diff --git a/frontend/playwright/scripts/render-budget-compare.py b/frontend/playwright/scripts/render-budget-compare.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c09b452c63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/playwright/scripts/render-budget-compare.py
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+"""Compare two render-budget-perf runs.
+
+    python3 playwright/scripts/render-budget-compare.py \
+        perf-traces/render-budget-before.json perf-traces/render-budget-after.json
+
+Reads the JSON written by playwright/ui/render-wasm-specs/render-budget-perf.spec.js.
+
+Two kinds of numbers, in this order of trust:
+
+COUNTERS are exact repaint counts read out of WASM (tiles painted, shape paints,
+walker visits, paragraph builds, composited pixels...). On identical gestures
+they do not drift, so any delta is a real algorithmic change. This is the section
+to read when judging a render-pipeline change.
+
+SYNC / rAF rows are `_render` wall times: SYNC ran on the input/timer path
+(pointerup, debounce), rAF inside a frame callback. Useful for latency, but noisy
+across machines and thermal states — do not conclude anything from a <15% move.
+"""
+
+import json
+import sys
+
+KEYS = ("n", "mean", "p50", "p95", "max", "total")
+# n is a count, the rest are milliseconds.
+LOWER_IS_BETTER = ("mean", "p50", "p95", "max", "total")
+
+# Counters worth printing, in reading order. Everything else in the file is
+# still there for ad-hoc digging.
+COUNTER_ROWS = (
+    ("tiles_painted", "tiles actually walked + composited"),
+    ("tiles_cache_hit", "tiles served from the texture cache"),
+    ("tiles_invalidated", "single-tile evictions"),
+    ("tile_cache_wipes", "whole-cache wipes"),
+    ("tiles_discarded_inflight", "partial tiles thrown away by a restart"),
+    ("shape_paints", "render_shape calls"),
+    ("shape_paints_direct", "of those, straight into the tile"),
+    ("walker_visits", "tree nodes visited"),
+    ("walker_culled", "visits that painted nothing"),
+    ("surface_stack_composites", "full surface-stack composites"),
+    ("surface_stack_draw_px", "pixels moved by those composites"),
+    ("surface_stack_clear_px", "pixels cleared after them"),
+    ("paragraph_builds", "paragraph builder groups built"),
+    ("text_layouts", "text build + Skia layout runs"),
+    ("doc_atlas_writes", "Current -> DocAtlas blits"),
+    ("tile_atlas_writes", "Current -> tile atlas blits"),
+    ("cache_surface_writes", "Current -> legacy Cache blits (dead)"),
+    ("tile_atlas_snapshots", "full tile-atlas snapshots"),
+    ("tile_atlas_snapshot_px", "pixels in those snapshots"),
+    ("render_loop_starts", "renders restarted from tile zero"),
+    ("render_loop_continues", "renders resumed"),
+    ("partial_yields", "budget yields"),
+    ("frame_presents", "frames presented"),
+)
+
+# Direction of "good" per counter. Default is lower-is-better (less work).
+# `higher`: more of this means work was avoided. `neutral`: the number is
+# diagnostic, not a score — a move is worth looking at, not celebrating.
+COUNTER_DIRECTION = {
+    "tiles_cache_hit": "higher",
+    "tile_cache_hit_ratio": "higher",
+    "culled_ratio": "higher",
+    "walker_culled": "higher",
+    "shape_paints_direct": "neutral",
+    "layered_paint_ratio": "neutral",
+    "empty_tile_ratio": "neutral",
+    "frame_presents": "neutral",
+    "render_loop_starts": "neutral",
+    "render_loop_continues": "neutral",
+    "partial_yields": "neutral",
+    "doc_atlas_writes": "neutral",
+    "tile_atlas_writes": "neutral",
+    "tile_atlas_snapshots": "neutral",
+    "tiles_painted_per_present": "neutral",
+    # Should hold steady across a change that only removes redundant work; if it
+    # moves, something is being skipped or repainted that was not before.
+    "tiles_painted": "neutral",
+}
+
+RATIO_ROWS = (
+    ("shape_paints_per_tile", "shape paints per tile painted"),
+    ("walker_visits_per_tile", "tree visits per tile painted"),
+    ("culled_ratio", "share of visits that painted nothing"),
+    ("layered_paint_ratio", "share of paints needing the surface stack"),
+    ("composite_px_per_tile", "composite px per tile (512 tile = 262144 px)"),
+    ("paragraph_builds_per_tile", "paragraph builds per tile"),
+    ("text_layouts_per_tile", "text layouts per tile"),
+    ("tile_cache_hit_ratio", "cache hits / (hits + repaints)"),
+    ("tiles_painted_per_present", "tiles painted per presented frame"),
+    ("empty_tile_ratio", "share of tiles with no shapes (>0.5 = bad gestures)"),
+)
+
+
+def load(path):
+    with open(path) as fh:
+        return json.load(fh)
+
+
+def get(stat, key):
+    if not stat or not stat.get("n"):
+        return 0
+    return stat.get(key, 0)
+
+
+def pct(before, after):
+    """Signed percentage change, or None when there is no baseline."""
+    if before == 0:
+        return None
+    return (after - before) / before * 100
+
+
+def num(v):
+    if isinstance(v, float) and not v.is_integer():
+        return f"{v:.2f}"
+    if abs(v) >= 1e6:
+        return f"{v / 1e6:.1f}M"
+    return f"{v:g}"
+
+
+def delta(before, after, key):
+    b, a = get(before, key), get(after, key)
+    if b == 0 and a == 0:
+        return ""
+    p = pct(b, a)
+    if p is None:
+        return f"  (new {a:g})"
+    sign = "+" if p >= 0 else ""
+    mark = ""
+    if key in LOWER_IS_BETTER and abs(p) >= 10:
+        mark = "  better" if p < 0 else "  WORSE"
+    return f"  {sign}{p:.0f}%{mark}"
+
+
+def row(label, before, after):
+    cells = []
+    for k in KEYS:
+        b, a = get(before, k), get(after, k)
+        cells.append(f"{b:>9g} -> {a:<9g}")
+    print(f"  {label:<10}" + "".join(f"{c:<22}" for c in cells))
+    print(f"  {'':<10}" + "".join(f"{delta(before, after, k):<22}" for k in KEYS))
+
+
+def counter_table(title, rows, before, after, threshold):
+    """Prints one exact-count table. `before`/`after` are flat name -> number."""
+    if not before and not after:
+        return
+    if before.get("error") or after.get("error"):
+        print(f"  {title}: unavailable ({before.get('error') or after.get('error')})")
+        return
+
+    print(f"  {title}")
+    for key, description in rows:
+        b = before.get(key, 0)
+        a = after.get(key, 0)
+        if b == 0 and a == 0:
+            continue
+        p = pct(b, a)
+        direction = COUNTER_DIRECTION.get(key, "lower")
+        if p is None:
+            change = f"new {num(a)}"
+        else:
+            change = f"{'+' if p >= 0 else ''}{p:.0f}%"
+            # Counts are exact: a small move is a real move, not noise. Only
+            # call it out past `threshold` so the table stays readable.
+            if abs(p) >= threshold:
+                if direction == "neutral":
+                    change += "  check"
+                else:
+                    improved = p < 0 if direction == "lower" else p > 0
+                    change += "  better" if improved else "  WORSE"
+        print(
+            f"    {key:<28}{num(b):>12} -> {num(a):<12}{change:<16}{description}"
+        )
+    print()
+
+
+def main():
+    if len(sys.argv) != 3:
+        print(__doc__)
+        sys.exit(2)
+
+    a, b = load(sys.argv[1]), load(sys.argv[2])
+
+    print(f"\nBEFORE  {a['label']:<12} rev={a['rev']:<18} {a['date']}")
+    print(f"AFTER   {b['label']:<12} rev={b['rev']:<18} {b['date']}")
+    print(f"file    {a['file']}")
+    if a["file"] != b["file"]:
+        print(f"  !! AFTER used a different file: {b['file']}")
+    if a["options"] != b["options"]:
+        print(f"  !! gesture options differ, runs are not comparable")
+        print(f"     before {a['options']}")
+        print(f"     after  {b['options']}")
+
+    names = list(dict.fromkeys(list(a["phases"]) + list(b["phases"])))
+    for name in names:
+        pa = a["phases"].get(name, {})
+        pb = b["phases"].get(name, {})
+        sa, sb = pa.get("summary", {}), pb.get("summary", {})
+        print(f"\n{'=' * 72}\n{name}\n{'=' * 72}")
+
+        # A phase where WASM raised did less work than the gestures asked for,
+        # so its counters understate. Say so before anyone reads a delta off it.
+        for tag, p in (("before", pa), ("after", pb)):
+            errs = p.get("wasmErrors") or []
+            if errs:
+                print(f"  !! [{tag}] {len(errs)} wasm error(s): {errs[0][:120]}")
+
+        counter_table(
+            "COUNTS (exact)",
+            COUNTER_ROWS,
+            pa.get("counters") or {},
+            pb.get("counters") or {},
+            threshold=5,
+        )
+        counter_table(
+            "PER-TILE RATIOS (exact)",
+            RATIO_ROWS,
+            pa.get("ratios") or {},
+            pb.get("ratios") or {},
+            threshold=5,
+        )
+
