', $name))
+            ->values();
+
+        $this->assertGreaterThan(300, $names->count());
+
+        $build = function ($route) {
+            try {
+                return $this->builder->build($route);
+            } catch (\Throwable $e) {
+                return get_class($e);
+            }
+        };
+
+        foreach ($names as $name) {
+            $this->builder->merge([$name => 'Some Value']);
+
+            $this->assertSame(
+                $build('/x/{{ '.$name.' }}/{{ slug }}'),
+                $build('/x/{'.$name.'}/{slug}'),
+                "The route placeholder {{$name}} gave a different URL without Antlers."
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
     #[Test]
     public function it_preserves_dots_in_url()
     {