diff --git a/halo2_proofs/src/helpers.rs b/halo2_proofs/src/helpers.rs
index df5259e6c..ee91b8d52 100644
--- a/halo2_proofs/src/helpers.rs
+++ b/halo2_proofs/src/helpers.rs
@@ -199,6 +199,14 @@ pub trait SerdeCurveAffine: CurveAffine + SerdeObject {
             _ => self.write_raw(writer),
         }
     }
+
+    /// Byte length of an affine curve element according to `format`.
+    fn byte_length(format: SerdeFormat) -> usize {
+        match format {
+            SerdeFormat::Processed => Self::default().to_bytes().as_ref().len(),
+            _ => Self::Repr::default().as_ref().len() * 2,
+        }
+    }
 }
 impl<C: CurveAffine + SerdeObject> SerdeCurveAffine for C {}
 
diff --git a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk.rs b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk.rs
index aa58eaaeb..875f09436 100644
--- a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk.rs
+++ b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk.rs
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ pub struct VerifyingKey<C: CurveAffine> {
     /// The representative of this `VerifyingKey` in transcripts.
     transcript_repr: C::Scalar,
     selectors: Vec<Vec<bool>>,
+    /// Whether selector compression is turned on or not.
+    compress_selectors: bool,
 }
 
 impl<C: SerdeCurveAffine> VerifyingKey<C>
@@ -74,13 +76,19 @@ where
     /// Writes a field element into raw bytes in its internal Montgomery representation,
     /// WITHOUT performing the expensive Montgomery reduction.
     pub fn write<W: io::Write>(&self, writer: &mut W, format: SerdeFormat) -> io::Result<()> {
-        writer.write_all(&self.domain.k().to_be_bytes())?;
-        writer.write_all(&(self.fixed_commitments.len() as u32).to_be_bytes())?;
+        // Version byte that will be checked on read.
+        writer.write_all(&[0x02])?;
+        writer.write_all(&self.domain.k().to_le_bytes())?;
+        writer.write_all(&[self.compress_selectors as u8])?;
+        writer.write_all(&(self.fixed_commitments.len() as u32).to_le_bytes())?;
         for commitment in &self.fixed_commitments {
             commitment.write(writer, format)?;
         }
         self.permutation.write(writer, format)?;
 
+        if !self.compress_selectors {
+            assert!(self.selectors.is_empty());
+        }
         // write self.selectors
         for selector in &self.selectors {
             // since `selector` is filled with `bool`, we pack them 8 at a time into bytes and then write
@@ -106,9 +114,26 @@ where
         format: SerdeFormat,
         #[cfg(feature = "circuit-params")] params: ConcreteCircuit::Params,
     ) -> io::Result<Self> {
+        let mut version_byte = [0u8; 1];
+        reader.read_exact(&mut version_byte)?;
+        if 0x02 != version_byte[0] {
+            return Err(io::Error::new(
+                io::ErrorKind::InvalidData,
+                "unexpected version byte",
+            ));
+        }
         let mut k = [0u8; 4];
         reader.read_exact(&mut k)?;
-        let k = u32::from_be_bytes(k);
+        let k = u32::from_le_bytes(k);
+        let mut compress_selectors = [0u8; 1];
+        reader.read_exact(&mut compress_selectors)?;
+        if compress_selectors[0] != 0 && compress_selectors[0] != 1 {
+            return Err(io::Error::new(
+                io::ErrorKind::InvalidData,
+                "unexpected compress_selectors not boolean",
+            ));
+        }
+        let compress_selectors = compress_selectors[0] == 1;
         let (domain, cs, _) = keygen::create_domain::<C, ConcreteCircuit>(
             k,
             #[cfg(feature = "circuit-params")]
@@ -116,7 +141,7 @@ where
         );
         let mut num_fixed_columns = [0u8; 4];
         reader.read_exact(&mut num_fixed_columns)?;
-        let num_fixed_columns = u32::from_be_bytes(num_fixed_columns);
+        let num_fixed_columns = u32::from_le_bytes(num_fixed_columns);
 
         let fixed_commitments: Vec<_> = (0..num_fixed_columns)
             .map(|_| C::read(reader, format))
@@ -124,19 +149,27 @@ where
 
         let permutation = permutation::VerifyingKey::read(reader, &cs.permutation, format)?;
 