+        print("  TIMES (noisy)")
+        header = "".join(f"{k:<22}" for k in KEYS)
+        print(f"  {'':<10}{header}")
+        row("SYNC", sa.get("sync"), sb.get("sync"))
+        row("rAF", sa.get("raf"), sb.get("raf"))
+
+        for tag, p in (("before", sa), ("after", sb)):
+            w = p.get("worstSync")
+            if w:
+                print(
+                    f"  worst sync [{tag}] {w['ms']}ms flags={w['flags']} "
+                    f"frameType={w['frame']} @{w.get('caller') or '?'}"
+                )
+
+        sync_a, sync_b = get(sa.get("sync"), "total"), get(sb.get("sync"), "total")
+        raf_a, raf_b = get(sa.get("raf"), "total"), get(sb.get("raf"), "total")
+        print(
+            f"  total render work {sync_a + raf_a:.1f}ms -> {sync_b + raf_b:.1f}ms"
+            f"   (of which off the input path: "
+            f"{raf_a:.1f} -> {raf_b:.1f})"
+        )
+
+    print()
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/frontend/playwright/ui/render-wasm-specs/render-budget-perf.spec.js b/frontend/playwright/ui/render-wasm-specs/render-budget-perf.spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2ce3083f6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/playwright/ui/render-wasm-specs/render-budget-perf.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,653 @@
+import { test } from "@playwright/test";
+import { WasmWorkspacePage } from "../pages/WasmWorkspacePage";
+import { execSync } from "node:child_process";
+import fs from "fs";
+import path from "path";
+
+/**
+ * Render-budget and repaint-count capture. Not an assertion test: it drives a
+ * fixed set of gestures and records, per phase, how long each `_render` blocked
+ * (split by rAF vs the input/timer path) and the exact WASM render counters
+ * (render-wasm/src/render/counters.rs).
+ *
+ * Read the counters first — they are exact and do not drift between runs, while
+ * the millisecond numbers move with GPU/driver/thermal state. `empty_tile_ratio`
+ * says whether the gestures were over content at all.
+ *
+ *   PERF_LABEL=before npx playwright test render-budget-perf \
+ *       --project render-wasm --workers=1
+ *   # ...change something, and rebuild the WASM...
+ *   PERF_LABEL=after  npx playwright test render-budget-perf \
+ *       --project render-wasm --workers=1
+ *   python3 playwright/scripts/render-budget-compare.py \
+ *       perf-traces/render-budget-before.json perf-traces/render-budget-after.json
+ *
+ * Without a rebuild between runs the second one silently measures the old .wasm.
+ * PERF_GET_FILE points at any `get-file` dump under playwright/data/, as long as
+ * it has no media assets: those stall on image fetches and
+ * `wasmSetObjectsFinished` never fires.
+ */
+
+const LABEL = process.env.PERF_LABEL ?? "run";
+const GET_FILE =
+  process.env.PERF_GET_FILE ?? "render-wasm/get-file-shadows.json";
+const PAGE_NAME = process.env.PERF_PAGE_NAME ?? "Page 1";
+// `+` presses after zoom-to-fit, each exactly `min(z * 1.3, 200)`
+// (data/workspace/zoom.cljs) => 5 puts the document at 3.7 viewports across.
+// Not ctrl+wheel: a notch is 1.68x, `schedule-zoom!` compounds notches landing in
+// the same rAF, and ~10 notches hit the 200x ceiling where the rest are no-ops.
+const ZOOM_STEPS = Number(process.env.PERF_ZOOM_STEPS ?? 5);
+const CYCLES = Number(process.env.PERF_CYCLES ?? 4);
+const STEPS = Number(process.env.PERF_STEPS ?? 16);
+const STEP_DELAY = Number(process.env.PERF_STEP_DELAY ?? 16);
+const SETTLE = Number(process.env.PERF_SETTLE ?? 800);
+// Pan amplitude per burst, as a fraction of the viewport: 0.4 crosses a 512px
+// tile boundary while staying inside a document 3.7 viewports wide.
+const PAN_TRAVEL = Number(process.env.PERF_PAN_TRAVEL ?? 0.4);
+const ZOOM_NOTCHES = Number(process.env.PERF_ZOOM_NOTCHES ?? 3);
+// Pinned: tile counts scale with viewport and DPR, so runs at different sizes
+// are not comparable.
+const VIEWPORT_W = Number(process.env.PERF_VIEWPORT_W ?? 1440);
+const VIEWPORT_H = Number(process.env.PERF_VIEWPORT_H ?? 900);
+const DPR = Number(process.env.PERF_DPR ?? 1);
+// wheel-pan | drag-pan | zoom, comma separated. Default runs all three.
+const PHASES = (process.env.PERF_PHASES ?? "wheel-pan,drag-pan,zoom")
+  .split(",")
+  .map((s) => s.trim())
+  .filter(Boolean);
+
+// Headed is mandatory, not cosmetic: headless Chromium falls back to
+// SwiftShader (CPU rasterizer), which makes every timing below meaningless.
+// Same reasoning as zoom-perf.spec.js.
+test.use({
+  headless: false,
+  viewport: { width: VIEWPORT_W, height: VIEWPORT_H },
+  deviceScaleFactor: DPR,
+});
+test.setTimeout(Number(process.env.PERF_TIMEOUT ?? 300000));
+
+/**
+ * Wraps the WASM `_render` export. Must be installed as an init script, before
+ * any page code runs.
+ *
+ * Hooks `WebAssembly.instantiate*` rather than the CLJS-side module object
+ * (`app.render_wasm.wasm.internal_module`): that path only resolves in a dev
+ * build, and `resources/public` may hold a release bundle, where shadow mangles
+ * every namespace. The FFI boundary is stable in both.
+ *
+ * Depth-counting rAF rather than a boolean: `request-render` schedules through
+ * timers/raf and a render can request the next one from inside the callback.
+ */
+const renderHook = () => {
+  const log = (globalThis.__renderLog = []);
+  globalThis.__renderHookInstalled = false;
+
+  let depth = 0;
+  const raf = globalThis.requestAnimationFrame.bind(globalThis);
+  globalThis.requestAnimationFrame = (cb) =>
+    raf((t) => {
+      depth++;
+      try {
+        return cb(t);
+      } finally {
+        depth--;
+      }
+    });
+
+  const seen = new WeakMap();
+  const wrapExports = (exports) => {
+    if (!exports) return exports;
+    // Rust `#[no_mangle] pub extern "C" fn render` lands in the instance as
+    // `render`; the `_render` alias is added later by the Emscripten JS glue
+    // when it copies exports onto Module.
+    const key = ["render", "_render"].find(
+      (k) => typeof exports[k] === "function",
+    );
+    if (!key) return exports;
+    if (seen.has(exports)) return seen.get(exports);
+
+    // Keep the raw exports around so the test can read the WASM render
+    // counters (`perf_counter_*`). Same reason the hook lives here: this is the
+    // only handle on the instance that survives a release build.
+    globalThis.__wasmExports = exports;
+
+    const orig = exports[key];
+    const wrapped = function (ts, flags) {
+      const inRaf = depth > 0;
+      // Stack capture only for the calls under investigation; it is not free.
+      const stack = inRaf ? null : new Error().stack;
+      const t0 = performance.now();
+      const r = orig.call(this, ts, flags);
+      log.push({
+        ms: +(performance.now() - t0).toFixed(2),
+        flags,
+        raf: inRaf,
+        frame: r,
+        caller: stack
+          ?.split("\n")
+          .slice(2)
+          .find((l) => !/wrapped|renderHook/.test(l))
+          ?.trim()
+          ?.replace(/^at\s+/, "")
+          ?.replace(/^.*\/(cljs-runtime|js)\//, ""),
+      });
+      return r;
+    };
+
+    // A plain copy, never a Proxy: wasm exports are frozen, and a `get` trap must
+    // return the real value for a non-configurable data property, so proxying
+    // `render` throws a TypeError on every call.
+    const copy = Object.assign(Object.create(null), exports);
+    copy[key] = wrapped;
+    seen.set(exports, copy);
+    globalThis.__renderHookInstalled = true;
+    return copy;
+  };
+
+  const wrapInstance = (inst) =>
+    inst instanceof WebAssembly.Instance
+      ? new Proxy(inst, {
+          get: (t, p, r) =>
+            p === "exports" ? wrapExports(t.exports) : Reflect.get(t, p, r),
+        })
+      : inst;
+
+  const streaming = WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming;
+  if (streaming) {
+    WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming = (...args) =>
+      streaming(...args).then((res) => ({
+        module: res.module,
+        instance: wrapInstance(res.instance),
+      }));
+  }
+  const instantiate = WebAssembly.instantiate;
+  WebAssembly.instantiate = (...args) =>
+    instantiate(...args).then((res) =>
+      res instanceof WebAssembly.Instance
+        ? wrapInstance(res)
+        : { module: res.module, instance: wrapInstance(res.instance) },
+    );
+};
+
+const drain = (page) =>
+  page.evaluate(() => {
+    const l = globalThis.__renderLog.slice();
+    globalThis.__renderLog.length = 0;
+    return l;
+  });
+
+/**
+ * Mirrors `render::counters::NAMES` (render-wasm/src/render/counters.rs), in
+ * order. `readCounters` asserts the length against `perf_counter_count()`, so a
+ * counter added on the Rust side without updating this list fails the run
+ * instead of silently shifting every label.
