diff --git a/api/v1_notifications.go b/api/v1_notifications.go
index 99089a46..b4a97b03 100644
--- a/api/v1_notifications.go
+++ b/api/v1_notifications.go
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ WITH latest_seen AS (
 -- Equivalent to ARRAY[@user_id] && n.user_ids, split so single-recipient rows
 -- can use notification_single_recipient_user_timestamp_idx while
 -- multi-recipient arrays keep the existing overlap semantics.
-matched_notifications AS (
+single_recipient_groups AS MATERIALIZED (
 	SELECT n.type, n.group_id
 	FROM notification n
 	CROSS JOIN latest_seen
@@ -84,22 +84,40 @@ matched_notifications AS (
 		AND n.timestamp > COALESCE(latest_seen.seen_at, '-infinity'::timestamp)
 		AND (n.type = ANY(@types) OR @types IS NULL)
 		AND (n.type != ALL(@unsupported_types))
-	UNION ALL
+	GROUP BY n.type, n.group_id
+	LIMIT @limit
+),
+single_recipient_count AS MATERIALIZED (
+	SELECT COUNT(*)::int AS unread_count
+	FROM single_recipient_groups
+),
+-- Only touch the broader multi-recipient GIN path if the fast single-recipient
+-- path did not already satisfy the capped unread count.
+multi_recipient_groups AS MATERIALIZED (
 	SELECT n.type, n.group_id
 	FROM notification n
 	CROSS JOIN latest_seen
-	WHERE COALESCE(array_length(n.user_ids, 1), 0) != 1
+	WHERE (SELECT unread_count FROM single_recipient_count) < @limit
+		AND COALESCE(array_length(n.user_ids, 1), 0) != 1
 		AND ARRAY[@user_id] && n.user_ids
 		AND n.timestamp > (now()::timestamp - interval '90 days')
 		AND n.timestamp > COALESCE(latest_seen.seen_at, '-infinity'::timestamp)
 		AND (n.type = ANY(@types) OR @types IS NULL)
 		AND (n.type != ALL(@unsupported_types))
+		AND NOT EXISTS (
+			SELECT 1
+			FROM single_recipient_groups sg
+			WHERE sg.type = n.type
+				AND sg.group_id = n.group_id
+		)
+	GROUP BY n.type, n.group_id
+	LIMIT GREATEST(@limit - (SELECT unread_count FROM single_recipient_count), 0)
 )
 SELECT COUNT(*)
 FROM (
-	SELECT 1
-	FROM matched_notifications
-	GROUP BY type, group_id
+	SELECT type, group_id FROM single_recipient_groups
+	UNION ALL
+	SELECT type, group_id FROM multi_recipient_groups
 	LIMIT @limit
 ) unread_notifications;
 `
diff --git a/api/v1_notifications_test.go b/api/v1_notifications_test.go
index 3685fe14..8fb43dee 100644
--- a/api/v1_notifications_test.go
+++ b/api/v1_notifications_test.go
@@ -152,6 +152,72 @@ func TestV1Notifications_ReturnsMultiRecipientRows(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestV1Notifications_LimitZeroDedupesSingleAndMultiRecipientGroups(t *testing.T) {
+	app := emptyTestApp(t)
+
+	fixtures := database.FixtureMap{
+		"notification": []map[string]any{
+			{
+				"id":        1,
+				"specifier": "single",
+				"group_id":  "milestone:shared",
+				"type":      "milestone",
+				"user_ids":  []int{1},
+				"timestamp": time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Minute),
+				"data":      []byte(`{"type": "TRACK_REPOST_COUNT", "threshold": 10, "track_id": 101}`),
+			},
+			{
+				"id":        2,
+				"specifier": "multi",
+				"group_id":  "milestone:shared",
+				"type":      "milestone",
+				"user_ids":  []int{1, 2},
+				"timestamp": time.Now(),
+				"data":      []byte(`{"type": "TRACK_SAVE_COUNT", "threshold": 10, "track_id": 102}`),
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	database.Seed(app.pool.Replicas[0], fixtures)
+
+	status, body := testGet(t, app, "/v1/notifications/"+trashid.MustEncodeHashID(1)+"?limit=0")
+	assert.Equal(t, 200, status)
+
+	jsonAssert(t, body, map[string]any{
+		"data.notifications.#": 0,
+		"data.unread_count":    1,
+	})
+}
+
+func TestV1Notifications_LimitZeroCapsUnreadCount(t *testing.T) {
+	app := emptyTestApp(t)
+
+	notifs := make([]map[string]any, 0, notificationUnreadPollLimit+1)
+	for i := range notificationUnreadPollLimit + 1 {
+		notifs = append(notifs, map[string]any{
+			"id":        i + 1,
+			"specifier": strconv.Itoa(i + 1),
+			"group_id":  "milestone:" + strconv.Itoa(i+1),
+			"type":      "milestone",
+			"user_ids":  []int{1},
+			"timestamp": time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Duration(i) * time.Minute),
+			"data":      []byte(`{"type": "TRACK_REPOST_COUNT", "threshold": 10, "track_id": 101}`),
+		})
+	}
+
+	database.Seed(app.pool.Replicas[0], database.FixtureMap{
+		"notification": notifs,
+	})
+
+	status, body := testGet(t, app, "/v1/notifications/"+trashid.MustEncodeHashID(1)+"?limit=0")
+	assert.Equal(t, 200, status)
+
+	jsonAssert(t, body, map[string]any{
+		"data.notifications.#": 0,
+		"data.unread_count":    notificationUnreadPollLimit,
+	})
+}
+
 func TestV1Notifications_NotDeletedTrack(t *testing.T) {
 	app := emptyTestApp(t)
 
diff --git a/ddl/migrations/0228_notification_multi_recipient_user_ids_idx.sql b/ddl/migrations/0228_notification_multi_recipient_user_ids_idx.sql
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..094227c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ddl/migrations/0228_notification_multi_recipient_user_ids_idx.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+-- The notification API handles the overwhelmingly common single-recipient path
+-- with notification_single_recipient_user_timestamp_idx. Keep the fallback
+-- multi-recipient overlap scan off the all-row GIN index so high-notification
+-- users do not recheck large numbers of single-recipient rows.
+--
+-- NOTE: intentionally NOT wrapped in BEGIN/COMMIT so CREATE INDEX
+-- CONCURRENTLY can run without holding an ACCESS EXCLUSIVE lock on notification.
+
+CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY IF NOT EXISTS notification_multi_recipient_user_ids_idx
+    ON public.notification USING gin (user_ids)
+    WHERE COALESCE(array_length(user_ids, 1), 0) != 1;
+
+COMMENT ON INDEX public.notification_multi_recipient_user_ids_idx IS
+    'Covers notification reads for the uncommon multi-recipient user_ids array path.';