diff --git a/src/NATS.Server/NatsServer.cs b/src/NATS.Server/NatsServer.cs
index 7746dc0..3c7c91c 100644
--- a/src/NATS.Server/NatsServer.cs
+++ b/src/NATS.Server/NatsServer.cs
@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ public sealed class NatsServer : IMessageRouter, ISubListAccess, IDisposable
     private readonly TlsRateLimiter? _tlsRateLimiter;
     private readonly SubjectTransform[] _subjectTransforms;
     private readonly RouteManager? _routeManager;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Exposes the route manager for testing. Internal — visible to test project
+    /// via InternalsVisibleTo.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal RouteManager? RouteManager => _routeManager;
     private readonly GatewayManager? _gatewayManager;
     private readonly LeafNodeManager? _leafNodeManager;
     private readonly InternalClient? _jetStreamInternalClient;
diff --git a/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteCompressionCodec.cs b/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteCompressionCodec.cs
index e9588c9..5ba8a71 100644
--- a/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteCompressionCodec.cs
+++ b/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteCompressionCodec.cs
@@ -1,26 +1,135 @@
-using System.IO.Compression;
+// Reference: golang/nats-server/server/route.go — S2/Snappy compression for route connections
+// Go uses s2 (Snappy variant) for route and gateway wire compression.
+// IronSnappy provides compatible Snappy block encode/decode.
+
+using IronSnappy;
 
 namespace NATS.Server.Routes;
 
+/// <summary>
+/// Compression levels for route wire traffic, matching Go's <c>CompressionMode</c>.
+/// </summary>
+public enum RouteCompressionLevel
+{
+    /// <summary>No compression — data passes through unchanged.</summary>
+    Off = 0,
+
+    /// <summary>Fastest compression (Snappy/S2 default).</summary>
+    Fast = 1,
+
+    /// <summary>Better compression ratio at moderate CPU cost.</summary>
+    Better = 2,
+
+    /// <summary>Best compression ratio (highest CPU cost).</summary>
+    Best = 3,
+}
+
+/// <summary>
+/// S2/Snappy compression codec for route and gateway wire traffic.
+/// Mirrors Go's route compression (server/route.go) using IronSnappy.
+/// </summary>
 public static class RouteCompressionCodec
 {
-    public static byte[] Compress(ReadOnlySpan<byte> payload)
-    {
-        using var output = new MemoryStream();
-        using (var stream = new DeflateStream(output, CompressionLevel.Fastest, leaveOpen: true))
-        {
-            stream.Write(payload);
-        }
+    // Snappy block format: the first byte is a varint-encoded length.
+    // Snappy stream format starts with 0xff 0x06 0x00 0x00 "sNaPpY" magic.
+    // For block format (which IronSnappy uses), compressed output starts with
+    // a varint for the uncompressed length, then chunk tags. We detect by
+    // attempting a decode-length check: valid Snappy blocks have a leading
+    // varint that decodes to a plausible uncompressed size.
+    //
+    // Snappy stream magic header (10 bytes):
+    private static ReadOnlySpan<byte> SnappyStreamMagic => [0xff, 0x06, 0x00, 0x00, 0x73, 0x4e, 0x61, 0x50, 0x70, 0x59];
 
-        return output.ToArray();
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Compresses <paramref name="data"/> using Snappy block format.
+    /// If <paramref name="level"/> is <see cref="RouteCompressionLevel.Off"/>,
+    /// the original data is returned unchanged (copied).
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// IronSnappy only supports a single compression level (equivalent to Fast/S2).
+    /// The <paramref name="level"/> parameter is accepted for API parity with Go
+    /// but Fast, Better, and Best all produce the same output.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public static byte[] Compress(ReadOnlySpan<byte> data, RouteCompressionLevel level = RouteCompressionLevel.Fast)
+    {
+        if (level == RouteCompressionLevel.Off)
+            return data.ToArray();
+
+        if (data.IsEmpty)
+            return [];
+
+        return Snappy.Encode(data);
     }
 
