diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 9d8cb99..95fc2e1 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-find_package(Boost 1.54 COMPONENTS regex REQUIRED)
+find_package(Boost 1.54 REQUIRED)
 
 include_directories(
 	${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/include
@@ -18,4 +18,3 @@ set(SRC
 	visitor/render_section.cpp)
 
 add_library(mstch STATIC ${SRC})
-target_link_libraries(mstch ${Boost_REGEX_LIBRARY})
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/mstch.cpp b/src/mstch.cpp
index e0514b2..f023cbc 100644
--- a/src/mstch.cpp
+++ b/src/mstch.cpp
@@ -11,5 +11,5 @@ std::string mstch::render(
         const object& root,
         const std::map<std::string,std::string>& partials)
 {
-    return render_context(root, partials).render(strip_whitespace(tmplt));
+    return render_context(root, partials).render(tmplt);
 }
diff --git a/src/render_context.cpp b/src/render_context.cpp
index e235cbd..60a8ea7 100644
--- a/src/render_context.cpp
+++ b/src/render_context.cpp
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ const mstch::node render_context::null_node;
 render_context::push::push(render_context& context, const mstch::object& obj):
         context(context)
 {
-    context.objects.push_front(obj);
-    context.push_state<state::outside_section>();
+    context.objects.emplace_front(obj);
+    context.state.push(std::unique_ptr<state::render_state>(
+            new state::outside_section));
 }
 
 render_context::push::~push() {
@@ -26,11 +27,11 @@ render_context::render_context(
         const mstch::object& object,
         const std::map<std::string,std::string>& partials):
         partials{partials},
-        objects{object}
+        objects{object},
+        delim_start{"{{"},
+        delim_end{"}}"}
 {
-    push_state<state::outside_section>();
-    for(auto& partial: this->partials)
-        partial.second = strip_whitespace(partial.second);
+    state.push(std::unique_ptr<state::render_state>(new state::outside_section));
 }
 
 const mstch::node& render_context::find_node(
@@ -54,54 +55,86 @@ const mstch::node& render_context::get_node(const std::string& token) {
     return find_node(token, objects);
 }
 
-enum class parse_state {
-    start, in_del_start, in_del, in_content, in_escaped_content, in_del_end
-};
-
-std::string render_context::render(const std::string& t) {
-    const std::string delim_start{"{{"};
-    const std::string delim_end{"}}"};
-    std::string out;
+void render_context::tokenize(const std::string& t, std::vector<token>& toks) {
     std::string::const_iterator tok_end, tok_start = t.begin();
     parse_state pstate = parse_state::start;
-    unsigned int delim_p = 0;
+    unsigned int del_pos = 0;
+    bool ws_only = true;
     for (std::string::const_iterator it = t.begin(); it != t.end(); ++it) {
-        if(pstate == parse_state::start && *it == delim_start[0]) {
-            pstate = parse_state::in_del_start;
-            tok_end = it;
-            delim_p = 1;
+        if(pstate == parse_state::start) {
+            if(*it == delim_start[0]) {
+                pstate = parse_state::in_del_start;
+                tok_end = it;
+                del_pos = 1;
+            } else if(*it == '\n') {
+                toks.push_back({false, true, ws_only, {tok_start, it + 1}});
+                ws_only = true;
+                tok_start = it + 1;
+            } else if (*it != ' ' && *it != '\t') {
+                ws_only = false;
+            }
         } else if(pstate == parse_state::in_del_start) {
-            if (*it == delim_start[delim_p] && ++delim_p == delim_start.size())
+            if (*it == delim_start[del_pos] && ++del_pos == delim_start.size())
                 pstate = parse_state::in_del;
             else
                 pstate = parse_state::start;
         } else if(pstate == parse_state::in_del) {
             if (*it== '{') {
-                pstate = parse_state::in_escaped_content;
+                pstate = parse_state::in_esccontent;
             } else if (*it == delim_end[0]) {
                 pstate = parse_state::in_del_end;
-                delim_p = 1;
+                del_pos = 1;
             } else {
                 pstate = parse_state::in_content;
             }
-        } else if(pstate == parse_state::in_escaped_content && *it == '}') {
+        } else if(pstate == parse_state::in_esccontent && *it == '}') {
             pstate = parse_state::in_content;
         } else if(pstate == parse_state::in_content && *it == delim_end[0]) {
             pstate = parse_state::in_del_end;
-            delim_p = 1;
+            del_pos = 1;
         } else if(pstate == parse_state::in_del_end) {
-            if (*it == delim_end[delim_p] && ++delim_p == delim_end.size()) {
+            if (*it == delim_end[del_pos] && ++del_pos == delim_end.size()) {
                 pstate = parse_state::start;
-                out += state.top()->render(*this, {false, {tok_start,tok_end}});
-                out += state.top()->render(*this, {true, {tok_end, it + 1}});
+                toks.push_back({false, false, ws_only, {tok_start, tok_end}});
+                toks.push_back({true, false, false, {tok_end, it + 1}});
+                ws_only = true;
                 tok_start = it + 1;
             } else {
                 pstate = parse_state::start;
             }
         }
     }
-    out += state.top()->render(*this, {false, {tok_start, t.end()}});
-    return out;
+    toks.push_back({false, false, ws_only, {tok_start, t.end()}});
+}
+
+void render_context::strip_whitespace(std::vector<token>& tokens) {
+    auto line_begin = tokens.begin();
+    bool has_tag = false, non_space = false;
+    for(auto it = tokens.begin(); it != tokens.end(); ++it) {
+        auto type = (*it).token_type();
+        if(type != token::type::text && type != token::type::variable &&
+                type != token::type::unescaped_variable)
+            has_tag = true;
+        else if(!(*it).is_ws_only())
+            non_space = true;
+        if((*it).is_eol()) {
+            if(has_tag && !non_space)
+                for (auto line_it = line_begin; line_it != it + 1; ++line_it)
+                    if ((*line_it).is_ws_only())
+                        (*line_it).mark();
+            non_space = has_tag = false;
+            line_begin = it + 1;
+        }
+    }
+    for(auto it = tokens.begin(); it != tokens.end();)
+        ((*it).is_marked())?(it = tokens.erase(it)):(++it);
+}
+
+std::string render_context::render(const std::string& tmplt) {
+    std::vector<token> tokens;
+    tokenize(tmplt, tokens);
+    strip_whitespace(tokens);
+    return render(tokens);
 }
 