+ *
+ * Counts, unlike the millisecond stats above, are exact: they do not move
+ * between runs on the same gestures, which is what makes them the primary
+ * signal when comparing two builds.
+ */
+const COUNTER_NAMES = [
+  "render_loop_starts",
+  "render_loop_continues",
+  "partial_yields",
+  "tiles_painted",
+  "tiles_cache_hit",
+  "tiles_empty_skipped",
+  "tiles_invalidated",
+  "tile_cache_wipes",
+  "tiles_discarded_inflight",
+  "walker_visits",
+  "walker_culled",
+  "shape_paints",
+  "shape_paints_direct",
+  "surface_stack_composites",
+  "surface_stack_draw_px",
+  "surface_stack_clear_px",
+  "paragraph_builds",
+  "text_layouts",
+  "doc_atlas_writes",
+  "tile_atlas_writes",
+  "cache_surface_writes",
+  "tile_atlas_snapshots",
+  "tile_atlas_snapshot_px",
+  "frame_presents",
+  "crop_entries_built",
+  "crop_blits",
+  "crop_rejected",
+  "shape_tile_updates",
+];
+
+// Emscripten exposes the Rust symbol as-is on the instance; the `_`-prefixed
+// alias only exists on the Module object, which a release build mangles out of
+// reach — hence the `?? _name` fallback everywhere below.
+const readCounters = (page) =>
+  page.evaluate((names) => {
+    const ex = globalThis.__wasmExports;
+    if (!ex) return { error: "no wasm exports captured" };
+    const pick = (n) => ex[n] ?? ex[`_${n}`];
+    const get = pick("perf_counter_get");
+    const count = pick("perf_counter_count");
+    if (typeof get !== "function" || typeof count !== "function") {
+      return { error: "perf_counter_* exports missing — rebuild the WASM" };
+    }
+    const n = count();
+    if (n !== names.length) {
+      return {
+        error:
+          `counter count mismatch: wasm=${n} spec=${names.length} — ` +
+          "COUNTER_NAMES is out of sync with render::counters::NAMES",
+      };
+    }
+    const out = {};
+    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) out[names[i]] = get(i);
+    return out;
+  }, COUNTER_NAMES);
+
+const resetCounters = (page) =>
+  page.evaluate(() => {
+    const ex = globalThis.__wasmExports;
+    const reset = ex?.perf_counters_reset ?? ex?._perf_counters_reset;
+    if (typeof reset === "function") reset();
+  });
+
+/** Reads the counters for a phase and zeroes them for the next one. */
+const drainCounters = async (page) => {
+  const counters = await readCounters(page);
+  await resetCounters(page);
+  return counters;
+};
+
+// Derived ratios: the numbers that actually answer "are we painting the same
+// thing more than once". Kept out of the Rust side so they can change without
+// a rebuild.
+const derive = (c) => {
+  if (!c || c.error) return null;
+  const div = (a, b) => (b ? +(a / b).toFixed(2) : 0);
+  const tiles = c.tiles_painted;
+  return {
+    // Shape paints per tile painted. Grows with how much a shape's tile
+    // footprint is over-estimated (margin culling) and with per-tile root
+    // fan-out.
+    shape_paints_per_tile: div(c.shape_paints, tiles),
+    walker_visits_per_tile: div(c.walker_visits, tiles),
+    // Fraction of walked nodes that painted nothing.
+    culled_ratio: div(c.walker_culled, c.walker_visits),
+    // Shapes that needed the full 1024² surface stack instead of drawing
+    // straight into the tile.
+    layered_paint_ratio: div(
+      c.shape_paints - c.shape_paints_direct,
+      c.shape_paints,
+    ),
+    // Whole-surface pixels moved per tile painted (a 512² tile is 262144 px).
+    composite_px_per_tile: div(
+      c.surface_stack_draw_px + c.surface_stack_clear_px,
+      tiles,
+    ),
+    paragraph_builds_per_tile: div(c.paragraph_builds, tiles),
+    text_layouts_per_tile: div(c.text_layouts, tiles),
+    // Cache effectiveness: hits vs repaints, and how much was thrown away.
+    tile_cache_hit_ratio: div(c.tiles_cache_hit, c.tiles_cache_hit + tiles),
+    tiles_painted_per_present: div(tiles, c.frame_presents),
+    // Share of visited tiles that hold no shape at all. High means the gestures
+    // are running over blank canvas and the phase is not measuring anything —
+    // check the zoom/pan amplitudes before reading anything else.
+    empty_tile_ratio: div(
+      c.tiles_empty_skipped,
+      c.tiles_empty_skipped + c.tiles_cache_hit + tiles,
+    ),
+  };
+};
+
+const stat = (v) => {
+  if (!v.length) return { n: 0 };
+  const s = [...v].sort((a, b) => a - b);
+  const p = (q) => s[Math.min(s.length - 1, Math.round(q * (s.length - 1)))];
+  return {
+    n: v.length,
+    mean: +(v.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / v.length).toFixed(2),
+    p50: +p(0.5).toFixed(2),
+    p95: +p(0.95).toFixed(2),
+    max: +p(1).toFixed(2),
+    total: +v.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0).toFixed(1),
+  };
+};
+
+const summarize = (calls) => {
+  const sync = calls.filter((e) => !e.raf);
+  const rafs = calls.filter((e) => e.raf);
+  const byFlag = {};
+  for (const e of sync) (byFlag[e.flags] ??= []).push(e.ms);
+  const worst = [...sync].sort((a, b) => b.ms - a.ms)[0] ?? null;
+  return {
+    sync: stat(sync.map((e) => e.ms)),
+    raf: stat(rafs.map((e) => e.ms)),
+    syncByFlag: Object.fromEntries(
+      Object.entries(byFlag).map(([f, v]) => [f, stat(v)]),
+    ),
+    worstSync: worst
+      ? {
+          ms: worst.ms,
+          flags: worst.flags,
+          frame: worst.frame,
+          caller: worst.caller,
+        }
+      : null,
+  };
+};
+
+test(`render budget perf [${LABEL}]`, async ({ page }) => {
+  // A `_render` that raised did no work but still logs a cheap call, deflating
+  // the phase. Recorded per phase rather than failing: some are pre-existing.
+  const wasmErrors = [];
+  page.on("console", (msg) => {
+    if (msg.type() !== "error") return;
+    const text = msg.text();
+    if (/wasm-error|wasm-critical|WASM Error/.test(text)) {
+      wasmErrors.push(text.slice(0, 300));
+    }
+  });
+  page.on("pageerror", (err) => {
+    if (/wasm/i.test(String(err))) wasmErrors.push(String(err).slice(0, 300));
+  });
+  const drainErrors = () => wasmErrors.splice(0, wasmErrors.length);
+
+  await page.addInitScript(renderHook);
+  await WasmWorkspacePage.init(page);
+  await WasmWorkspacePage.mockConfigFlags(page, [
+    "enable-feature-render-wasm",
+    "enable-render-wasm-dpr",
+  ]);
+
+  const workspace = new WasmWorkspacePage(page);
+  await workspace.setupEmptyFile();
+  await workspace.mockGetFile(GET_FILE);
+
+  await workspace.goToWorkspace({ pageName: PAGE_NAME });
+  await workspace.waitForFirstRenderWithoutUI();
+  // Not waitForIdle(): requestIdleCallback never fires while the progressive
+  // render loop keeps the main thread busy, and the test hangs to timeout.
+  await page.waitForTimeout(2000);
+
+  const hooked = await page.evaluate(() => globalThis.__renderHookInstalled);
+  if (!hooked) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "_render was never wrapped — the renderer did not instantiate through " +
+        "WebAssembly.instantiate/instantiateStreaming, or the export was renamed",
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Everything up to here is the load and its first full render: every visible
+  // tile painted from an empty cache, no gesture, no cache hits.
+  const loadCounters = await drainCounters(page);
+  if (loadCounters.error) {
+    throw new Error(`render counters unavailable: ${loadCounters.error}`);
+  }
+  const loadCalls = await drain(page);
+  const loadErrors = drainErrors();
+  const firstError = loadErrors.length ? `; first error: ${loadErrors[0]}` : "";
+  if (loadCalls.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `no _render calls recorded during load — the hook is not intercepting ` +
+        `the renderer${firstError}`,
+    );
+  }
+  if (loadCounters.tiles_painted === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "load phase painted no tiles — _render ran but the document has no " +
+        `shapes in any tile (fixture/page mismatch?)${firstError}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  const box = await workspace.canvas.boundingBox();
+  const cx = box.x + box.width / 2;
+  const cy = box.y + box.height / 2;
+  await page.mouse.move(cx, cy);
+
+  // Same viewbox every run: fit the document, then zoom in a known factor
+  // toward the canvas centre (`increase-zoom` centres on the mouse, which is
+  // parked there). Content therefore surrounds the viewport on all sides and
+  // every gesture below stays over shapes.
+  await page.keyboard.press("Shift+1");
+  await page.waitForTimeout(1200);
+
+  // "=" rather than "+": both are bound to :increase-zoom (shortcuts.cljs), and
+  // "=" needs no shift modifier for mousetrap to match.
+  for (let i = 0; i < ZOOM_STEPS; i++) {
+    await page.keyboard.press("=");
+    await page.waitForTimeout(120);
+  }
+  await page.waitForTimeout(1500);