-    public static byte[] Decompress(ReadOnlySpan<byte> payload)
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Decompresses Snappy/S2-compressed <paramref name="compressed"/> data.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <exception cref="InvalidOperationException">If the data is not valid Snappy.</exception>
+    public static byte[] Decompress(ReadOnlySpan<byte> compressed)
     {
-        using var input = new MemoryStream(payload.ToArray());
-        using var stream = new DeflateStream(input, CompressionMode.Decompress);
-        using var output = new MemoryStream();
-        stream.CopyTo(output);
-        return output.ToArray();
+        if (compressed.IsEmpty)
+            return [];
+
+        return Snappy.Decode(compressed);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Negotiates the effective compression level between two peers.
+    /// Returns the minimum (least aggressive) of the two levels, matching
+    /// Go's negotiation behavior where both sides must agree.
+    /// If either side is Off, the result is Off.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static RouteCompressionLevel NegotiateCompression(string localLevel, string remoteLevel)
+    {
+        var local = ParseLevel(localLevel);
+        var remote = ParseLevel(remoteLevel);
+
+        if (local == RouteCompressionLevel.Off || remote == RouteCompressionLevel.Off)
+            return RouteCompressionLevel.Off;
+
+        // Return the minimum (least aggressive) level
+        return (RouteCompressionLevel)Math.Min((int)local, (int)remote);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Detects whether the given data appears to be Snappy-compressed.
+    /// Checks for Snappy stream magic header or attempts to validate
+    /// as a Snappy block format by checking the leading varint.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool IsCompressed(ReadOnlySpan<byte> data)
+    {
+        if (data.Length < 2)
+            return false;
+
+        // Check for Snappy stream format magic
+        if (data.Length >= SnappyStreamMagic.Length && data[..SnappyStreamMagic.Length].SequenceEqual(SnappyStreamMagic))
+            return true;
+
+        // For Snappy block format, try to decode and see if it succeeds.
+        // A valid Snappy block starts with a varint for the uncompressed length.
+        try
+        {
+            _ = Snappy.Decode(data);
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static RouteCompressionLevel ParseLevel(string level)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(level))
+            return RouteCompressionLevel.Off;
+
+        return level.Trim().ToLowerInvariant() switch
+        {
+            "off" or "disabled" or "none" => RouteCompressionLevel.Off,
+            "fast" or "s2_fast" => RouteCompressionLevel.Fast,
+            "better" or "s2_better" => RouteCompressionLevel.Better,
+            "best" or "s2_best" => RouteCompressionLevel.Best,
+            _ => RouteCompressionLevel.Off,
+        };
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteConnection.cs b/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteConnection.cs
index 4298c53..c518867 100644
--- a/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteConnection.cs
+++ b/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteConnection.cs
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ public sealed class RouteConnection(Socket socket) : IAsyncDisposable
 
     public string? RemoteServerId { get; private set; }
     public string RemoteEndpoint => _socket.RemoteEndPoint?.ToString() ?? Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N");
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The pool index assigned to this route connection. Used for account-based
+    /// routing to deterministically select which pool connection handles traffic
+    /// for a given account. See <see cref="RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public int PoolIndex { get; set; }
     public Func<RemoteSubscription, Task>? RemoteSubscriptionReceived { get; set; }
     public Func<RouteMessage, Task>? RoutedMessageReceived { get; set; }
 
diff --git a/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteManager.cs b/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteManager.cs
index b3d2005..4437116 100644
--- a/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteManager.cs
+++ b/src/NATS.Server/Routes/RouteManager.cs
@@ -49,6 +49,48 @@ public sealed class RouteManager : IAsyncDisposable
         _logger = logger;
     }
 
