diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index dfd3ed5..1440fac 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ performance_tests_dev:
     - pip install requests Pillow prettytable pyLibravatar dnspython py3dns
   script:
     - echo "Running performance tests against dev.libravatar.org..."
-    - python3 scripts/performance_tests.py --base-url $DEV_URL --concurrent-users 5 --output performance_dev.json
+    - python3 scripts/performance_tests.py --base-url $DEV_URL --concurrent-users 5 --avatar-threshold 2500 --output performance_dev.json
   artifacts:
     paths:
       - performance_dev.json
diff --git a/scripts/performance_tests.py b/scripts/performance_tests.py
index baaf1e5..b8c7c4d 100644
--- a/scripts/performance_tests.py
+++ b/scripts/performance_tests.py
@@ -831,7 +831,7 @@ class PerformanceTestRunner:
 
         return first_duration, second_duration
 
-    def run_all_tests(self) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    def run_all_tests(self, avatar_threshold: int = 1000) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
         """Run all performance tests"""
         print("Starting Libravatar Performance Tests")
         print("=" * 50)
@@ -865,7 +865,7 @@ class PerformanceTestRunner:
             print(f"Performance tests completed in {total_duration:.2f}s")
 
             # Overall assessment
-            self.assess_overall_performance()
+            self.assess_overall_performance(avatar_threshold)
 
             return self.results
 
@@ -928,7 +928,7 @@ class PerformanceTestRunner:
             "success_rate": len(successful_results) / len(results) if results else 0,
         }
 
-    def assess_overall_performance(self) -> bool:
+    def assess_overall_performance(self, avatar_threshold: int = 1000) -> bool:
         """Provide overall performance assessment"""
         print("\n=== OVERALL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT ===")
 
@@ -937,8 +937,8 @@ class PerformanceTestRunner:
         # Check avatar generation
         if "avatar_generation" in self.results:
             avg_gen = self.results["avatar_generation"]["average_ms"]
-            if avg_gen > 1000:
-                warnings.append(f"Avatar generation is slow ({avg_gen:.0f}ms average)")
+            if avg_gen > avatar_threshold:
+                warnings.append(f"Avatar generation is slow ({avg_gen:.0f}ms average, threshold: {avatar_threshold}ms)")
 
         # Check concurrent load
         if "concurrent_load" in self.results:
@@ -1000,6 +1000,12 @@ def main() -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
         action="store_true",
         help="Force remote testing mode (auto-detected for non-localhost URLs)",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--avatar-threshold",
+        type=int,
+        default=1000,
+        help="Avatar generation threshold in ms (default: 1000ms, use 2500 for dev environments)",
+    )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
@@ -1016,7 +1022,7 @@ def main() -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
         remote_testing=remote_testing,
     )
 
-    results = runner.run_all_tests()
+    results = runner.run_all_tests(args.avatar_threshold)
 
     if args.output and results:
         import json