diff --git a/cmd/restic/delete.go b/cmd/restic/delete.go
index 98dd91ece..d97b9e617 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/delete.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/delete.go
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ func DeleteFilesChecked(gopts GlobalOptions, repo restic.Repository, fileList re
 	return deleteFiles(gopts, false, repo, fileList, fileType)
 }
 
-const numDeleteWorkers = 8
-
 // deleteFiles deletes the given fileList of fileType in parallel
 // if ignoreError=true, it will print a warning if there was an error, else it will abort.
 func deleteFiles(gopts GlobalOptions, ignoreError bool, repo restic.Repository, fileList restic.IDSet, fileType restic.FileType) error {
@@ -40,7 +38,9 @@ func deleteFiles(gopts GlobalOptions, ignoreError bool, repo restic.Repository,
 
 	bar := newProgressMax(!gopts.JSON && !gopts.Quiet, uint64(totalCount), "files deleted")
 	defer bar.Done()
-	for i := 0; i < numDeleteWorkers; i++ {
+	// deleting files is IO-bound
+	workerCount := repo.Connections()
+	for i := 0; i < int(workerCount); i++ {
 		wg.Go(func() error {
 			for id := range fileChan {
 				h := restic.Handle{Type: fileType, Name: id.String()}
diff --git a/internal/checker/checker.go b/internal/checker/checker.go
index 2cb0f1e36..b972408f5 100644
--- a/internal/checker/checker.go
+++ b/internal/checker/checker.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	"runtime"
 	"sort"
 	"sync"
 
@@ -55,8 +56,6 @@ func New(repo restic.Repository, trackUnused bool) *Checker {
 	return c
 }
 
-const defaultParallelism = 5
-
 // ErrDuplicatePacks is returned when a pack is found in more than one index.
 type ErrDuplicatePacks struct {
 	PackID  restic.ID
@@ -322,7 +321,9 @@ func (c *Checker) Structure(ctx context.Context, p *progress.Counter, errChan ch
 	}, p)
 
 	defer close(errChan)
-	for i := 0; i < defaultParallelism; i++ {
+	// The checkTree worker only processes already decoded trees and is thus CPU-bound
+	workerCount := runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
+	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
 		wg.Go(func() error {
 			c.checkTreeWorker(ctx, treeStream, errChan)
 			return nil
@@ -574,8 +575,10 @@ func (c *Checker) ReadPacks(ctx context.Context, packs map[restic.ID]int64, p *p
 	}
 	ch := make(chan checkTask)
 
+	// as packs are streamed the concurrency is limited by IO
+	workerCount := int(c.repo.Connections())
 	// run workers
-	for i := 0; i < defaultParallelism; i++ {
+	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
 		g.Go(func() error {
 			// create a buffer that is large enough to be reused by repository.StreamPack
 			// this ensures that we can read the pack header later on
diff --git a/internal/repository/index_parallel.go b/internal/repository/index_parallel.go
index 47aaba85a..779387385 100644
--- a/internal/repository/index_parallel.go
+++ b/internal/repository/index_parallel.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package repository
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/debug"
@@ -9,8 +10,6 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 )
 
-const loadIndexParallelism = 5
-
 // ForAllIndexes loads all index files in parallel and calls the given callback.
 // It is guaranteed that the function is not run concurrently. If the callback
 // returns an error, this function is cancelled and also returns that error.
@@ -68,8 +67,11 @@ func ForAllIndexes(ctx context.Context, repo restic.Repository,
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// decoding an index can take quite some time such that this can be both CPU- or IO-bound
+	// as the whole index is kept in memory anyways, a few workers too much don't matter
+	workerCount := int(repo.Connections()) + runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
 	// run workers on ch
-	for i := 0; i < loadIndexParallelism; i++ {
+	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/repository/master_index.go b/internal/repository/master_index.go
index d6f0962d3..955080e82 100644
--- a/internal/repository/master_index.go
+++ b/internal/repository/master_index.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/debug"
@@ -291,8 +292,6 @@ func (mi *MasterIndex) MergeFinalIndexes() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-const saveIndexParallelism = 4
-
 // Save saves all known indexes to index files, leaving out any
 // packs whose ID is contained in packBlacklist from finalized indexes.
 // The new index contains the IDs of all known indexes in the "supersedes"
@@ -376,8 +375,10 @@ func (mi *MasterIndex) Save(ctx context.Context, repo restic.SaverUnpacked, pack
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// encoding an index can take quite some time such that this can be both CPU- or IO-bound
+	workerCount := int(repo.Connections()) + runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
 	// run workers on ch
-	for i := 0; i < saveIndexParallelism; i++ {
+	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 	err = wg.Wait()
diff --git a/internal/repository/repack.go b/internal/repository/repack.go
index 7840e714a..0a50bfcf4 100644
--- a/internal/repository/repack.go
+++ b/internal/repository/repack.go
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 )
 
