diff --git a/backend/__tests__/integration/restoreService.pgBranch.test.js b/backend/__tests__/integration/restoreService.pgBranch.test.js
index 6b0342e9..e91ab75d 100644
--- a/backend/__tests__/integration/restoreService.pgBranch.test.js
+++ b/backend/__tests__/integration/restoreService.pgBranch.test.js
@@ -109,6 +109,48 @@ describe('restoreService — PG branch scope contract (PR #596 review)', () => {
     expect(declarationLine).toBeLessThan(splitLineOneBased);
   });
 
+  it('every .count() result is coerced to Number before comparison', () => {
+    // PR #596 review caught a second PG-only landmine: pg-driver
+    // returns COUNT(*) as a string ("16" not 16) to preserve bigint
+    // precision. The original code compared `result.count !==
+    // expected.rowCount` and every match flagged as a mismatch on PG.
+    //
+    // The fix coerces with `Number(...)` at every comparison +
+    // interpolation site. This test catches a future regression where
+    // a refactor uses `.count` directly in a `===` / `!==` / `>` /
+    // `<` comparison without coercing.
+    //
+    // Heuristic: find every `.count` access in the file and make sure
+    // the line either:
+    //   (a) wraps it in `Number(...)`, or
+    //   (b) is purely an interpolation that already coerced upstream
+    //       (e.g. `validation.warnings.push(`... ${eventCountN} ...`)`
+    //       where eventCountN is the coerced local), or
+    //   (c) is the docstring/comment line (filtered separately).
+    //
+    // We approximate this by listing every `.count` reference site
+    // and asserting that lines doing comparisons (`===`/`!==`/`>`/
+    // `<`/`>=`/`<=`) on a raw `.count` access without `Number(...)`
+    // around it are zero.
+    const dangerousLines = lines
+      .map((l, i) => ({ line: i + 1, text: l }))
+      // Filter to lines that compare a .count result
+      .filter(({ text }) => {
+        // Skip comments
+        if (/^\s*(\/\/|\*)/.test(text)) return false;
+        // Detect a `.count` (followed by `)` for `?.count` or by space/operator)
+        // being directly compared via ===/!==/>/<.
+        // Match the BAD pattern: `<something>.count <op> <something>`
+        // where <op> is === / !== / > / < / >= / <=
+        const bareCountInComparison = /\w+\??\.count\s*(?:!==|===|>=?|<=?)\s+/;
+        // ALLOW if the .count is preceded by `Number(` in the same line
+        const wrappedInNumber = /Number\(\s*\w+\??\.count/;
+        return bareCountInComparison.test(text) && !wrappedInNumber.test(text);
+      });
+
+    expect(dangerousLines).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   it('the replay block reads preservedMeta outside the SQLite/PG branch', () => {
     // The replay block lives near the end of performDatabaseRestore.
     // It must NOT be guarded by `this.dbType === 'postgresql'` — the
diff --git a/backend/src/services/restoreService.js b/backend/src/services/restoreService.js
index bba57295..8c87b6f2 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/restoreService.js
+++ b/backend/src/services/restoreService.js
@@ -442,21 +442,32 @@ class RestoreService {
         }
       }
 
-      // Check if restoring would overwrite existing data
+      // Check if restoring would overwrite existing data.
+      //
+      // NOTE: pg-driver returns `count('* as count')` as a STRING (it
+      // serialises `bigint` to string to avoid JS precision loss for
+      // huge counts) — see PR #596 review for the `bigint`-as-string
+      // discussion. Both blocks below coerce to `Number` before
+      // comparing AND before interpolating into the warning text, so
+      // the count renders as `5` not `"5"` regardless of DB driver.
+      // Don't drop the `Number()` calls without also re-auditing the
+      // strict-equality call sites flagged in the same review.
       if (options.restoreType === 'full' || options.restoreType === 'database') {
         const eventCount = await db('events').count('* as count').first();
-        if (eventCount && eventCount.count > 0) {
-          validation.warnings.push(`Database contains ${eventCount.count} existing events that will be overwritten`);
+        const eventCountN = Number(eventCount?.count || 0);
+        if (eventCountN > 0) {
+          validation.warnings.push(`Database contains ${eventCountN} existing events that will be overwritten`);
         }
       }
 
-      // Check for active users
+      // Check for active users (same coercion contract as above).
       const activeUsers = await db('admin_users')
         .where('is_active', formatBoolean(true))
         .count('* as count')
         .first();
-      if (activeUsers && activeUsers.count > 0) {
-        validation.warnings.push(`There are ${activeUsers.count} active admin users`);
+      const activeUsersN = Number(activeUsers?.count || 0);
+      if (activeUsersN > 0) {
+        validation.warnings.push(`There are ${activeUsersN} active admin users`);
       }
 
     } catch (error) {
@@ -1240,9 +1251,20 @@ END $$;`
           for (const [table, expected] of Object.entries(manifest.database.row_counts)) {
             try {
               const result = await db(table).count('* as count').first();
-              if (result.count !== expected.rowCount) {
+              // pg-driver serialises `bigint` as string to preserve
+              // precision for huge counts, so `result.count` on PG is
+              // e.g. `"16"` while the manifest's `expected.rowCount`
+              // is the JS number `16`. Strict `!==` flagged every
+              // match as a mismatch on PG. Caught on PR #596 review:
+              //   `Table activity_logs row count mismatch:
+              //    expected 16, got 16`
+              // every table, all "matching". Coerce both sides to
+              // Number to compare reliably across SQLite (number) and
+              // PG (string).
+              const actual = Number(result.count);
+              if (actual !== expected.rowCount) {
                 verification.errors.push(
-                  `Table ${table} row count mismatch: expected ${expected.rowCount}, got ${result.count}`
+                  `Table ${table} row count mismatch: expected ${expected.rowCount}, got ${actual}`
                 );
               }
             } catch (error) {