diff --git a/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx b/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx
index fde22b74..2d7721f8 100644
--- a/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/__tests__/post-community-address-compat.test.tsx
@@ -326,6 +326,8 @@ vi.mock('../../lib/utils/replies-preview-utils', () => ({
   filterRepliesForDisplay: (replies: TestComment[]) => replies,
   getPreviewDisplayReplies: (replies: TestComment[]) => replies,
   getTotalReplyCount: ({ replyCount }: { replyCount?: number }) => replyCount ?? 0,
+  hasEnoughPreviewReplies: ({ replyCount, loadedCount, visibleCount }: { replyCount?: number; loadedCount: number; visibleCount: number }) =>
+    loadedCount >= Math.min(visibleCount, replyCount ?? visibleCount),
 }));
 
 vi.mock('../../lib/utils/thread-scroll-utils', () => ({
diff --git a/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx b/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx
index a07ee0f8..6b722dac 100644
--- a/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx
+++ b/src/components/post-desktop/post-desktop.tsx
@@ -49,7 +49,13 @@ import useQuotedByMap from '../../hooks/use-quoted-by-map';
 import useProgressiveRender from '../../hooks/use-progressive-render';
 import useFreshReplies from '../../hooks/use-fresh-replies';
 import { BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_FETCH_SIZE, BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_VISIBLE_COUNT, REPLIES_PER_PAGE } from '../../lib/constants';
-import { computeOmittedCount, filterRepliesForDisplay, getPreviewDisplayReplies, getTotalReplyCount } from '../../lib/utils/replies-preview-utils';
+import {
+  computeOmittedCount,
+  filterRepliesForDisplay,
+  getPreviewDisplayReplies,
+  getTotalReplyCount,
+  hasEnoughPreviewReplies,
+} from '../../lib/utils/replies-preview-utils';
 import { isCommentArchived } from '../../lib/utils/comment-moderation-utils';
 import { getThreadTopNavigationState, scrollThreadContainerToTop } from '../../lib/utils/thread-scroll-utils';
 import useDeleteFailedPost from '../../hooks/use-delete-failed-post';
@@ -821,11 +827,27 @@ const PostDesktop = ({
 
   const { showOmittedReplies, setShowOmittedReplies } = useShowOmittedReplies();
 
-  const shouldFetchPreview = showReplies && !isModQueue && !showAllReplies && showOmittedReplies[cid] !== true;
+  const shouldUsePreview = showReplies && !isModQueue && !showAllReplies;
   const shouldFetchFull = showReplies && !isModQueue && (showAllReplies || showOmittedReplies[cid]);
 
+  const cachedPreviewRepliesResult = useReplies({
+    comment: shouldUsePreview ? resolvedPost : undefined,
+    onlyIfCached: true,
+    sortType: 'new',
+    flat: true,
+    repliesPerPage: BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_FETCH_SIZE,
+    accountComments: { newerThan: Infinity, append: true },
+  });
+  const cachedPreviewReplies = (cachedPreviewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies?.length
+    ? (cachedPreviewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies!
+    : cachedPreviewRepliesResult.replies || [];
+  const hasEnoughCachedPreview = hasEnoughPreviewReplies({
+    replyCount: resolvedPost?.replyCount,
+    loadedCount: cachedPreviewReplies.length,
+    visibleCount: BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_VISIBLE_COUNT,
+  });
   const previewRepliesResult = useReplies({
-    comment: shouldFetchPreview ? resolvedPost : undefined,
+    comment: shouldUsePreview && !showOmittedReplies[cid] && !hasEnoughCachedPreview ? resolvedPost : undefined,
     sortType: 'new',
     flat: true,
     repliesPerPage: BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_FETCH_SIZE,
@@ -839,9 +861,10 @@ const PostDesktop = ({
     accountComments: { newerThan: Infinity, append: true },
   });
 