-const numRepackWorkers = 8
-
 // Repack takes a list of packs together with a list of blobs contained in
 // these packs. Each pack is loaded and the blobs listed in keepBlobs is saved
 // into a new pack. Returned is the list of obsolete packs which can then
@@ -107,11 +105,10 @@ func repack(ctx context.Context, repo restic.Repository, dstRepo restic.Reposito
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	connectionLimit := dstRepo.Backend().Connections() - 1
-	if connectionLimit > numRepackWorkers {
-		connectionLimit = numRepackWorkers
-	}
-	for i := 0; i < int(connectionLimit); i++ {
+	// as packs are streamed the concurrency is limited by IO
+	// reduce by one to ensure that uploading is always possible
+	repackWorkerCount := int(repo.Connections() - 1)
+	for i := 0; i < repackWorkerCount; i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/repository/repository.go b/internal/repository/repository.go
index a185032b5..8d3fd9414 100644
--- a/internal/repository/repository.go
+++ b/internal/repository/repository.go
@@ -558,6 +558,10 @@ func (r *Repository) Backend() restic.Backend {
 	return r.be
 }
 
+func (r *Repository) Connections() uint {
+	return r.be.Connections()
+}
+
 // Index returns the currently used MasterIndex.
 func (r *Repository) Index() restic.MasterIndex {
 	return r.idx
@@ -606,8 +610,6 @@ func (r *Repository) LoadIndex(ctx context.Context) error {
 	return r.PrepareCache()
 }
 
-const listPackParallelism = 10
-
 // CreateIndexFromPacks creates a new index by reading all given pack files (with sizes).
 // The index is added to the MasterIndex but not marked as finalized.
 // Returned is the list of pack files which could not be read.
@@ -656,8 +658,10 @@ func (r *Repository) CreateIndexFromPacks(ctx context.Context, packsize map[rest
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// decoding the pack header is usually quite fast, thus we are primarily IO-bound
+	workerCount := int(r.Connections())
 	// run workers on ch
-	for i := 0; i < listPackParallelism; i++ {
+	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/restic/find.go b/internal/restic/find.go
index c7406d750..695bbbb91 100644
--- a/internal/restic/find.go
+++ b/internal/restic/find.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 type TreeLoader interface {
 	LoadTree(context.Context, ID) (*Tree, error)
 	LookupBlobSize(id ID, tpe BlobType) (uint, bool)
+	Connections() uint
 }
 
 // FindUsedBlobs traverses the tree ID and adds all seen blobs (trees and data
diff --git a/internal/restic/find_test.go b/internal/restic/find_test.go
index 4d9bc5a13..46f607299 100644
--- a/internal/restic/find_test.go
+++ b/internal/restic/find_test.go
@@ -170,6 +170,10 @@ func (r ForbiddenRepo) LookupBlobSize(id restic.ID, tpe restic.BlobType) (uint,
 	return 0, false
 }
 
+func (r ForbiddenRepo) Connections() uint {
+	return 2
+}
+
 func TestFindUsedBlobsSkipsSeenBlobs(t *testing.T) {
 	repo, cleanup := repository.TestRepository(t)
 	defer cleanup()
diff --git a/internal/restic/lock.go b/internal/restic/lock.go
index 27daa34a6..8411d5ad5 100644
--- a/internal/restic/lock.go
+++ b/internal/restic/lock.go
@@ -287,8 +287,6 @@ func RemoveAllLocks(ctx context.Context, repo Repository) error {
 	})
 }
 