+
+  await drain(page); // discard zoom-in setup
+  await resetCounters(page);
+
+  // A plain wheel delta pans the vbox by `delta / zoom` doc units
+  // (`schedule-scroll!`), i.e. by `delta` screen pixels whatever the zoom. So
+  // amplitudes are expressed in screen pixels, derived from the viewport.
+  const panX = Math.round((box.width * PAN_TRAVEL) / STEPS);
+  const panY = Math.round((box.height * PAN_TRAVEL) / STEPS);
+
+  const wheelBurst = async (dx, dy) => {
+    for (let i = 0; i < STEPS; i++) {
+      await page.mouse.wheel(dx, dy);
+      await page.waitForTimeout(STEP_DELAY);
+    }
+    await page.waitForTimeout(SETTLE);
+  };
+
+  const runners = {
+    // Plain wheel pan, ending via the debounced `render-finish`. Zoom is stable,
+    // so `allow_stop` is false and the progressive budget never applies.
+    // Down/right/up/left closes the cycle, so it cannot drift off the document.
+    "wheel-pan": async () => {
+      for (let c = 0; c < CYCLES; c++) {
+        await wheelBurst(0, panY);
+        await wheelBurst(panX, 0);
+        await wheelBurst(0, -panY);
+        await wheelBurst(-panX, 0);
+      }
+    },
+
+    // Space-drag pan. Ends on pointerup via `finish-panning` ->
+    // maybe-view-interaction-end!, i.e. straight on the input path.
+    // Drags out and returns, for the same reason as the wheel cycle.
+    "drag-pan": async () => {
+      const moves = 12;
+      const dx = (box.width * PAN_TRAVEL) / moves;
+      const dy = (box.height * PAN_TRAVEL) / moves;
+      for (let c = 0; c < CYCLES; c++) {
+        await page.keyboard.down("Space");
+        await page.mouse.move(cx, cy);
+        await page.mouse.down();
+        for (let i = 1; i <= moves; i++) {
+          await page.mouse.move(
+            Math.round(cx - i * dx),
+            Math.round(cy - i * dy),
+          );
+          await page.waitForTimeout(STEP_DELAY);
+        }
+        for (let i = moves - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+          await page.mouse.move(
+            Math.round(cx - i * dx),
+            Math.round(cy - i * dy),
+          );
+          await page.waitForTimeout(STEP_DELAY);
+        }
+        await page.mouse.up();
+        await page.keyboard.up("Space");
+        await page.waitForTimeout(SETTLE);
+      }
+    },
+
+    // Ctrl+wheel zoom: `zoom_changed()` makes `allow_stop` true, so this is the
+    // phase that exercises the progressive budget. In then out, keeping the
+    // working zoom as the floor so it never zooms out into empty canvas.
+    zoom: async () => {
+      const ramp = async (delta) => {
+        await page.keyboard.down("Control");
+        for (let i = 0; i < ZOOM_NOTCHES; i++) {
+          await page.mouse.wheel(0, delta);
+          await page.waitForTimeout(STEP_DELAY);
+        }
+        await page.keyboard.up("Control");
+        await page.waitForTimeout(SETTLE);
+      };
+      for (let c = 0; c < CYCLES; c++) {
+        await ramp(-120); // in
+        await ramp(120); // out, back to the working zoom
+      }
+    },
+  };
+
+  const phases = {
+    load: {
+      calls: loadCalls,
+      summary: summarize(loadCalls),
+      counters: loadCounters,
+      ratios: derive(loadCounters),
+      wasmErrors: loadErrors,
+    },
+  };
+  let total = loadCalls.length;
+  for (const name of PHASES) {
+    const run = runners[name];
+    if (!run) throw new Error(`unknown phase "${name}"`);
+    await run();
+    const calls = await drain(page);
+    const counters = await drainCounters(page);
+    total += calls.length;
+    phases[name] = {
+      calls,
+      summary: summarize(calls),
+      counters,
+      ratios: derive(counters),
+      wasmErrors: drainErrors(),
+    };
+  }
+
+  // A run that recorded nothing is not a passing run — it means the gestures
+  // never reached the renderer (wrong branch built, render-wasm flag off, or
+  // the workspace fell back to the SVG viewport). Fail loudly rather than
+  // writing an all-zero file that looks like a legitimate comparison baseline.
+  if (total === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "no _render calls recorded across any phase — the build under test is " +
+        "probably not rendering through render-wasm",
+    );
+  }
+
+  let rev = "unknown";
+  try {
+    rev = execSync("git rev-parse --short HEAD", { encoding: "utf-8" }).trim();
+    const dirty = execSync("git status --porcelain", {
+      encoding: "utf-8",
+    }).trim();
+    if (dirty) rev += "-dirty";
+  } catch {}
+
+  // Not test-results/: Playwright wipes outputDir at the start of every run,
+  // which would delete the first run's data before the second one lands.
+  const outDir = path.resolve("perf-traces");
+  fs.mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true });
+  const out = path.join(outDir, `render-budget-${LABEL}.json`);
+  fs.writeFileSync(
+    out,
+    JSON.stringify(
+      {
+        label: LABEL,
+        rev,
+        date: new Date().toISOString(),
+        file: GET_FILE,
+        options: {
+          ZOOM_STEPS,
+          ZOOM_NOTCHES,
+          CYCLES,
+          STEPS,
+          STEP_DELAY,
+          SETTLE,
+          PAN_TRAVEL,
+          // Tile counts scale with the viewport, so two runs are only
+          // comparable at the same size and DPR. The compare script refuses to
+          // read across a mismatch.
+          VIEWPORT: `${VIEWPORT_W}x${VIEWPORT_H}`,
+          DPR,
+        },
+        counterNames: COUNTER_NAMES,
+        phases,
+      },
+      null,
+      2,
+    ),
+  );
+
+  const fmt = (s) =>
+    s.n
+      ? `n=${s.n} mean=${s.mean}ms p50=${s.p50} p95=${s.p95} max=${s.max} total=${s.total}`
+      : "n=0";
+  console.log(
+    `\n[PERF ${LABEL}] rev=${rev} file=${GET_FILE.split("/").pop()} ` +
+      `viewport=${VIEWPORT_W}x${VIEWPORT_H}@${DPR}x`,
+  );
+  for (const [
+    name,
+    { summary, counters, ratios, wasmErrors: errs },
+  ] of Object.entries(phases)) {
+    console.log(`[PERF ${LABEL}] --- ${name}`);
+    if (errs?.length) {
+      console.log(
+        `[PERF ${LABEL}]   !! ${errs.length} wasm error(s) in this phase, ` +
+          `counters are understated: ${errs[0]}`,
+      );
+    }
+    console.log(
+      `[PERF ${LABEL}]   SYNC (blocks main thread) ${fmt(summary.sync)}`,
+    );
+    console.log(
+      `[PERF ${LABEL}]   rAF                       ${fmt(summary.raf)}`,
+    );
+    if (summary.worstSync) {
+      const w = summary.worstSync;
+      console.log(
+        `[PERF ${LABEL}]   worst sync ${w.ms}ms flags=${w.flags} ` +
+          `frameType=${w.frame} @${w.caller ?? "?"}`,
+      );
+    }
+    if (counters && !counters.error) {
+      console.log(
+        `[PERF ${LABEL}]   tiles painted=${counters.tiles_painted} ` +
+          `cached=${counters.tiles_cache_hit} ` +
+          `invalidated=${counters.tiles_invalidated} ` +
+          `wipes=${counters.tile_cache_wipes} ` +
+          `discarded=${counters.tiles_discarded_inflight}`,
+      );
+      console.log(
+        `[PERF ${LABEL}]   shape paints=${counters.shape_paints} ` +
+          `(${counters.shape_paints_direct} direct) ` +
+          `walker visits=${counters.walker_visits} ` +
+          `culled=${counters.walker_culled}`,
+      );
+      console.log(
+        `[PERF ${LABEL}]   text builds=${counters.paragraph_builds} ` +
+          `layouts=${counters.text_layouts} | ` +
+          `composite px=${(counters.surface_stack_draw_px / 1e6).toFixed(1)}M ` +
+          `clear px=${(counters.surface_stack_clear_px / 1e6).toFixed(1)}M`,
+      );
+      console.log(
+        `[PERF ${LABEL}]   per tile: shapes=${ratios.shape_paints_per_tile} ` +
+          `visits=${ratios.walker_visits_per_tile} ` +
+          `composite=${(ratios.composite_px_per_tile / 1e6).toFixed(2)}M px ` +
+          `| layered=${(ratios.layered_paint_ratio * 100).toFixed(0)}% ` +
+          `cache hit=${(ratios.tile_cache_hit_ratio * 100).toFixed(0)}% ` +
+          `empty=${(ratios.empty_tile_ratio * 100).toFixed(0)}%`,
+      );
+      if (ratios.empty_tile_ratio > 0.5) {
+        console.log(
+          `[PERF ${LABEL}]   !! over half the tiles in this phase are empty — ` +
+            "the gestures are mostly over blank canvas, lower PERF_ZOOM_STEPS " +
+            "or PERF_PAN_TRAVEL, or use a denser fixture",
+        );
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  console.log(`[PERF ${LABEL}] wrote ${out}`);
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/debug.cljs b/frontend/src/debug.cljs
index f2ec88f412..cac16be160 100644
--- a/frontend/src/debug.cljs
+++ b/frontend/src/debug.cljs
@@ -154,6 +154,61 @@
       (wasm.h/call module "_render_stats")
       (js/console.warn "[debug] render-wasm module not ready or missing _render_stats"))))
 
