diff --git a/changelog.d/fixes/6741-compression-preview-token-reconcile.md b/changelog.d/fixes/6741-compression-preview-token-reconcile.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..122a354265
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/fixes/6741-compression-preview-token-reconcile.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- **fix(compression):** `/api/compression/preview`'s top-level `originalTokens`/`compressedTokens` diverged from `engineBreakdown[0]`'s counts for the same single-engine run (tiktoken outer counts vs the `JSON.stringify(...).length/4` estimate per engine), worst on small inputs. A new `reconcileSingleEngineTokens()` overwrites the single-engine breakdown entry with the outer, more accurate figures; multi-step pipeline breakdowns are left untouched ([#6488](https://github.com/diegosouzapw/OmniRoute/issues/6488)). Regression guard: `tests/unit/compression/preview-outer-engine-token-reconcile-6488.test.ts`.
diff --git a/open-sse/services/compression/engineBreakdown.ts b/open-sse/services/compression/engineBreakdown.ts
index 99d3bfaf16..4f512ab05f 100644
--- a/open-sse/services/compression/engineBreakdown.ts
+++ b/open-sse/services/compression/engineBreakdown.ts
@@ -27,3 +27,40 @@ export function ensureEngineBreakdown(stats: CompressionStats): EngineBreakdownE
     },
   ];
 }
+
+/**
+ * #6488 — Reconcile the single-engine breakdown entry's token counts with the response's
+ * authoritative outer counts.
+ *
+ * The outer `originalTokens`/`compressedTokens` fields (computed by the API route with a real
+ * tiktoken-based counter over the extracted message text) and each `engineBreakdown[]` entry's
+ * `originalTokens`/`compressedTokens` (computed internally by `estimateCompressionTokens`, a
+ * crude `JSON.stringify(requestBody).length / 4` estimate over the whole request-body object)
+ * use two different, unreconciled token-counting methodologies. They diverge most on
+ * small/degenerate inputs where JSON structural overhead (braces, quotes, `role`/`content`
+ * keys) dominates the char count.
+ *
+ * When the breakdown has exactly one entry, that entry represents the *same* before/after
+ * transformation as the overall response (single-engine dispatch, or a 1-step pipeline) — so
+ * its counts are safe to overwrite with the outer, more accurate figures. Multi-step
+ * breakdowns are left untouched: each intermediate step legitimately operates on the previous
+ * step's (already-compressed) output, so its "before" state is not the overall original input
+ * and reconciling it against the overall counts would be incorrect.
+ */
+export function reconcileSingleEngineTokens(
+  breakdown: EngineBreakdownEntry[],
+  outerOriginalTokens: number,
+  outerCompressedTokens: number,
+  outerSavingsPercent: number
+): EngineBreakdownEntry[] {
+  if (breakdown.length !== 1) return breakdown;
+  const [entry] = breakdown;
+  return [
+    {
+      ...entry,
+      originalTokens: outerOriginalTokens,
+      compressedTokens: outerCompressedTokens,
+      savingsPercent: outerSavingsPercent,
+    },
+  ];
+}
diff --git a/src/app/api/compression/preview/route.ts b/src/app/api/compression/preview/route.ts
index cc8fc7e360..c656f0ced3 100644
--- a/src/app/api/compression/preview/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/compression/preview/route.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ import {
 } from "@omniroute/open-sse/services/compression/diffHelper";
 import { sanitizeErrorMessage } from "@omniroute/open-sse/utils/error";
 import { countTextTokens } from "@/shared/utils/tiktokenCounter";
-import { ensureEngineBreakdown } from "@omniroute/open-sse/services/compression/engineBreakdown";
+import {
+  ensureEngineBreakdown,
+  reconcileSingleEngineTokens,
+} from "@omniroute/open-sse/services/compression/engineBreakdown";
 import { summarizeEncoderCandidates } from "@omniroute/open-sse/services/compression/engines/headroom/encoderComparison";
 import { DEFAULT_MIN_ROWS } from "@omniroute/open-sse/services/compression/engines/headroom/smartcrusher";
 
@@ -217,7 +220,14 @@ export async function POST(req: Request) {
     const tokensSaved = Math.max(0, originalTokens - compressedTokens);
