diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 787ca72..82916ae 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,9 +9,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ## [Unreleased] - ReleaseDate
 ### Added
 - derive: support `serde::skip_deserializing` ([#83]).
+- the `quanta` feature, enabled by default.
 
 ### Changed
 - **BREAKING** drop the `wa-37420` feature.
+- inserter: increase performance if the `quanta` feature is enabled.
 - derive: move to syn v2.
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 68382cd..55e4dc2 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ required-features = ["test-util"]
 debug = true
 
 [features]
-default = ["lz4", "tls"]
+default = ["lz4", "tls", "quanta"]
 
 test-util = ["hyper/server"]
 watch = ["dep:sha-1", "dep:serde_json"]
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ lz4 = ["dep:lz4", "dep:clickhouse-rs-cityhash-sys"]
 uuid = ["dep:uuid"]
 time = ["dep:time"]
 tls = ["dep:hyper-tls"]
+quanta = ["dep:quanta"]
 
 [dependencies]
 clickhouse-derive = { version = "0.1.1", path = "derive" }
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ clickhouse-rs-cityhash-sys = { version = "0.1.2", optional = true }
 uuid = { version = "1", optional = true }
 time = { version = "0.3", optional = true }
 bstr = { version = "1.2", default-features = false }
+quanta = { version = "0.12", optional = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 criterion = "0.5.0"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dc35100..46fe75e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -209,10 +209,11 @@ See [examples](https://github.com/loyd/clickhouse.rs/tree/master/examples).
 ## Feature Flags
 * `lz4` (enabled by default) — enables `Compression::Lz4` and `Compression::Lz4Hc(_)` variants. If enabled, `Compression::Lz4` is used by default for all queries except for `WATCH`.
 * `tls` (enabled by default) — supports urls with the `HTTPS` schema.
+* `quanta` (enabled by default) - uses the [`quanta`](https://docs.rs/quanta) crate to speed the inserter up. Not used if `test-util` is enabled (thus, time can be managed by `tokio::time::advance()` in custom tests).
 * `test-util` — adds mocks. See [the example](https://github.com/loyd/clickhouse.rs/tree/master/examples/mock.rs). Use it only in `dev-dependencies`.
 * `watch` — enables `client.watch` functionality. See the corresponding section for details.
-* `uuid` — adds `serde::uuid` to work with [uuid](https://docs.rs/uuid/latest/uuid/) crate.
-* `time` — adds `serde::time` to work with [time](https://docs.rs/time/latest/time/) crate.
+* `uuid` — adds `serde::uuid` to work with [uuid](https://docs.rs/uuid) crate.
+* `time` — adds `serde::time` to work with [time](https://docs.rs/time) crate.
 
 ## Data Types
 * `(U)Int(8|16|32|64|128)` maps to/from corresponding `(u|i)(8|16|32|64|128)` types or newtypes around them.
diff --git a/src/inserter.rs b/src/inserter.rs
index 7cd13e2..d89231c 100644
--- a/src/inserter.rs
+++ b/src/inserter.rs
@@ -5,9 +5,15 @@ use futures::{
     Future,
 };
 use serde::Serialize;
-use tokio::time::{Duration, Instant};
-
-use crate::{error::Result, insert::Insert, row::Row, ticks::Ticks, Client};
+use tokio::time::Duration;
+
+use crate::{
+    error::Result,
+    insert::Insert,
+    row::Row,
+    ticks::{self, Ticks},
+    Client,
+};
 
 const DEFAULT_MAX_ENTRIES: u64 = 500_000;
 
@@ -154,7 +160,7 @@ where
         Some(
             self.ticks
                 .next_at()?
-                .saturating_duration_since(Instant::now()),
+                .saturating_duration_since(ticks::Instant::now()),
         )
     }
 
@@ -184,7 +190,7 @@ where
             self.uncommitted_entries = 0;
         }
 
-        let now = Instant::now();
+        let now = ticks::Instant::now();
 
         Ok(if self.is_threshold_reached(now) {
             let quantities = mem::replace(&mut self.committed, Quantities::ZERO);
@@ -207,7 +213,7 @@ where
         Ok(self.committed)
     }
 
-    fn is_threshold_reached(&self, now: Instant) -> bool {
+    fn is_threshold_reached(&self, now: ticks::Instant) -> bool {
         self.committed.entries >= self.max_entries
             || self.ticks.next_at().map_or(false, |next_at| now >= next_at)
     }
diff --git a/src/ticks.rs b/src/ticks.rs
index 37d2157..e8756ae 100644
--- a/src/ticks.rs
+++ b/src/ticks.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,18 @@
-use tokio::time::{Duration, Instant};
+use tokio::time::Duration;
 
 const PERIOD_THRESHOLD: Duration = Duration::from_secs(365 * 24 * 3600);
 
+// === Instant ===
+
+// More efficient `Instant` based on TSC.
+#[cfg(all(feature = "quanta", not(feature = "test-util")))]
+pub(crate) type Instant = quanta::Instant;
+
+#[cfg(any(not(feature = "quanta"), feature = "test-util"))]
+pub(crate) type Instant = tokio::time::Instant;
+
+// === Ticks ===
+
 pub(crate) struct Ticks {
     period: Duration,
     max_bias: f64,
@@ -62,9 +73,9 @@ impl Ticks {
     }
 }
 
-#[tokio::test]
+#[cfg(feature = "test-util")] // only with `tokio::time::Instant`
+#[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
 async fn it_works() {
-    tokio::time::pause();
     let origin = Instant::now();
 
     // No bias.
@@ -101,9 +112,9 @@ async fn it_works() {
     assert_eq!(ticks.next_at().unwrap() - origin, Duration::from_secs(31));
 }
 
-#[tokio::test]
+#[cfg(feature = "test-util")] // only with `tokio::time::Instant`
+#[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
 async fn it_skips_extra_ticks() {
-    tokio::time::pause();
     let origin = Instant::now();
 
     let mut ticks = Ticks::default();