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Returns a route pool index for the given account name, matching Go's
+    /// <c>computeRoutePoolIdx</c> (route.go:533-545). Uses FNV-1a 32-bit hash
+    /// to deterministically map account names to pool indices.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static int ComputeRoutePoolIdx(int poolSize, string accountName)
+    {
+        if (poolSize <= 1)
+            return 0;
+
+        var bytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(accountName);
+
+        // Use FNV-1a to match Go exactly
+        uint fnvHash = 2166136261; // FNV offset basis
+        foreach (var b in bytes)
+        {
+            fnvHash ^= b;
+            fnvHash *= 16777619; // FNV prime
+        }
+
+        return (int)(fnvHash % (uint)poolSize);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Returns the route connection responsible for the given account, based on
+    /// pool index computed from the account name. Returns null if no routes exist.
+    /// </summary>
+    public RouteConnection? GetRouteForAccount(string account)
+    {
+        if (_routes.IsEmpty)
+            return null;
+
+        var routes = _routes.Values.ToArray();
+        if (routes.Length == 0)
+            return null;
+
+        var poolSize = routes.Length;
+        var idx = ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, account);
+        return routes[idx % routes.Length];
+    }
+
     public Task StartAsync(CancellationToken ct)
     {
         _cts = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(ct);
@@ -66,7 +108,10 @@ public sealed class RouteManager : IAsyncDisposable
         foreach (var route in _options.Routes.Distinct(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
         {
             for (var i = 0; i < poolSize; i++)
-                _ = Task.Run(() => ConnectToRouteWithRetryAsync(route, _cts.Token));
+            {
+                var poolIndex = i;
+                _ = Task.Run(() => ConnectToRouteWithRetryAsync(route, poolIndex, _cts.Token));
+            }
         }
 
         return Task.CompletedTask;
@@ -119,8 +164,18 @@ public sealed class RouteManager : IAsyncDisposable
         if (_routes.IsEmpty)
             return;
 
-        foreach (var route in _routes.Values)
+        // Use account-based pool routing: route the message only through the
+        // connection responsible for this account, matching Go's behavior.
+        var route = GetRouteForAccount(account);
+        if (route != null)
+        {
             await route.SendRmsgAsync(account, subject, replyTo, payload, ct);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        // Fallback: broadcast to all routes if pool routing fails
+        foreach (var r in _routes.Values)
+            await r.SendRmsgAsync(account, subject, replyTo, payload, ct);
     }
 
     private async Task AcceptLoopAsync(CancellationToken ct)
@@ -165,7 +220,7 @@ public sealed class RouteManager : IAsyncDisposable
         }
     }
 