-        // read selectors
-        let selectors: Vec<Vec<bool>> = vec![vec![false; 1 << k]; cs.num_selectors]
-            .into_iter()
-            .map(|mut selector| {
-                let mut selector_bytes = vec![0u8; (selector.len() + 7) / 8];
-                reader.read_exact(&mut selector_bytes)?;
-                for (bits, byte) in selector.chunks_mut(8).zip(selector_bytes) {
-                    crate::helpers::unpack(byte, bits);
-                }
-                Ok(selector)
-            })
-            .collect::<io::Result<_>>()?;
-        let (cs, _) = cs.compress_selectors(selectors.clone());
+        let (cs, selectors) = if compress_selectors {
+            // read selectors
+            let selectors: Vec<Vec<bool>> = vec![vec![false; 1 << k]; cs.num_selectors]
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(|mut selector| {
+                    let mut selector_bytes = vec![0u8; (selector.len() + 7) / 8];
+                    reader.read_exact(&mut selector_bytes)?;
+                    for (bits, byte) in selector.chunks_mut(8).zip(selector_bytes) {
+                        crate::helpers::unpack(byte, bits);
+                    }
+                    Ok(selector)
+                })
+                .collect::<io::Result<_>>()?;
+            let (cs, _) = cs.compress_selectors(selectors.clone());
+            (cs, selectors)
+        } else {
+            // we still need to replace selectors with fixed Expressions in `cs`
+            let fake_selectors = vec![vec![]; cs.num_selectors];
+            let (cs, _) = cs.directly_convert_selectors_to_fixed(fake_selectors);
+            (cs, vec![])
+        };
 
         Ok(Self::from_parts(
             domain,
@@ -144,12 +177,13 @@ where
             permutation,
             cs,
             selectors,
+            compress_selectors,
         ))
     }
 
     /// Writes a verifying key to a vector of bytes using [`Self::write`].
     pub fn to_bytes(&self, format: SerdeFormat) -> Vec<u8> {
-        let mut bytes = Vec::<u8>::with_capacity(self.bytes_length());
+        let mut bytes = Vec::<u8>::with_capacity(self.bytes_length(format));
         Self::write(self, &mut bytes, format).expect("Writing to vector should not fail");
         bytes
     }
@@ -169,13 +203,13 @@ where
     }
 }
 
-impl<C: CurveAffine> VerifyingKey<C>
-where
-    C::ScalarExt: FromUniformBytes<64>,
-{
-    fn bytes_length(&self) -> usize {
-        8 + (self.fixed_commitments.len() * C::default().to_bytes().as_ref().len())
-            + self.permutation.bytes_length()
+impl<C: CurveAffine> VerifyingKey<C> {
+    fn bytes_length(&self, format: SerdeFormat) -> usize
+    where
+        C: SerdeCurveAffine,
+    {
+        10 + (self.fixed_commitments.len() * C::byte_length(format))
+            + self.permutation.bytes_length(format)
             + self.selectors.len()
                 * (self
                     .selectors
@@ -190,7 +224,11 @@ where
         permutation: permutation::VerifyingKey<C>,
         cs: ConstraintSystem<C::Scalar>,
         selectors: Vec<Vec<bool>>,
-    ) -> Self {
+        compress_selectors: bool,
+    ) -> Self
+    where
+        C::ScalarExt: FromUniformBytes<64>,
+    {
         // Compute cached values.
         let cs_degree = cs.degree();
 
@@ -203,6 +241,7 @@ where
             // Temporary, this is not pinned.
             transcript_repr: C::Scalar::ZERO,
             selectors,
+            compress_selectors,
         };
 
         let mut hasher = Blake2bParams::new()
@@ -303,9 +342,12 @@ where
     }
 
     /// Gets the total number of bytes in the serialization of `self`
-    fn bytes_length(&self) -> usize {
+    fn bytes_length(&self, format: SerdeFormat) -> usize
+    where
+        C: SerdeCurveAffine,
+    {
         let scalar_len = C::Scalar::default().to_repr().as_ref().len();
-        self.vk.bytes_length()
+        self.vk.bytes_length(format)
             + 12
             + scalar_len * (self.l0.len() + self.l_last.len() + self.l_active_row.len())
             + polynomial_slice_byte_length(&self.fixed_values)
@@ -386,7 +428,7 @@ where
 
     /// Writes a proving key to a vector of bytes using [`Self::write`].
     pub fn to_bytes(&self, format: SerdeFormat) -> Vec<u8> {
-        let mut bytes = Vec::<u8>::with_capacity(self.bytes_length());
+        let mut bytes = Vec::<u8>::with_capacity(self.bytes_length(format));
         Self::write(self, &mut bytes, format).expect("Writing to vector should not fail");
         bytes
     }
diff --git a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/circuit.rs b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/circuit.rs
index f0d3a83d1..575375df1 100644
--- a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/circuit.rs
+++ b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/circuit.rs
@@ -1986,7 +1986,45 @@ impl<F: Field> ConstraintSystem<F> {
             .into_iter()
             .map(|a| a.unwrap())
             .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        self.replace_selectors_with_fixed(&selector_replacements);
 
