diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteExecutionService.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteExecutionService.java
index 18d2ae50950ecf..14e564376c2252 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteExecutionService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteExecutionService.java
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ExecException;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.FileArtifactValue.RemoteFileArtifactValue;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ForbiddenActionInputException;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.MetadataProvider;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.Spawn;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.Spawns;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.UserExecException;
@@ -116,6 +117,8 @@
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.SortedMap;
 import java.util.TreeSet;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentLinkedQueue;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
 /**
@@ -133,6 +136,7 @@ public class RemoteExecutionService {
   @Nullable private final RemoteExecutionClient remoteExecutor;
   private final ImmutableSet<PathFragment> filesToDownload;
   @Nullable private final Path captureCorruptedOutputsDir;
+  private final ConcurrentHashMap<Object, MerkleTree> merkleTreeCache = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
   public RemoteExecutionService(
       Path execRoot,
@@ -331,12 +335,49 @@ public boolean mayBeExecutedRemotely(Spawn spawn) {
         && Spawns.mayBeExecutedRemotely(spawn);
   }
 
+  private MerkleTree buildInputMerkleTree(SpawnExecutionContext context)
+      throws IOException, ForbiddenActionInputException {
+    if (remoteOptions.remoteCacheMerkleTrees) {
+      MetadataProvider metadataProvider = context.getMetadataProvider();
+      ConcurrentLinkedQueue<MerkleTree> subMerkleTrees = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue();
+      remotePathResolver.walkInputs(
+          context,
+          (Object nodeKey, SpawnExecutionContext.InputWalker walker) -> {
+            subMerkleTrees.add(buildMerkleTreeVisitor(nodeKey, walker, metadataProvider));
+          });
+      return MerkleTree.merge(subMerkleTrees, digestUtil);
+    } else {
+      SortedMap<PathFragment, ActionInput> inputMap = remotePathResolver.getInputMapping(context);
+      return MerkleTree.build(inputMap, context.getMetadataProvider(), execRoot, digestUtil);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private MerkleTree buildMerkleTreeVisitor(
+      Object nodeKey, SpawnExecutionContext.InputWalker walker, MetadataProvider metadataProvider)
+      throws IOException, ForbiddenActionInputException {
+    MerkleTree result = merkleTreeCache.get(nodeKey);
+    if (result == null) {
+      ConcurrentLinkedQueue<MerkleTree> subMerkleTrees = new ConcurrentLinkedQueue();
+      subMerkleTrees.add(MerkleTree.build(
+          walker.getLeavesInputMapping(), metadataProvider, execRoot, digestUtil));
+      walker.visitNonLeaves(
+          (Object subNodeKey, SpawnExecutionContext.InputWalker subWalker) -> {
+            subMerkleTrees.add(buildMerkleTreeVisitor(
+                subNodeKey, subWalker, metadataProvider));
+          });
+      result = MerkleTree.merge(subMerkleTrees, digestUtil);
+      MerkleTree existingResult = merkleTreeCache.putIfAbsent(nodeKey, result);
+      if (existingResult != null) {
+        result = existingResult;
+      }
+    }
+    return result;
+  }
+
   /** Creates a new {@link RemoteAction} instance from spawn. */
   public RemoteAction buildRemoteAction(Spawn spawn, SpawnExecutionContext context)
       throws IOException, UserExecException, ForbiddenActionInputException {
-    SortedMap<PathFragment, ActionInput> inputMap = remotePathResolver.getInputMapping(context);
-    final MerkleTree merkleTree =
-        MerkleTree.build(inputMap, context.getMetadataProvider(), execRoot, digestUtil);
+    final MerkleTree merkleTree = buildInputMerkleTree(context);
 
     // Get the remote platform properties.
     Platform platform = PlatformUtils.getPlatformProto(spawn, remoteOptions);
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/options/RemoteOptions.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/options/RemoteOptions.java
index cb2f1639807279..2e19b7843dadfb 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/options/RemoteOptions.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/options/RemoteOptions.java
@@ -504,6 +504,16 @@ public RemoteOutputsStrategyConverter() {
               + " discard the remotely cached values if they don't match the expected value.")
   public boolean remoteVerifyDownloads;
 
+  @Option(
+      name = "remote_cache_merkle_trees",
+      defaultValue = "true",
+      documentationCategory = OptionDocumentationCategory.REMOTE,
+      effectTags = {OptionEffectTag.UNKNOWN},
+      help =
+          "Let the Merkle tree calculation be cached to improve speed for remote cache hit "
+              + "checking. Disabling this option will decrease the memory foot print.")
+  public boolean remoteCacheMerkleTrees;
+
   @Option(
       name = "remote_download_symlink_template",
       defaultValue = "",