 std::string render_context::render(const std::vector<token>& tokens) {
diff --git a/src/render_context.hpp b/src/render_context.hpp
index de2c816..9a12253 100644
--- a/src/render_context.hpp
+++ b/src/render_context.hpp
@@ -31,20 +31,22 @@ namespace mstch {
             state.top() = std::unique_ptr<state::render_state>(
                     new T(std::forward<Args>(args)...));
         }
-        template<class T, class... Args>
-        void push_state(Args&&... args) {
-            state.push(std::unique_ptr<state::render_state>(
-                    new T(std::forward<Args>(args)...)));
-        }
     private:
+        enum class parse_state {
+            start, in_del_start, in_del, in_content, in_esccontent, in_del_end
+        };
         static const mstch::node null_node;
         const mstch::node& find_node(
                 const std::string& token,
                 const std::deque<object>& current_objects);
+        void tokenize(const std::string& tmplt, std::vector<token>& tokens);
+        void strip_whitespace(std::vector<token>& tokens);
         std::string render(const std::vector<token>& tokens);
         std::map<std::string,std::string> partials;
         std::deque<mstch::object> objects;
         std::stack<std::unique_ptr<state::render_state>> state;
+        std::string delim_start;
+        std::string delim_end;
     };
 }
 
diff --git a/src/state/in_inverted_section.hpp b/src/state/in_inverted_section.hpp
index a6eef12..663f9e0 100644
--- a/src/state/in_inverted_section.hpp
+++ b/src/state/in_inverted_section.hpp
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ namespace mstch {
     namespace state {
         class in_inverted_section: public render_state {
         public:
-            in_inverted_section(const std::string &section_name);
+            in_inverted_section(const std::string& section_name);
             std::string render(
-                    render_context &context, const token &token) override;
+                    render_context& context, const token& token) override;
         private:
             const std::string section_name;
             std::vector<token> section_tokens;
diff --git a/src/state/outside_section.hpp b/src/state/outside_section.hpp
index 3ef406d..9c213ca 100644
--- a/src/state/outside_section.hpp
+++ b/src/state/outside_section.hpp
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ namespace mstch {
         class outside_section: public render_state {
         public:
             std::string render(
-                    render_context &context, const token &token) override;
+                    render_context& context, const token& token) override;
         };
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/token.cpp b/src/token.cpp
index 0e219cc..cb6f974 100644
--- a/src/token.cpp
+++ b/src/token.cpp
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ std::tuple<int,int,token::type> token::token_info(const std::string& inside) {
     }
 }
 
