diff --git a/gfx/wr/webrender/res/brush.glsl b/gfx/wr/webrender/res/brush.glsl
index 9f21741be27f..6ed53c519732 100644
--- a/gfx/wr/webrender/res/brush.glsl
+++ b/gfx/wr/webrender/res/brush.glsl
@@ -156,7 +156,11 @@ void brush_shader_main_vs(
     //           shaders that don't clip in the future,
     //           but it's reasonable to assume that one
     //           implies the other, for now.
-#ifdef WR_FEATURE_ALPHA_PASS
+    // SW-WR may decay some requests for alpha-pass shaders to
+    // the opaque version if only the clip-mask is required. In
+    // that case the opaque vertex shader must still write out
+    // the clip information, which is cheap to do for SWGL.
+#if defined(WR_FEATURE_ALPHA_PASS) || defined(SWGL)
     write_clip(
         vi.world_pos,
         clip_area,
diff --git a/gfx/wr/webrender/src/device/gl.rs b/gfx/wr/webrender/src/device/gl.rs
index 297f2732a3f9..776178ee8ea4 100644
--- a/gfx/wr/webrender/src/device/gl.rs
+++ b/gfx/wr/webrender/src/device/gl.rs
@@ -981,6 +981,9 @@ pub struct Capabilities {
     /// Whether the driver prefers fewer and larger texture uploads
     /// over many smaller updates.
     pub prefers_batched_texture_uploads: bool,
+    /// Whether clip-masking is supported natively by the GL implementation
+    /// rather than emulated in shaders.
+    pub uses_native_clip_mask: bool,
     /// The name of the renderer, as reported by GL
     pub renderer_name: String,
 }
@@ -1627,6 +1630,12 @@ impl Device {
             gl::GlType::Gles => gl_version >= [3, 1],
         };
 
+        // SWGL uses swgl_clipMask() instead of implementing clip-masking in shaders.
+        // This allows certain shaders to potentially bypass the more expensive alpha-
+        // pass variants if they know the alpha-pass was only required to deal with
+        // clip-masking.
+        let uses_native_clip_mask = is_software_webrender;
+
         // On Mali-Gxx the driver really struggles with many small texture uploads,
         // and handles fewer, larger uploads better.
         let prefers_batched_texture_uploads = is_mali_g;
@@ -1654,6 +1663,7 @@ impl Device {
                 supports_render_target_partial_update,
                 supports_shader_storage_object,
                 prefers_batched_texture_uploads,
+                uses_native_clip_mask,
                 renderer_name,
             },
 
diff --git a/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/mod.rs b/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/mod.rs
index c73f34327ed8..da30166b2af3 100644
--- a/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/mod.rs
+++ b/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/mod.rs
@@ -3038,7 +3038,7 @@ impl Renderer {
                     }
 
                     self.shaders.borrow_mut()
-                        .get(&batch.key, batch.features, self.debug_flags)
+                        .get(&batch.key, batch.features, self.debug_flags, &self.device)
                         .bind(
                             &mut self.device, projection,
                             &mut self.renderer_errors,
@@ -3078,6 +3078,7 @@ impl Renderer {
                     &batch.key,
                     batch.features | BatchFeatures::ALPHA_PASS,
                     self.debug_flags,
+                    &self.device,
                 );
 
                 if batch.key.blend_mode != prev_blend_mode {
diff --git a/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/shade.rs b/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/shade.rs
index 1c9a6732f1fc..6143cc0e06c2 100644
--- a/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/shade.rs
+++ b/gfx/wr/webrender/src/renderer/shade.rs
@@ -1060,6 +1060,7 @@ impl Shaders {
         key: &BatchKey,
         mut features: BatchFeatures,
         debug_flags: DebugFlags,
+        device: &Device,
     ) -> &mut LazilyCompiledShader {
         match key.kind {
             BatchKind::SplitComposite => {
@@ -1089,7 +1090,15 @@ impl Shaders {
                     BrushBatchKind::MixBlend { .. } => {
                         &mut self.brush_mix_blend
                     }
+                    BrushBatchKind::LinearGradient |
+                    BrushBatchKind::RadialGradient |
                     BrushBatchKind::ConicGradient => {
+                        // SWGL uses a native clip mask implementation that bypasses the shader.
+                        // Don't consider it in that case when deciding whether or not to use
+                        // an alpha-pass shader.
+                        if device.get_capabilities().uses_native_clip_mask {
+                            features.remove(BatchFeatures::CLIP_MASK);
+                        }
                         // Gradient brushes can optimistically use the opaque shader even
                         // with a blend mode if they don't require any features.
                         if !features.intersects(
@@ -1099,31 +1108,12 @@ impl Shaders {
                         ) {
                             features.remove(BatchFeatures::ALPHA_PASS);
                         }
-                        &mut self.brush_conic_gradient
-                    }
-                    BrushBatchKind::RadialGradient => {
-                        // Gradient brushes can optimistically use the opaque shader even
-                        // with a blend mode if they don't require any features.
-                        if !features.intersects(
-                            BatchFeatures::ANTIALIASING
-                                | BatchFeatures::REPETITION
-                                | BatchFeatures::CLIP_MASK,
-                        ) {
-                            features.remove(BatchFeatures::ALPHA_PASS);
+                        match brush_kind {
+                            BrushBatchKind::LinearGradient => &mut self.brush_linear_gradient,
+                            BrushBatchKind::RadialGradient => &mut self.brush_radial_gradient,
+                            BrushBatchKind::ConicGradient => &mut self.brush_conic_gradient,
+                            _ => panic!(),
                         }
-                        &mut self.brush_radial_gradient
-                    }
-                    BrushBatchKind::LinearGradient => {
-                        // Gradient brushes can optimistically use the opaque shader even
-                        // with a blend mode if they don't require any features.
-                        if !features.intersects(
-                            BatchFeatures::ANTIALIASING
-                                | BatchFeatures::REPETITION
-                                | BatchFeatures::CLIP_MASK,
-                        ) {
-                            features.remove(BatchFeatures::ALPHA_PASS);
-                        }
-                        &mut self.brush_linear_gradient
                     }
                     BrushBatchKind::YuvImage(image_buffer_kind, ..) => {
                         let shader_index =