-const loadLockParallelism = 5
-
 // ForAllLocks reads all locks in parallel and calls the given callback.
 // It is guaranteed that the function is not run concurrently. If the
 // callback returns an error, this function is cancelled and also returns that error.
@@ -336,7 +334,8 @@ func ForAllLocks(ctx context.Context, repo Repository, excludeID *ID, fn func(ID
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	for i := 0; i < loadLockParallelism; i++ {
+	// For locks decoding is nearly for free, thus just assume were only limited by IO
+	for i := 0; i < int(repo.Connections()); i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/restic/repository.go b/internal/restic/repository.go
index 73f53adb1..1daeb0e4f 100644
--- a/internal/restic/repository.go
+++ b/internal/restic/repository.go
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ type Repository interface {
 
 	// Backend returns the backend used by the repository
 	Backend() Backend
+	// Connections returns the maximum number of concurrent backend operations
+	Connections() uint
 
 	Key() *crypto.Key
 
@@ -64,11 +66,15 @@ type Lister interface {
 
 // LoadJSONUnpackeder allows loading a JSON file not stored in a pack file
 type LoadJSONUnpackeder interface {
+	// Connections returns the maximum number of concurrent backend operations
+	Connections() uint
 	LoadJSONUnpacked(ctx context.Context, t FileType, id ID, dest interface{}) error
 }
 
 // SaverUnpacked allows saving a blob not stored in a pack file
 type SaverUnpacked interface {
+	// Connections returns the maximum number of concurrent backend operations
+	Connections() uint
 	SaveUnpacked(context.Context, FileType, []byte) (ID, error)
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/restic/snapshot.go b/internal/restic/snapshot.go
index a74893778..1652d85d8 100644
--- a/internal/restic/snapshot.go
+++ b/internal/restic/snapshot.go
@@ -69,8 +69,6 @@ func LoadSnapshot(ctx context.Context, loader LoadJSONUnpackeder, id ID) (*Snaps
 	return sn, nil
 }
 
-const loadSnapshotParallelism = 5
-
 // ForAllSnapshots reads all snapshots in parallel and calls the
 // given function. It is guaranteed that the function is not run concurrently.
 // If the called function returns an error, this function is cancelled and
@@ -125,7 +123,8 @@ func ForAllSnapshots(ctx context.Context, be Lister, loader LoadJSONUnpackeder,
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	for i := 0; i < loadSnapshotParallelism; i++ {
+	// For most snapshots decoding is nearly for free, thus just assume were only limited by IO
+	for i := 0; i < int(loader.Connections()); i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/restic/tree_stream.go b/internal/restic/tree_stream.go
index f6982efc2..39f1c6646 100644
--- a/internal/restic/tree_stream.go
+++ b/internal/restic/tree_stream.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package restic
 import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
+	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/debug"
@@ -10,8 +11,6 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 )
 
-const streamTreeParallelism = 6
-
 // TreeItem is used to return either an error or the tree for a tree id
 type TreeItem struct {
 	ID
@@ -163,7 +162,10 @@ func StreamTrees(ctx context.Context, wg *errgroup.Group, repo TreeLoader, trees
 
 	var loadTreeWg sync.WaitGroup
 
-	for i := 0; i < streamTreeParallelism; i++ {
+	// decoding a tree can take quite some time such that this can be both CPU- or IO-bound
+	// one extra worker to handle huge tree blobs
+	workerCount := int(repo.Connections()) + runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0) + 1
+	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
 		workerLoaderChan := loaderChan
 		if i == 0 {
 			workerLoaderChan = hugeTreeChan
diff --git a/internal/restorer/filerestorer.go b/internal/restorer/filerestorer.go
index d255dad15..362d821d2 100644
--- a/internal/restorer/filerestorer.go
+++ b/internal/restorer/filerestorer.go
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ import (
 //      con: each worker needs to keep one pack in memory
 
 const (
-	workerCount = 8
-
 	largeFileBlobCount = 25
 )
 
