diff --git a/src/browser/page.zig b/src/browser/page.zig
index 9cf5068c..7585a3ed 100644
--- a/src/browser/page.zig
+++ b/src/browser/page.zig
@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ pub const Page = struct {
 
         // if a base path is given, we resolve src using base.
         if (base) |_base| {
-            res_src = try URL.stitch(arena, src, _base, .{});
+            res_src = try URL.stitch(arena, src, _base, .{ .alloc = .if_needed });
         }
 
         var origin_url = &self.url;
diff --git a/src/browser/url/url.zig b/src/browser/url/url.zig
index 9b387070..a33ac2a3 100644
--- a/src/browser/url/url.zig
+++ b/src/browser/url/url.zig
@@ -52,9 +52,7 @@ pub const URL = struct {
         const arena = page.arena;
         var raw: []const u8 = undefined;
         if (base) |b| {
-            raw = try @import("../../url.zig").URL.stitch(arena, url, b, .{
-                .alloc = .always,
-            });
+            raw = try @import("../../url.zig").URL.stitch(arena, url, b, .{});
         } else {
             raw = try arena.dupe(u8, url);
         }
diff --git a/src/url.zig b/src/url.zig
index 2a9bf370..16f22265 100644
--- a/src/url.zig
+++ b/src/url.zig
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ pub const URL = struct {
     }
 
     const StitchOpts = struct {
-        alloc: AllocWhen = .if_needed,
+        alloc: AllocWhen = .always,
 
         const AllocWhen = enum {
             always,