-  const previewReplies = (previewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies?.length
+  const livePreviewReplies = (previewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies?.length
     ? (previewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies!
     : previewRepliesResult.replies || [];
+  const previewReplies = hasEnoughCachedPreview ? cachedPreviewReplies : livePreviewReplies;
   const fullReplies = (fullRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies?.length
     ? (fullRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies!
     : fullRepliesResult.replies || [];
@@ -875,7 +898,7 @@ const PostDesktop = ({
   const totalReplyCount = getTotalReplyCount({
     replyCount: resolvedPost?.replyCount,
     fullLoadedCount: fullReplies.length,
-    previewLoadedCount: previewReplies.length,
+    previewLoadedCount: Math.max(cachedPreviewReplies.length, livePreviewReplies.length),
   });
   const repliesCount = computeOmittedCount({
     totalReplyCount,
diff --git a/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx b/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx
index 63790563..c211ab1c 100644
--- a/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx
+++ b/src/components/post-mobile/post-mobile.tsx
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ import useProgressiveRender from '../../hooks/use-progressive-render';
 import useFreshReplies from '../../hooks/use-fresh-replies';
 import { BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_FETCH_SIZE, BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_VISIBLE_COUNT, REPLIES_PER_PAGE } from '../../lib/constants';
 import { isCommentArchived } from '../../lib/utils/comment-moderation-utils';
-import { filterRepliesForDisplay, getPreviewDisplayReplies } from '../../lib/utils/replies-preview-utils';
+import { filterRepliesForDisplay, getPreviewDisplayReplies, hasEnoughPreviewReplies } from '../../lib/utils/replies-preview-utils';
 import { getRenderableMobileBacklinks } from '../../lib/utils/reply-backlink-utils';
 import { getThreadTopNavigationState, scrollThreadContainerToTop } from '../../lib/utils/thread-scroll-utils';
 import useDeleteFailedPost from '../../hooks/use-delete-failed-post';
@@ -564,8 +564,26 @@ const PostMobile = ({
   const boardPath = communityAddress ? getBoardPath(communityAddress, directories) : undefined;
   const linksCount = useCountLinksInReplies(resolvedPost);
   const shouldFetchReplies = showReplies && !isModQueue;
+  const shouldUsePreview = shouldFetchReplies && !showAllReplies;
+  const cachedPreviewRepliesResult = useReplies({
+    comment: shouldUsePreview ? resolvedPost : undefined,
+    onlyIfCached: true,
+    sortType: 'new',
+    flat: true,
+    repliesPerPage: BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_FETCH_SIZE,
+    accountComments: { newerThan: Infinity, append: true },
+  });
+  const cachedPreviewReplies = (cachedPreviewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies?.length
+    ? (cachedPreviewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies!
+    : cachedPreviewRepliesResult.replies || [];
+  const cachedPreviewDisplayCount = filterRepliesForDisplay(cachedPreviewReplies).length;
+  const hasEnoughCachedPreview = hasEnoughPreviewReplies({
+    replyCount: resolvedPost?.replyCount,
+    loadedCount: cachedPreviewDisplayCount,
+    visibleCount: BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_VISIBLE_COUNT,
+  });
   const previewRepliesResult = useReplies({
-    comment: shouldFetchReplies && !showAllReplies ? resolvedPost : undefined,
+    comment: shouldUsePreview && !hasEnoughCachedPreview ? resolvedPost : undefined,
     sortType: 'new',
     flat: true,
     repliesPerPage: BOARD_REPLIES_PREVIEW_FETCH_SIZE,
@@ -578,7 +596,11 @@ const PostMobile = ({
     repliesPerPage: REPLIES_PER_PAGE,
     accountComments: { newerThan: Infinity, append: true },
   });
-  const repliesResult = showAllReplies ? fullRepliesResult : previewRepliesResult;
+  const livePreviewReplies = (previewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies?.length
+    ? (previewRepliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies!
+    : previewRepliesResult.replies || [];
+  const previewReplies = hasEnoughCachedPreview ? cachedPreviewReplies : livePreviewReplies;
+  const repliesResult = showAllReplies ? fullRepliesResult : { ...previewRepliesResult, replies: previewReplies, updatedReplies: previewReplies };
   const { replies, hasMore, loadMore } = repliesResult;
   const updatedReplies = (repliesResult as { updatedReplies?: Comment[] }).updatedReplies;
   const repliesForRender = updatedReplies?.length ? updatedReplies : replies || [];
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/__tests__/misc-utils.test.ts b/src/lib/utils/__tests__/misc-utils.test.ts
index 7b2c0018..915f0010 100644
--- a/src/lib/utils/__tests__/misc-utils.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/utils/__tests__/misc-utils.test.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { copyToClipboard } from '../clipboard-utils';
 import { hashStringToColor, getTextColorForBackground, removeMarkdown } from '../post-utils';
 import { preloadReplyModal, preloadThemeAssets, resolveAssetUrl } from '../preload-utils';
-import { computeOmittedCount, filterRepliesForDisplay, getPreviewDisplayReplies, getTotalReplyCount } from '../replies-preview-utils';
+import { computeOmittedCount, filterRepliesForDisplay, getPreviewDisplayReplies, getTotalReplyCount, hasEnoughPreviewReplies } from '../replies-preview-utils';
 import { getQuotedCidsFromContent, mergeQuotedCids } from '../reply-quote-utils';
 import { formatUserIDForDisplay, truncateWithEllipsisInMiddle } from '../string-utils';
 import { getFormattedDate, getFormattedTimeAgo, isChristmas } from '../time-utils';
@@ -186,6 +186,10 @@ describe('misc utils', () => {
 