+;; Mirrors `render::counters::NAMES` by index (render-wasm/src/render/counters.rs).
+(def ^:private wasm-perf-counter-names
+  ["render_loop_starts"
+   "render_loop_continues"
+   "partial_yields"
+   "tiles_painted"
+   "tiles_cache_hit"
+   "tiles_empty_skipped"
+   "tiles_invalidated"
+   "tile_cache_wipes"
+   "tiles_discarded_inflight"
+   "walker_visits"
+   "walker_culled"
+   "shape_paints"
+   "shape_paints_direct"
+   "surface_stack_composites"
+   "surface_stack_draw_px"
+   "surface_stack_clear_px"
+   "paragraph_builds"
+   "text_layouts"
+   "doc_atlas_writes"
+   "tile_atlas_writes"
+   "cache_surface_writes"
+   "tile_atlas_snapshots"
+   "tile_atlas_snapshot_px"
+   "frame_presents"
+   "crop_entries_built"
+   "crop_blits"
+   "crop_rejected"
+   "shape_tile_updates"])
+
+(defn ^:export wasmPerfCounters
+  "Snapshot of the render counters. Call `wasmPerfCountersReset` first to scope
+  them to one interaction."
+  []
+  (let [module wasm/internal-module
+        f      (when module (unchecked-get module "_perf_counter_get"))]
+    (if (fn? f)
+      (let [total  (wasm.h/call module "_perf_counter_count")
+            result #js {}]
+        (dotimes [i total]
+          (unchecked-set result
+                         (nth wasm-perf-counter-names i (str "counter_" i))
+                         (wasm.h/call module "_perf_counter_get" i)))
+        result)
+      (js/console.warn "[debug] render-wasm module not ready or missing _perf_counter_get"))))
+
+(defn ^:export wasmPerfCountersReset
+  []
+  (let [module wasm/internal-module
+        f      (when module (unchecked-get module "_perf_counters_reset"))]
+    (if (fn? f)
+      (wasm.h/call module "_perf_counters_reset")
+      (js/console.warn "[debug] render-wasm module not ready or missing _perf_counters_reset"))))
+
 (defn ^:export wasmAtlasConsole
   "Logs the current render-wasm atlas as an image in the JS console (if present)."
   []
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/main.rs b/render-wasm/src/main.rs
index 2d007d18e4..59d1f1975c 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/main.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/main.rs
@@ -1016,6 +1016,21 @@ pub extern "C" fn render_stats() {
     get_render_state().print_stats();
 }
 