@@ -51,6 +49,7 @@ type fileRestorer struct {
 	idx        func(restic.BlobHandle) []restic.PackedBlob
 	packLoader repository.BackendLoadFn
 
+	workerCount int
 	filesWriter *filesWriter
 
 	dst   string
@@ -61,13 +60,18 @@ type fileRestorer struct {
 func newFileRestorer(dst string,
 	packLoader repository.BackendLoadFn,
 	key *crypto.Key,
-	idx func(restic.BlobHandle) []restic.PackedBlob) *fileRestorer {
+	idx func(restic.BlobHandle) []restic.PackedBlob,
+	connections uint) *fileRestorer {
+
+	// as packs are streamed the concurrency is limited by IO
+	workerCount := int(connections)
 
 	return &fileRestorer{
 		key:         key,
 		idx:         idx,
 		packLoader:  packLoader,
 		filesWriter: newFilesWriter(workerCount),
+		workerCount: workerCount,
 		dst:         dst,
 		Error:       restorerAbortOnAllErrors,
 	}
@@ -150,7 +154,7 @@ func (r *fileRestorer) restoreFiles(ctx context.Context) error {
 		}
 		return nil
 	}
-	for i := 0; i < workerCount; i++ {
+	for i := 0; i < r.workerCount; i++ {
 		wg.Go(worker)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/restorer/filerestorer_test.go b/internal/restorer/filerestorer_test.go
index f5760f54a..b5b52778c 100644
--- a/internal/restorer/filerestorer_test.go
+++ b/internal/restorer/filerestorer_test.go
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func newTestRepo(content []TestFile) *TestRepo {
 func restoreAndVerify(t *testing.T, tempdir string, content []TestFile, files map[string]bool) {
 	repo := newTestRepo(content)
 
-	r := newFileRestorer(tempdir, repo.loader, repo.key, repo.Lookup)
+	r := newFileRestorer(tempdir, repo.loader, repo.key, repo.Lookup, 2)
 
 	if files == nil {
 		r.files = repo.files
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ func TestErrorRestoreFiles(t *testing.T) {
 		return loadError
 	}
 
-	r := newFileRestorer(tempdir, repo.loader, repo.key, repo.Lookup)
+	r := newFileRestorer(tempdir, repo.loader, repo.key, repo.Lookup, 2)
 	r.files = repo.files
 
 	err := r.restoreFiles(context.TODO())
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ func testPartialDownloadError(t *testing.T, part int) {
 		return loader(ctx, h, length, offset, fn)
 	}
 
-	r := newFileRestorer(tempdir, repo.loader, repo.key, repo.Lookup)
+	r := newFileRestorer(tempdir, repo.loader, repo.key, repo.Lookup, 2)
 	r.files = repo.files
 	r.Error = func(s string, e error) error {
 		// ignore errors as in the `restore` command
diff --git a/internal/restorer/restorer.go b/internal/restorer/restorer.go
index a1e5b3628..5a3f91368 100644
--- a/internal/restorer/restorer.go
+++ b/internal/restorer/restorer.go
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ func (res *Restorer) RestoreTo(ctx context.Context, dst string) error {
 	}
 
 	idx := restic.NewHardlinkIndex()
-	filerestorer := newFileRestorer(dst, res.repo.Backend().Load, res.repo.Key(), res.repo.Index().Lookup)
+	filerestorer := newFileRestorer(dst, res.repo.Backend().Load, res.repo.Key(), res.repo.Index().Lookup, res.repo.Connections())
 	filerestorer.Error = res.Error
 
 	debug.Log("first pass for %q", dst)
diff --git a/internal/walker/walker_test.go b/internal/walker/walker_test.go
index 7a939b1e2..eb4545d63 100644
--- a/internal/walker/walker_test.go
+++ b/internal/walker/walker_test.go
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ func (t TreeMap) LoadTree(ctx context.Context, id restic.ID) (*restic.Tree, erro
 	return tree, nil
 }
 
+func (t TreeMap) Connections() uint {
+	return 2
+}
+
 // checkFunc returns a function suitable for walking the tree to check
 // something, and a function which will check the final result.
 type checkFunc func(t testing.TB) (walker WalkFunc, final func(testing.TB))