+        (self, polys)
+    }
+
+    /// Does not combine selectors and directly replaces them everywhere with fixed columns.
+    pub fn directly_convert_selectors_to_fixed(
+        mut self,
+        selectors: Vec<Vec<bool>>,
+    ) -> (Self, Vec<Vec<F>>) {
+        // The number of provided selector assignments must be the number we
+        // counted for this constraint system.
+        assert_eq!(selectors.len(), self.num_selectors);
+
+        let (polys, selector_replacements): (Vec<_>, Vec<_>) = selectors
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|selector| {
+                let poly = selector
+                    .iter()
+                    .map(|b| if *b { F::ONE } else { F::ZERO })
+                    .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+                let column = self.fixed_column();
+                let rotation = Rotation::cur();
+                let expr = Expression::Fixed(FixedQuery {
+                    index: Some(self.query_fixed_index(column, rotation)),
+                    column_index: column.index,
+                    rotation,
+                });
+                (poly, expr)
+            })
+            .unzip();
+
+        self.replace_selectors_with_fixed(&selector_replacements);
+        self.num_selectors = 0;
+
+        (self, polys)
+    }
+
+    fn replace_selectors_with_fixed(&mut self, selector_replacements: &[Expression<F>]) {
         fn replace_selectors<F: Field>(
             expr: &mut Expression<F>,
             selector_replacements: &[Expression<F>],
@@ -2017,7 +2055,7 @@ impl<F: Field> ConstraintSystem<F> {
 
         // Substitute selectors for the real fixed columns in all gates
         for expr in self.gates.iter_mut().flat_map(|gate| gate.polys.iter_mut()) {
-            replace_selectors(expr, &selector_replacements, false);
+            replace_selectors(expr, selector_replacements, false);
         }
 
         // Substitute non-simple selectors for the real fixed columns in all
@@ -2028,10 +2066,8 @@ impl<F: Field> ConstraintSystem<F> {
                 .iter_mut()
                 .chain(lookup.table_expressions.iter_mut())
         }) {
-            replace_selectors(expr, &selector_replacements, true);
+            replace_selectors(expr, selector_replacements, true);
         }
-
-        (self, polys)
     }
 
     /// Allocate a new (simple) selector. Simple selectors cannot be added to
diff --git a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/keygen.rs b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/keygen.rs
index c8c53aa90..fc70574b6 100644
--- a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/keygen.rs
+++ b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/keygen.rs
@@ -196,10 +196,28 @@ impl<F: Field> Assignment<F> for Assembly<F> {
 }
 
 /// Generate a `VerifyingKey` from an instance of `Circuit`.
+/// By default, selector compression is turned **off**.
 pub fn keygen_vk<'params, C, P, ConcreteCircuit>(
     params: &P,
     circuit: &ConcreteCircuit,
 ) -> Result<VerifyingKey<C>, Error>
+where
+    C: CurveAffine,
+    P: Params<'params, C>,
+    ConcreteCircuit: Circuit<C::Scalar>,
+    C::Scalar: FromUniformBytes<64>,
+{
+    keygen_vk_custom(params, circuit, true)
+}
+
+/// Generate a `VerifyingKey` from an instance of `Circuit`.
+///
+/// The selector compression optimization is turned on only if `compress_selectors` is `true`.
+pub fn keygen_vk_custom<'params, C, P, ConcreteCircuit>(
+    params: &P,
+    circuit: &ConcreteCircuit,
+    compress_selectors: bool,
+) -> Result<VerifyingKey<C>, Error>
 where
     C: CurveAffine,
     P: Params<'params, C>,
@@ -234,7 +252,13 @@ where
     )?;
 
     let mut fixed = batch_invert_assigned(assembly.fixed);
-    let (cs, selector_polys) = cs.compress_selectors(assembly.selectors.clone());
+    let (cs, selector_polys) = if compress_selectors {
+        cs.compress_selectors(assembly.selectors.clone())
+    } else {
+        // After this, the ConstraintSystem should not have any selectors: `verify` does not need them, and `keygen_pk` regenerates `cs` from scratch anyways.
+        let selectors = std::mem::take(&mut assembly.selectors);
+        cs.directly_convert_selectors_to_fixed(selectors)
+    };
     fixed.extend(
         selector_polys
             .into_iter()
@@ -256,6 +280,7 @@ where
         permutation_vk,
         cs,
         assembly.selectors,
+        compress_selectors,
     ))
 }
 
@@ -300,7 +325,11 @@ where
     )?;
 
     let mut fixed = batch_invert_assigned(assembly.fixed);
-    let (cs, selector_polys) = cs.compress_selectors(assembly.selectors);
+    let (cs, selector_polys) = if vk.compress_selectors {
+        cs.compress_selectors(assembly.selectors)
+    } else {
+        cs.directly_convert_selectors_to_fixed(assembly.selectors)
+    };
     fixed.extend(
         selector_polys
             .into_iter()
diff --git a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/permutation.rs b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/permutation.rs
index 1da8fb1e2..29a4a323a 100644
--- a/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/permutation.rs
+++ b/halo2_proofs/src/plonk/permutation.rs
@@ -118,8 +118,11 @@ impl<C: CurveAffine> VerifyingKey<C> {
         Ok(VerifyingKey { commitments })
     }
 
-    pub(crate) fn bytes_length(&self) -> usize {
-        self.commitments.len() * C::default().to_bytes().as_ref().len()
+    pub(crate) fn bytes_length(&self, format: SerdeFormat) -> usize
+    where
+        C: SerdeCurveAffine,
+    {
+        self.commitments.len() * C::byte_length(format)
     }
 }