-token::token(bool is_tag_val, const std::string& raw_val):
-        raw_val(raw_val), is_tag_val(is_tag_val)
+token::token(bool is_tag, bool eol, bool ws_only, const std::string& raw_val):
+        raw_val(raw_val), eol(eol), ws_only(ws_only), marked(false)
 {
-    if(is_tag_val) {
+    if(is_tag) {
         std::string inside{raw_val.substr(2, raw_val.size() - 4)};
         boost::trim(inside);
         if (inside.size() > 0) {
@@ -36,19 +36,3 @@ token::token(bool is_tag_val, const std::string& raw_val):
         content_val = raw_val;
     }
 }
-
-token::type token::token_type() const {
-    return type_val;
-}
-
-std::string token::content() const {
-    return content_val;
-}
-
-std::string token::raw() const {
-    return raw_val;
-}
-
-bool token::is_tag() const {
-    return is_tag_val;
-}
diff --git a/src/token.hpp b/src/token.hpp
index c9e55f2..2e3e6a5 100644
--- a/src/token.hpp
+++ b/src/token.hpp
@@ -10,16 +10,21 @@ namespace mstch {
             text, variable, section_open, section_close, inverted_section_open,
             unescaped_variable, comment, partial
         };
-        token(bool is_tag_val, const std::string& raw_val);
-        type token_type() const;
-        std::string content() const;
-        std::string raw() const;
-        bool is_tag() const;
+        token(bool is_tag, bool eol, bool ws_only, const std::string& raw_val);
+        type token_type() const { return type_val; };
+        const std::string& content() const { return content_val; };
+        const std::string& raw() const { return raw_val; };
+        bool is_eol() const { return eol; }
+        bool is_ws_only() const { return ws_only; }
+        bool is_marked() const { return marked; }
+        void mark() { marked = true; };
     private:
         type type_val;
         std::string content_val;
         std::string raw_val;
-        bool is_tag_val;
+        bool eol;
+        bool ws_only;
+        bool marked;
         std::tuple<int,int,type> token_info(const std::string& inside);
     };
 }
diff --git a/src/utils.cpp b/src/utils.cpp
index 70a9a9e..558c2c7 100644
--- a/src/utils.cpp
+++ b/src/utils.cpp
@@ -1,25 +1,7 @@
 #include "utils.hpp"
 
-#include <boost/regex.hpp>
 #include <boost/algorithm/string/replace.hpp>
 
-std::string mstch::strip_whitespace(const std::string& tmplt) {
-    boost::regex comment_match("\\{\\{![^\\}]*\\}\\}");
-    boost::regex tag_match("\\{{2}[ ]*[#|/|^|!|>]{1}[^\\}]*\\}{2}");
-    boost::regex whitespace_match("^\\s*$");
-    std::ostringstream out;
-    std::istringstream in(boost::regex_replace(tmplt, comment_match, "{{!}}"));
-    for(std::string line; std::getline(in, line);) {
-        std::string no_tags = boost::regex_replace(line, tag_match, "");
-        if (no_tags != line && boost::regex_match(no_tags, whitespace_match))
-            out << boost::regex_replace(line, boost::regex("\\s"), "");
-        else
-            out << line << (in.eof()?"":"\n");
-    }
-    return out.str();
-    return tmplt;
-}
-
 std::string mstch::html_escape(std::string str) {
     boost::replace_all(str, "&", "&amp;");
     boost::replace_all(str, "'", "&#39;");
diff --git a/src/utils.hpp b/src/utils.hpp
index ab8d6bd..ff7cdaa 100644
--- a/src/utils.hpp
+++ b/src/utils.hpp
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 #include <string>
 
 namespace mstch {
-    std::string strip_whitespace(const std::string& tmplt);
     std::string html_escape(std::string str);
 }
 
diff --git a/test/benchmark_main.cpp b/test/benchmark_main.cpp
index 76578c5..7b657d1 100644
--- a/test/benchmark_main.cpp
+++ b/test/benchmark_main.cpp
@@ -4,30 +4,6 @@
 #include <iostream>
 
 int main() {
-    std::string complex_html{
-        "<h1>{{header}}</h1>\n"
-        "{{#list}}\n"
-        "  <ul>\n"
-        "  {{#item}}\n"
-        "    {{#current}}\n"
-        "      <li><strong>{{name}}</strong></li>\n"
-        "    {{/current}}\n"
-        "    {{#link}}\n"
-        "      <li><a href=\"{{url}}\">{{name}}</a></li>\n"
-        "    {{/link}}\n"
-        "  {{/item}}\n"
-        "  </ul>\n"
-        "{{/list}}\n"
-        "{{#empty}}\n"
-        "  <p>The list is empty.</p>\n"
-        "{{/empty}}\n"
-        "{{^empty}}\n"
-        "  <p>The list is not empty.</p>\n"
-        "{{/empty}}"
-    };
-
-
-
     std::string comment_tmp{
         "<div class=\"comments\"><h3>{{header}}</h3><ul>"
         "{{#comments}}<li class=\"comment\"><h5>{{name}}</h5>"