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn perf_counter_count() -> u32 {
+    render::counters::COUNTER_COUNT as u32
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn perf_counter_get(index: u32) -> f64 {
+    render::counters::get(index as usize)
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn perf_counters_reset() {
+    render::counters::reset();
+}
+
 #[no_mangle]
 pub fn free_gpu_resources() {
     get_render_state().free_gpu_resources();
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/render.rs b/render-wasm/src/render.rs
index 2752266436..ae887cc24e 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/render.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/render.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+pub mod counters;
 mod debug;
 mod fills;
 pub mod filters;
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ use skia_safe::{self as skia, Matrix, RRect, Rect};
 use std::borrow::Cow;
 use std::collections::{HashMap, HashSet};
 
+use counters::Counter;
 use options::RenderOptions;
 pub use surfaces::{SurfaceId, Surfaces};
 
@@ -36,7 +38,7 @@ use crate::tiles::{self, PendingTiles, TileRect};
 use crate::uuid::Uuid;
 use crate::view::Viewbox;
 use crate::wapi;
-use crate::{get_gpu_state, get_resources, performance};
+use crate::{count, get_gpu_state, get_resources, performance};
 
 pub use fonts::*;
 pub use images::*;
@@ -956,6 +958,7 @@ impl RenderState {
     /// on top of Target, then present. Backbuffer is left clean so it can be reused
     /// as-is across interactive-transform frames without stale overlay pixels.
     pub fn present_frame(&mut self, tree: ShapesPoolRef) {
+        count!(Counter::FramePresents);
         self.compose_frame(tree);
         self.surfaces.flush_and_submit(SurfaceId::Target);
     }
@@ -1122,15 +1125,23 @@ impl RenderState {
     pub fn draw_shape_surface_stack_into(&mut self, shape: Option<&Shape>, target: SurfaceId) {
         performance::begin_measure!("apply_drawing_to_render_canvas");
 
+        count!(Counter::SurfaceStackComposites);
+        let surface_px = {
+            let (w, h) = self.surfaces.surface_size(SurfaceId::Fills);
+            (w as f64) * (h as f64)
+        };
+
         let paint = skia::Paint::default();
 