-    private async Task ConnectToRouteWithRetryAsync(string route, CancellationToken ct)
+    private async Task ConnectToRouteWithRetryAsync(string route, int poolIndex, CancellationToken ct)
     {
         while (!ct.IsCancellationRequested)
         {
@@ -174,7 +229,7 @@ public sealed class RouteManager : IAsyncDisposable
                 var endPoint = ParseRouteEndpoint(route);
                 var socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp);
                 await socket.ConnectAsync(endPoint.Address, endPoint.Port, ct);
-                var connection = new RouteConnection(socket);
+                var connection = new RouteConnection(socket) { PoolIndex = poolIndex };
                 await connection.PerformOutboundHandshakeAsync(_serverId, ct);
                 Register(connection);
                 return;
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Server.Tests/Routes/RoutePoolAccountTests.cs b/tests/NATS.Server.Tests/Routes/RoutePoolAccountTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2135646
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/NATS.Server.Tests/Routes/RoutePoolAccountTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+// Reference: golang/nats-server/server/route.go:533-545 — computeRoutePoolIdx
+// Tests for account-based route pool index computation and message routing.
+
+using System.Text;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions;
+using NATS.Server.Configuration;
+using NATS.Server.Routes;
+
+namespace NATS.Server.Tests.Routes;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Tests for route pool accounting per account, matching Go's
+/// computeRoutePoolIdx behavior (route.go:533-545).
+/// </summary>
+public class RoutePoolAccountTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void ComputeRoutePoolIdx_SinglePool_AlwaysReturnsZero()
+    {
+        RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(1, "account-A").ShouldBe(0);
+        RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(1, "account-B").ShouldBe(0);
+        RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(1, "$G").ShouldBe(0);
+        RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(0, "anything").ShouldBe(0);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ComputeRoutePoolIdx_DeterministicForSameAccount()
+    {
+        const int poolSize = 5;
+        const string account = "my-test-account";
+
+        var first = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, account);
+        var second = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, account);
+        var third = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, account);
+
+        first.ShouldBe(second);
+        second.ShouldBe(third);
+        first.ShouldBeGreaterThanOrEqualTo(0);
+        first.ShouldBeLessThan(poolSize);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ComputeRoutePoolIdx_DistributesAcrossPool()
+    {
+        const int poolSize = 3;
+        var usedIndices = new HashSet<int>();
+
+        for (var i = 0; i < 100; i++)
+        {
+            var idx = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, $"account-{i}");
+            idx.ShouldBeGreaterThanOrEqualTo(0);
+            idx.ShouldBeLessThan(poolSize);
+            usedIndices.Add(idx);
+        }
+
+        usedIndices.Count.ShouldBe(poolSize);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ComputeRoutePoolIdx_EmptyAccount_ReturnsValid()
+    {
+        const int poolSize = 4;
+        var idx = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, string.Empty);
+        idx.ShouldBeGreaterThanOrEqualTo(0);
+        idx.ShouldBeLessThan(poolSize);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ComputeRoutePoolIdx_DefaultGlobalAccount_ReturnsValid()
+    {
+        const int poolSize = 3;
+        var idx = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, "$G");
+        idx.ShouldBeGreaterThanOrEqualTo(0);
+        idx.ShouldBeLessThan(poolSize);
+
+        var idx2 = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(poolSize, "$G");
+        idx.ShouldBe(idx2);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task ForwardRoutedMessage_UsesCorrectPoolConnection()
+    {
+        var clusterName = Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N");
+
+        var optsA = new NatsOptions
+        {
+            Host = "127.0.0.1",
+            Port = 0,
+            Cluster = new ClusterOptions
+            {
+                Name = clusterName,
+                Host = "127.0.0.1",
+                Port = 0,
+                PoolSize = 1,
+                Routes = [],
+            },
+        };
+
+        var serverA = new NatsServer(optsA, NullLoggerFactory.Instance);
+        var ctsA = new CancellationTokenSource();
+        _ = serverA.StartAsync(ctsA.Token);
+        await serverA.WaitForReadyAsync();
+
+        var optsB = new NatsOptions
+        {
+            Host = "127.0.0.1",
+            Port = 0,
+            Cluster = new ClusterOptions
+            {
+                Name = clusterName,
+                Host = "127.0.0.1",
+                Port = 0,
+                PoolSize = 1,
+                Routes = [$"127.0.0.1:{optsA.Cluster.Port}"],
+            },
+        };
+
+        var serverB = new NatsServer(optsB, NullLoggerFactory.Instance);
+        var ctsB = new CancellationTokenSource();
+        _ = serverB.StartAsync(ctsB.Token);
+        await serverB.WaitForReadyAsync();
+
+        using var timeout = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5));
+        while (!timeout.IsCancellationRequested &&
+               (Interlocked.Read(ref serverA.Stats.Routes) == 0 ||
+                Interlocked.Read(ref serverB.Stats.Routes) == 0))
+        {
+            await Task.Delay(50, timeout.Token);
+        }
+
+        Interlocked.Read(ref serverA.Stats.Routes).ShouldBeGreaterThan(0);
+
+        var payload = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("hello");
+        await serverA.RouteManager!.ForwardRoutedMessageAsync(
+            "$G", "test.subject", null, payload, CancellationToken.None);
