diff --git a/src/config/Config.h b/src/config/Config.h
index 1f45b18..8efeccf 100644
--- a/src/config/Config.h
+++ b/src/config/Config.h
@@ -196,6 +196,7 @@ struct Config {
   std::optional<AdminConfig> admin;
   std::string relayID; // always set: from config or randomly generated
   uint32_t threads{1};
+  bool useRelayThread{true};
   bool mvfstBpfSteering{true};
 };
 
diff --git a/src/config/ConfigResolver.cpp b/src/config/ConfigResolver.cpp
index 33d7a8e..c97e288 100644
--- a/src/config/ConfigResolver.cpp
+++ b/src/config/ConfigResolver.cpp
@@ -822,8 +822,11 @@ folly::Expected<ResolvedConfig, std::string> resolveConfig(const ParsedConfig& c
   const uint32_t threads = config.threads.value().value_or(1);
   if (threads == 0) {
     errors.push_back("threads must be >= 1");
-  } else if (threads > 1) {
-    errors.push_back("threads > 1 is not yet supported");
+  }
+
+  const bool useRelayThread = config.use_relay_thread.value().value_or(true);
+  if (threads > 1 && !useRelayThread) {
+    errors.push_back("use_relay_thread must be true when threads > 1");
   }
 
   const bool mvfstBpfSteering = config.mvfst_bpf_steering.value().value_or(true);
@@ -877,6 +880,7 @@ folly::Expected<ResolvedConfig, std::string> resolveConfig(const ParsedConfig& c
               .admin = std::move(adminConfig),
               .relayID = std::move(relayID),
               .threads = threads,
+              .useRelayThread = useRelayThread,
               .mvfstBpfSteering = mvfstBpfSteering,
           },
       .warnings = std::move(warnings),
diff --git a/src/config/loader/ParsedConfig.h b/src/config/loader/ParsedConfig.h
index 178d6a2..b075ff3 100644
--- a/src/config/loader/ParsedConfig.h
+++ b/src/config/loader/ParsedConfig.h
@@ -387,6 +387,11 @@ struct ParsedConfig {
       std::optional<ParsedListenerDefaultsConfig>>
       listener_defaults;
   rfl::Description<"Number of IO worker threads (default: 1)", std::optional<uint32_t>> threads;
+  rfl::Description<
+      "Dedicate one relay thread per service for relay state isolation (default: true). "
+      "Disable for baseline performance comparison.",
+      std::optional<bool>>
+      use_relay_thread;
   rfl::Description<
       "Attach a classic BPF reuseport filter to steer QUIC packets to the correct mvfst worker "
       "based on the connection ID's workerId field (Linux only, mvfst stack only, default: true). "
diff --git a/test/config/ConfigResolverTest.cpp b/test/config/ConfigResolverTest.cpp
index ac08fc7..37e8d82 100644
--- a/test/config/ConfigResolverTest.cpp
+++ b/test/config/ConfigResolverTest.cpp
@@ -920,12 +920,29 @@ TEST(ResolveConfig, ThreadsZeroRejected) {
   EXPECT_THAT(result.error(), HasSubstr("threads must be >= 1"));
 }
 
-TEST(ResolveConfig, ThreadsGreaterThanOneRejected) {
+TEST(ResolveConfig, ThreadsGreaterThanOneAccepted) {
   auto cfg = makeMinimalInsecureConfig();
   cfg.threads = std::optional<uint32_t>{2};
   auto result = resolveConfig(cfg);
+  ASSERT_TRUE(result.hasValue());
+  EXPECT_EQ(result.value().config.threads, 2u);
+}
+
+TEST(ResolveConfig, UseRelayThreadFalseWithOneThreadAccepted) {
+  auto cfg = makeMinimalInsecureConfig();
+  cfg.use_relay_thread = std::optional<bool>{false};
+  auto result = resolveConfig(cfg);
+  ASSERT_TRUE(result.hasValue());
+  EXPECT_FALSE(result.value().config.useRelayThread);
+}
+
+TEST(ResolveConfig, UseRelayThreadFalseWithMultipleThreadsRejected) {
+  auto cfg = makeMinimalInsecureConfig();
+  cfg.threads = std::optional<uint32_t>{2};
+  cfg.use_relay_thread = std::optional<bool>{false};
+  auto result = resolveConfig(cfg);
   ASSERT_TRUE(result.hasError());
-  EXPECT_THAT(result.error(), HasSubstr("threads > 1 is not yet supported"));
+  EXPECT_THAT(result.error(), HasSubstr("use_relay_thread must be true when threads > 1"));
 }
 
 // --- multiple listeners tests ---