         // Only draw surfaces that have content (dirty flag optimization)
         if self.surfaces.is_dirty(SurfaceId::TextDropShadows) {
+            count!(Counter::SurfaceStackDrawPx, surface_px);
             self.surfaces
                 .draw_into(SurfaceId::TextDropShadows, target, Some(&paint));
         }
 
         if self.surfaces.is_dirty(SurfaceId::Fills) {
+            count!(Counter::SurfaceStackDrawPx, surface_px);
             self.surfaces
                 .draw_into(SurfaceId::Fills, target, Some(&paint));
         }
@@ -1141,16 +1152,19 @@ impl RenderState {
         }
 
         if render_overlay_below_strokes && self.surfaces.is_dirty(SurfaceId::InnerShadows) {
+            count!(Counter::SurfaceStackDrawPx, surface_px);
             self.surfaces
                 .draw_into(SurfaceId::InnerShadows, target, Some(&paint));
         }
 
         if self.surfaces.is_dirty(SurfaceId::Strokes) {
+            count!(Counter::SurfaceStackDrawPx, surface_px);
             self.surfaces
                 .draw_into(SurfaceId::Strokes, target, Some(&paint));
         }
 
         if !render_overlay_below_strokes && self.surfaces.is_dirty(SurfaceId::InnerShadows) {
+            count!(Counter::SurfaceStackDrawPx, surface_px);
             self.surfaces
                 .draw_into(SurfaceId::InnerShadows, target, Some(&paint));
         }
@@ -1171,6 +1185,10 @@ impl RenderState {
         }
 
         if dirty_surfaces_to_clear != 0 {
+            count!(
+                Counter::SurfaceStackClearPx,
+                surface_px * dirty_surfaces_to_clear.count_ones() as f64
+            );
             self.surfaces.apply_mut(dirty_surfaces_to_clear, |s| {
                 s.canvas().clear(skia::Color::TRANSPARENT);
             });
@@ -1339,6 +1357,8 @@ impl RenderState {
         #[cfg(feature = "stats")]
         self.stats.count(shape.id);
 
+        count!(Counter::ShapePaints);
+
         let surface_ids = fills_surface_id as u32
             | strokes_surface_id as u32
             | innershadows_surface_id as u32
@@ -1413,6 +1433,7 @@ impl RenderState {
             && target_surface != SurfaceId::Export;
 
         if can_render_directly {
+            count!(Counter::ShapePaintsDirect);
             let translation = self
                 .surfaces
                 .get_render_context_translation(self.render_area, scale);
@@ -2230,6 +2251,7 @@ impl RenderState {
                 img
             };
 
+            count!(Counter::CropEntriesBuilt);
             self.backbuffer_crop_cache.insert(
                 id,
                 InteractiveDragCrop {
@@ -2294,6 +2316,7 @@ impl RenderState {
         self.surfaces.gc();
 
         if self.current_tile.is_some() && !self.pending_nodes.is_empty() {
+            count!(Counter::TilesDiscardedInflight);
         }
 
         self.pending_nodes.clear();
@@ -2319,6 +2342,7 @@ impl RenderState {
         timestamp: i32,
         sync_render: bool,
     ) -> Result<FrameType> {
+        count!(Counter::RenderLoopStarts);
         self.clear(tree);
 
         let _start = performance::begin_timed_log!("start_render_loop");
@@ -2483,6 +2507,7 @@ impl RenderState {
         timestamp: i32,
         allow_stop: bool,
     ) -> Result<FrameType> {
+        count!(Counter::RenderLoopContinues);
         performance::begin_measure!("continue_render_loop");
         let timestamp = self.render_budget_start(timestamp);
         let frame_type =
@@ -3501,6 +3526,7 @@ impl RenderState {
         };
 
         while let Some(node_render_state) = self.pending_nodes.pop() {
+            count!(Counter::WalkerVisits);
             let node_id = node_render_state.id;
             let visited_children = node_render_state.visited_children;
             let visited_mask = node_render_state.visited_mask;
@@ -3593,6 +3619,7 @@ impl RenderState {
                 }
 
                 if !is_visible {
+                    count!(Counter::WalkerCulled);
                     continue;
                 }
             }
@@ -3615,10 +3642,12 @@ impl RenderState {
                 );
 
                 if !use_cached && self.backbuffer_crop_cache.contains_key(&node_id) {
+                    count!(Counter::CropRejected);
                 }
 
                 if use_cached {
                     if let Some(crop) = self.backbuffer_crop_cache.get(&node_id) {
+                        count!(Counter::CropBlits);
                         let crop_image = &crop.image;
                         let crop_src_selrect = crop.src_selrect;
 
@@ -3909,6 +3938,7 @@ impl RenderState {
                     }
 
                     if early_return {
+                        count!(Counter::PartialYields);
                         self.viewer_render_root = None;
                         return Ok(FrameType::Partial);
                     }
@@ -3920,6 +3950,7 @@ impl RenderState {
                     // (`current_tile_had_shapes` was set when we populated pending_nodes
                     // for this tile).
                     if !is_empty || self.current_tile_had_shapes {
+                        count!(Counter::TilesPainted);
                         if self.options.is_interactive_transform() {
                             // During drag, avoid snapshot-based caching. Draw Current directly
                             // into Target (and Cache) to reduce stalls.
@@ -3966,6 +3997,7 @@ impl RenderState {
 
                 let Some(ids) = self.tiles.get_shapes_at(next_tile) else {
                     // If the tile is empty we do not need to render it.
+                    count!(Counter::TilesEmptySkipped);
                     continue;
                 };
 
@@ -3973,6 +4005,7 @@ impl RenderState {
                 if !viewer_masked_pass && self.surfaces.has_cached_tile_surface(next_tile) {
                     // If the tile is cached, then we do not need to
                     // render it.
+                    count!(Counter::TilesCacheHit);
                     continue;
                 }
 
@@ -4093,6 +4126,7 @@ impl RenderState {
         shape: &Shape,
         tree: ShapesPoolRef,
     ) -> HashSet<tiles::Tile> {
+        count!(Counter::ShapeTileUpdates);
         let tile_rect = self.get_tiles_for_shape(shape, tree);
 