+
+        var poolIdx = RouteManager.ComputeRoutePoolIdx(1, "$G");
+        poolIdx.ShouldBe(0);
+
+        await ctsA.CancelAsync();
+        await ctsB.CancelAsync();
+        serverA.Dispose();
+        serverB.Dispose();
+        ctsA.Dispose();
+        ctsB.Dispose();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/NATS.Server.Tests/Routes/RouteS2CompressionTests.cs b/tests/NATS.Server.Tests/Routes/RouteS2CompressionTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..235fdb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/NATS.Server.Tests/Routes/RouteS2CompressionTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+// Reference: golang/nats-server/server/route.go — S2/Snappy compression for routes
+// Tests for RouteCompressionCodec: compression, decompression, negotiation, detection.
+
+using System.Text;
+using NATS.Server.Routes;
+
+namespace NATS.Server.Tests.Routes;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Tests for route S2/Snappy compression codec, matching Go's route compression
+/// behavior using IronSnappy.
+/// </summary>
+public class RouteS2CompressionTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void Compress_Fast_ProducesValidOutput()
+    {
+        var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("NATS route compression test payload");
+        var compressed = RouteCompressionCodec.Compress(data, RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+
+        compressed.ShouldNotBeNull();
+        compressed.Length.ShouldBeGreaterThan(0);
+
+        // Compressed output should be decompressible
+        var decompressed = RouteCompressionCodec.Decompress(compressed);
+        decompressed.ShouldBe(data);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Compress_Decompress_RoundTrips()
+    {
+        var original = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello NATS! This is a test of round-trip compression.");
+
+        foreach (var level in new[] { RouteCompressionLevel.Fast, RouteCompressionLevel.Better, RouteCompressionLevel.Best })
+        {
+            var compressed = RouteCompressionCodec.Compress(original, level);
+            var restored = RouteCompressionCodec.Decompress(compressed);
+            restored.ShouldBe(original, $"Round-trip failed for level {level}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Compress_EmptyData_ReturnsEmpty()
+    {
+        var result = RouteCompressionCodec.Compress(ReadOnlySpan<byte>.Empty, RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+        result.ShouldBeEmpty();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Compress_Off_ReturnsOriginal()
+    {
+        var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("uncompressed payload");
+        var result = RouteCompressionCodec.Compress(data, RouteCompressionLevel.Off);
+
+        result.ShouldBe(data);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Decompress_CorruptedData_Throws()
+    {
+        var garbage = new byte[] { 0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04 };
+
+        Should.Throw<Exception>(() => RouteCompressionCodec.Decompress(garbage));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void NegotiateCompression_BothOff_ReturnsOff()
+    {
+        var result = RouteCompressionCodec.NegotiateCompression("off", "off");
+        result.ShouldBe(RouteCompressionLevel.Off);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void NegotiateCompression_OneFast_ReturnsFast()
+    {
+        // When both are fast, result is fast
+        var result = RouteCompressionCodec.NegotiateCompression("fast", "fast");
+        result.ShouldBe(RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+
+        // When one is off, result is off (off wins)
+        var result2 = RouteCompressionCodec.NegotiateCompression("fast", "off");
+        result2.ShouldBe(RouteCompressionLevel.Off);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void NegotiateCompression_MismatchLevels_ReturnsMinimum()
+    {
+        // fast (1) vs best (3) => fast (minimum)
+        var result = RouteCompressionCodec.NegotiateCompression("fast", "best");
+        result.ShouldBe(RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+
+        // better (2) vs best (3) => better (minimum)
+        var result2 = RouteCompressionCodec.NegotiateCompression("better", "best");
+        result2.ShouldBe(RouteCompressionLevel.Better);
+
+        // fast (1) vs better (2) => fast (minimum)
+        var result3 = RouteCompressionCodec.NegotiateCompression("fast", "better");
+        result3.ShouldBe(RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void IsCompressed_ValidSnappy_ReturnsTrue()
+    {
+        var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("This is test data for Snappy compression detection");
+        var compressed = RouteCompressionCodec.Compress(data, RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+
+        RouteCompressionCodec.IsCompressed(compressed).ShouldBeTrue();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void IsCompressed_PlainText_ReturnsFalse()
+    {
+        var plainText = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("PUB test.subject 5\r\nhello\r\n");
+
+        RouteCompressionCodec.IsCompressed(plainText).ShouldBeFalse();
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void RoundTrip_LargePayload_Compresses()
+    {
+        // 10KB payload of repeated data should compress well
+        var largePayload = new byte[10240];
+        var pattern = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("NATS route payload ");
+        for (var i = 0; i < largePayload.Length; i++)
+            largePayload[i] = pattern[i % pattern.Length];
+
+        var compressed = RouteCompressionCodec.Compress(largePayload, RouteCompressionLevel.Fast);
+
+        // Compressed should be smaller than original for repetitive data
+        compressed.Length.ShouldBeLessThan(largePayload.Length);
+
+        // Round-trip should restore original
+        var restored = RouteCompressionCodec.Decompress(compressed);
+        restored.ShouldBe(largePayload);
+    }
+}