     const savingsPct = originalTokens > 0 ? Math.round((tokensSaved / originalTokens) * 100) : 0;
     const techniquesUsed: string[] = result.stats?.techniquesUsed ?? [];
-    const engineBreakdown = result.stats ? ensureEngineBreakdown(result.stats) : [];
+    const engineBreakdown = result.stats
+      ? reconcileSingleEngineTokens(
+          ensureEngineBreakdown(result.stats),
+          originalTokens,
+          compressedTokens,
+          savingsPct
+        )
+      : [];
     const diff = buildCompressionPreviewDiff(
       originalText,
       compressedText,
diff --git a/tests/unit/compression/preview-outer-engine-token-reconcile-6488.test.ts b/tests/unit/compression/preview-outer-engine-token-reconcile-6488.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0d7d01da9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/compression/preview-outer-engine-token-reconcile-6488.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import test from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+
+const TEST_DATA_DIR = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "preview-reconcile-6488-"));
+process.env.DATA_DIR = TEST_DATA_DIR;
+process.env.API_KEY_SECRET = process.env.API_KEY_SECRET ?? "test-secret-32-chars-min-aaaaaaaa";
+delete process.env.INITIAL_PASSWORD;
+const core = await import("../../../src/lib/db/core.ts");
+const route = await import("../../../src/app/api/compression/preview/route.ts");
+
+function makeReq(body: unknown) {
+  return new Request("http://localhost/api/compression/preview", {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+    body: JSON.stringify(body),
+  });
+}
+
+test.beforeEach(() => core.resetDbInstance());
+test.after(() => {
+  core.resetDbInstance();
+  rmSync(TEST_DATA_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+// Regression for #6488: outer originalTokens/compressedTokens (real tiktoken counter over
+// extracted message text) and engineBreakdown[].originalTokens/compressedTokens (internal
+// JSON.stringify(body).length/4 estimate) used to diverge on small/degenerate input because
+// they measured different things. For a single-engine breakdown, the entry represents the
+// exact same before/after transformation as the overall response, so it must be reconciled
+// to match the outer counts exactly.
+test("degenerate input with pipeline=['lite']: engineBreakdown[0] matches outer token counts", async () => {
+  const res = await route.POST(
+    makeReq({
+      messages: [{ role: "user", content: "user: " }],
+      pipeline: ["lite"],
+    })
+  );
+  const body = await res.json();
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200, `expected 200, got ${res.status}: ${JSON.stringify(body)}`);
+
+  const engines = (body.engineBreakdown ?? []).map((e: { engine: string }) => e.engine);
+  assert.ok(
+    engines.every((e: string) => e === "lite"),
+    `expected engineBreakdown to only contain 'lite', got ${JSON.stringify(engines)}`
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(body.engineBreakdown.length, 1);
+  const [step] = body.engineBreakdown;
+  assert.equal(
+    step.originalTokens,
+    body.originalTokens,
+    `outer originalTokens=${body.originalTokens} vs engine ${step.engine} originalTokens=${step.originalTokens}`
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    step.compressedTokens,
+    body.compressedTokens,
+    `outer compressedTokens=${body.compressedTokens} vs engine ${step.engine} compressedTokens=${step.compressedTokens}`
+  );
+});
+
+// Same reconciliation must hold for the single-engine (non-pipeline) dispatch path, where
+// engineBreakdown is synthesized by ensureEngineBreakdown from the overall stats.
+test("single-engine dispatch (engineId='rtk'): engineBreakdown[0] matches outer token counts", async () => {
+  const res = await route.POST(
+    makeReq({
+      messages: [{ role: "user", content: "a" }],
+      engineId: "rtk",
+    })
+  );
+  const body = await res.json();
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200, `expected 200, got ${res.status}: ${JSON.stringify(body)}`);
+  assert.equal(body.engineBreakdown.length, 1);
+  const [step] = body.engineBreakdown;
+  assert.equal(step.originalTokens, body.originalTokens);
+  assert.equal(step.compressedTokens, body.compressedTokens);
+});