     expect(computeOmittedCount({ totalReplyCount: 2, visibleCount: 5 })).toBe(0);
     expect(computeOmittedCount({ totalReplyCount: 9, visibleCount: 5 })).toBe(4);
+    expect(hasEnoughPreviewReplies({ replyCount: 2, loadedCount: 2, visibleCount: 5 })).toBe(true);
+    expect(hasEnoughPreviewReplies({ replyCount: 9, loadedCount: 4, visibleCount: 5 })).toBe(false);
+    expect(hasEnoughPreviewReplies({ replyCount: undefined, loadedCount: 5, visibleCount: 5 })).toBe(true);
+    expect(hasEnoughPreviewReplies({ replyCount: undefined, loadedCount: 4, visibleCount: 5 })).toBe(false);
     expect(getTotalReplyCount({ replyCount: undefined, fullLoadedCount: 7, previewLoadedCount: 5 })).toBe(7);
     expect(getTotalReplyCount({ replyCount: 12, fullLoadedCount: 7, previewLoadedCount: 5 })).toBe(12);
   });
diff --git a/src/lib/utils/replies-preview-utils.ts b/src/lib/utils/replies-preview-utils.ts
index 20d0cd12..908d37dc 100644
--- a/src/lib/utils/replies-preview-utils.ts
+++ b/src/lib/utils/replies-preview-utils.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,22 @@ export function computeOmittedCount({ totalReplyCount, visibleCount }: ComputeOm
   return Math.max(0, totalReplyCount - visibleCount);
 }
 
+interface HasEnoughPreviewRepliesParams {
+  replyCount: number | undefined;
+  loadedCount: number;
+  visibleCount: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Board previews can skip a live fetch when cached replies already cover all
+ * replies that could be shown. If total reply count is unknown, require a full
+ * visible slice so UX matches the current live-preview behavior.
+ */
+export function hasEnoughPreviewReplies({ replyCount, loadedCount, visibleCount }: HasEnoughPreviewRepliesParams): boolean {
+  const requiredCount = typeof replyCount === 'number' && replyCount >= 0 ? Math.min(visibleCount, replyCount) : visibleCount;
+  return requiredCount === 0 || loadedCount >= requiredCount;
+}
+
 interface GetTotalReplyCountParams {
   replyCount: number | undefined;
   fullLoadedCount: number;