         // Collect old tiles to avoid borrow conflict with remove_shape_at
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/render/counters.rs b/render-wasm/src/render/counters.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f2ba8c1ce1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/render-wasm/src/render/counters.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+//! Exact render counters for before/after comparisons. Read from the browser
+//! through the `perf_counter_*` exports in `main.rs`; [`NAMES`] is mirrored by
+//! index in `playwright/ui/render-wasm-specs/render-budget-perf.spec.js`.
+
+#[repr(usize)]
+#[derive(Copy, Clone)]
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub enum Counter {
+    RenderLoopStarts = 0,
+    RenderLoopContinues,
+    PartialYields,
+    TilesPainted,
+    TilesCacheHit,
+    TilesEmptySkipped,
+    TilesInvalidated,
+    TileCacheWipes,
+    TilesDiscardedInflight,
+    WalkerVisits,
+    WalkerCulled,
+    ShapePaints,
+    ShapePaintsDirect,
+    SurfaceStackComposites,
+    SurfaceStackDrawPx,
+    SurfaceStackClearPx,
+    ParagraphBuilds,
+    TextLayouts,
+    DocAtlasWrites,
+    TileAtlasWrites,
+    /// Unused since the Cache blit was removed; kept so indices stay stable.
+    CacheSurfaceWrites,
+    TileAtlasSnapshots,
+    TileAtlasSnapshotPx,
+    FramePresents,
+    CropEntriesBuilt,
+    CropBlits,
+    CropRejected,
+    ShapeTileUpdates,
+}
+
+pub const COUNTER_COUNT: usize = 28;
+
+pub const NAMES: [&str; COUNTER_COUNT] = [
+    "render_loop_starts",
+    "render_loop_continues",
+    "partial_yields",
+    "tiles_painted",
+    "tiles_cache_hit",
+    "tiles_empty_skipped",
+    "tiles_invalidated",
+    "tile_cache_wipes",
+    "tiles_discarded_inflight",
+    "walker_visits",
+    "walker_culled",
+    "shape_paints",
+    "shape_paints_direct",
+    "surface_stack_composites",
+    "surface_stack_draw_px",
+    "surface_stack_clear_px",
+    "paragraph_builds",
+    "text_layouts",
+    "doc_atlas_writes",
+    "tile_atlas_writes",
+    "cache_surface_writes",
+    "tile_atlas_snapshots",
+    "tile_atlas_snapshot_px",
+    "frame_presents",
+    "crop_entries_built",
+    "crop_blits",
+    "crop_rejected",
+    "shape_tile_updates",
+];
+
+static mut COUNTERS: [f64; COUNTER_COUNT] = [0.0; COUNTER_COUNT];
+
+/// `f64` so the JS side reads plain numbers; exact past any count we reach.
+#[inline(always)]
+pub fn add(counter: Counter, n: f64) {
+    unsafe {
+        COUNTERS[counter as usize] += n;
+    }
+}
+
+#[inline(always)]
+pub fn get(index: usize) -> f64 {
+    if index >= COUNTER_COUNT {
+        return 0.0;
+    }
+    unsafe { COUNTERS[index] }
+}
+
+pub fn reset() {
+    unsafe {
+        COUNTERS = [0.0; COUNTER_COUNT];
+    }
+}
+
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! count {
+    ($counter:expr) => {
+        $crate::render::counters::add($counter, 1.0)
+    };
+    ($counter:expr, $n:expr) => {
+        $crate::render::counters::add($counter, $n as f64)
+    };
+}
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/render/surfaces.rs b/render-wasm/src/render/surfaces.rs
index 78e8c9bbe7..ed45f48965 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/render/surfaces.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/render/surfaces.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ use crate::{get_gpu_state, performance};
 
 use skia_safe::{self as skia, IRect, Paint, RRect, Rect};
 
+use super::counters::Counter;
 use super::{gpu_state::GpuState, tiles, tiles::Tile, tiles::TileRect, tiles::TileViewbox};
+use crate::count;
 use crate::math::Point;
 
 use base64::{engine::general_purpose, Engine as _};
@@ -552,6 +554,11 @@ impl Surfaces {
     ) {
         self.tiles.update(viewbox, tile_viewbox);
         if self.tiles.needs_snapshot() || self.tile_atlas_image.is_none() {
+            count!(Counter::TileAtlasSnapshots);
+            count!(
+                Counter::TileAtlasSnapshotPx,
+                (self.tile_atlas.width() as f64) * (self.tile_atlas.height() as f64)
+            );
             self.tile_atlas_image = Some(self.tile_atlas.image_snapshot());
             self.tiles.snapshot();
         }
@@ -1215,6 +1222,7 @@ impl Surfaces {
         let sampling = self.sampling_options;
 
         // DocAtlas + tile atlas via Surface::draw (no image_snapshot sync).
+        count!(Counter::DocAtlasWrites);
         let _ = self.atlas.blit_current_drawable_into_atlas(
             gpu_state,
             &mut self.current,
@@ -1224,6 +1232,7 @@ impl Surfaces {
         );
         self.atlas.tile_doc_rects.insert(*tile, tile_doc_rect);
 
+        count!(Counter::TileAtlasWrites);
         let tile_ref = self.tiles.add(tile_viewbox, tile);
         let dst = tile_ref.rect;
         let mut current = self.current.clone();
@@ -1343,6 +1352,7 @@ impl Surfaces {
     }
 
     pub fn remove_cached_tile_surface(&mut self, tile: Tile) {
+        count!(Counter::TilesInvalidated);
         let gpu_state = get_gpu_state();
         // Mark tile as invalid
         // Old content stays visible until new tile overwrites it atomically,
@@ -1409,6 +1419,7 @@ impl Surfaces {
     /// Used by `rebuild_tiles` (full rebuild). For shallow rebuilds that preserve
     /// the cache canvas for scaled previews, use `invalidate_tile_cache` instead.
     pub fn remove_cached_tiles(&mut self, color: skia::Color) {
+        count!(Counter::TileCacheWipes);
         self.tiles.clear();
         self.atlas.tile_doc_rects.clear();
         self.cache.canvas().clear(color);
@@ -1419,6 +1430,7 @@ impl Surfaces {
     /// so that `render_from_cache` can still show a scaled preview of the old
     /// content while new tiles are being rendered.
     pub fn invalidate_tile_cache(&mut self) {
+        count!(Counter::TileCacheWipes);
         self.tiles.clear();
         self.atlas.tile_doc_rects.clear();
         self.tile_atlas_image = None;
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs b/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs
index e027aebd21..46150991a4 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/render/text.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+use super::counters::Counter;
 use super::{filters, RenderState, Shape, SurfaceId, DEFAULT_EMOJI_FONT};
 use crate::{
+    count,
     error::Result,
     math::Rect,
     shapes::{
@@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ pub fn stroke_paragraph_builder_group_from_text(
     bounds: &Rect,
     use_shadow: Option<bool>,
 ) -> (Vec<ParagraphBuilderGroup>, Option<f32>) {
+    count!(Counter::ParagraphBuilds);
     let fallback_fonts = get_fallback_fonts();
     let fonts = get_font_collection();
     let mut paragraph_group = Vec::new();
diff --git a/render-wasm/src/shapes/text.rs b/render-wasm/src/shapes/text.rs
index 47befc08f3..b84771da90 100644
--- a/render-wasm/src/shapes/text.rs
+++ b/render-wasm/src/shapes/text.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+use crate::render::counters::Counter;
 use crate::render::text::calculate_decoration_metrics;
 use crate::{
+    count,
     math::{Bounds, Matrix, Rect},
     render::{default_font, DEFAULT_EMOJI_FONT},
     utils::Browser,
@@ -707,6 +709,7 @@ impl TextContent {
         &self,
         use_shadow: Option<bool>,
     ) -> Vec<ParagraphBuilderGroup> {
+        count!(Counter::ParagraphBuilds);
         let fonts = get_font_collection();
         let fallback_fonts = get_fallback_fonts();
         let mut paragraph_group = Vec::new();
@@ -742,6 +745,7 @@ impl TextContent {
     /// Creates paragraph builders with always-opaque paint (BLACK @ alpha 255).
     /// Used as a clip mask for inner stroke rendering.
     pub fn paragraph_builder_group_opaque(&self) -> Vec<ParagraphBuilderGroup> {
+        count!(Counter::ParagraphBuilds);
         let fonts = get_font_collection();
         let fallback_fonts = get_fallback_fonts();
         let mut paragraph_group = Vec::new();
@@ -1487,6 +1491,7 @@ pub fn calculate_text_layout_data(
     paragraph_builder_groups: &mut [ParagraphBuilderGroup],
     skip_position_data: bool,
 ) -> TextLayoutData {
+    count!(Counter::TextLayouts);
     let selrect_width = shape.selrect().width();
     let text_width = text_content.get_width(selrect_width);
     let selrect_height = shape.selrect().height();