diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3d611273..cbe0af97 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -651,6 +651,22 @@ const result = await myConsumer.handlerSpy.waitForMessageWithId('1')
 expect(result.processingResult).toEqual({ status: 'consumed' })
 ```
 
+### Counters
+
+For load-testing scenarios where retaining all messages in the buffer may be too memory-intensive, handler spies provide lightweight counters that track how many messages were processed with each status:
+
+```ts
+const counts = myConsumer.handlerSpy.counts
+// {
+//   consumed: 150,
+//   published: 0,
+//   retryLater: 3,
+//   error: 1,
+// }
+```
+
+Counters are incremented for every processed message regardless of `bufferSize`, so you get accurate statistics even when older messages have been evicted from the buffer. Calling `clear()` resets both the buffer and the counters.
+
 ## Message Logging
 
 When `logMessages` is enabled, processed messages are logged at the `debug` level with structured metadata. For privacy reasons, the full message payload is **not logged by default** to avoid exposing sensitive data.
diff --git a/packages/core/lib/index.ts b/packages/core/lib/index.ts
index b9d29a8d..bb97ea60 100644
--- a/packages/core/lib/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/lib/index.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ export {
   type HandlerSpyParams,
   type PublicHandlerSpy,
   resolveHandlerSpy,
+  type SpyResultCounts,
   type SpyResultInput,
   TYPE_NOT_RESOLVED,
 } from './queues/HandlerSpy.ts'
diff --git a/packages/core/lib/queues/HandlerSpy.ts b/packages/core/lib/queues/HandlerSpy.ts
index 2573bb18..70215a0b 100644
--- a/packages/core/lib/queues/HandlerSpy.ts
+++ b/packages/core/lib/queues/HandlerSpy.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,13 @@ export type HandlerSpyParams = {
   messageIdField?: string
 }
 
+export type SpyResultCounts = {
+  consumed: number
+  published: number
+  retryLater: number
+  error: number
+}
+
 export type SpyResultInput<MessagePayloadSchemas extends object> = {
   message: MessagePayloadSchemas | null
   processingResult: MessageProcessingResult
@@ -87,12 +94,14 @@ export class HandlerSpy<MessagePayloadSchemas extends object> {
   private readonly messageBuffer: Fifo<SpyResultInput<any>>
   private readonly messageIdField: keyof MessagePayloadSchemas
   private readonly spyPromises: SpyPromiseMetadata<MessagePayloadSchemas>[]
+  private _counts: SpyResultCounts
 
   constructor(params: HandlerSpyParams = {}) {
     this.messageBuffer = new Fifo(params.bufferSize ?? 100)
     // @ts-expect-error
     this.messageIdField = params.messageIdField ?? 'id'
     this.spyPromises = []
+    this._counts = { consumed: 0, published: 0, retryLater: 0, error: 0 }
   }
 
   private messageMatchesFilter<T extends object>(
@@ -159,8 +168,13 @@ export class HandlerSpy<MessagePayloadSchemas extends object> {
     return spyPromise
   }
 
+  get counts(): SpyResultCounts {
+    return { ...this._counts }
+  }
+
   clear() {
     this.messageBuffer.clear()
+    this._counts = { consumed: 0, published: 0, retryLater: 0, error: 0 }
   }
 
   getAllReceivedMessages(): SpyResultOutput<MessagePayloadSchemas>[] {
@@ -199,6 +213,8 @@ export class HandlerSpy<MessagePayloadSchemas extends object> {
           },
         } as SpyResultOutput<MessagePayloadSchemas>)
 
+    this._counts[processingResult.processingResult.status]++
+
     const cacheId = `${resolvedMessageId}-${Date.now()}-${(Math.random() + 1)
       .toString(36)
       .substring(7)}`
diff --git a/packages/core/test/queues/HandlerSpy.spec.ts b/packages/core/test/queues/HandlerSpy.spec.ts
index 0c5dd353..97fdce11 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/queues/HandlerSpy.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/queues/HandlerSpy.spec.ts
@@ -429,6 +429,139 @@ describe('HandlerSpy', () => {
     })
   })
 
+  describe('counts', () => {
+    it('Starts with all zeroes', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      expect(spy.counts).toEqual({
+        consumed: 0,
+        published: 0,
+        retryLater: 0,
+        error: 0,
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('Increments consumed counter', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'consumed' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+
+      expect(spy.counts.consumed).toBe(1)
+      expect(spy.counts.error).toBe(0)
+    })
+
+    it('Increments error counter', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'error', errorReason: 'invalidMessage' }, message: null },
+        'abc',
+        TYPE_NOT_RESOLVED,
+      )
+
+      expect(spy.counts.error).toBe(1)
+      expect(spy.counts.consumed).toBe(0)
+    })
+
+    it('Increments retryLater counter', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'retryLater' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+
+      expect(spy.counts.retryLater).toBe(1)
+    })
+
+    it('Increments published counter', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'published' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+
+      expect(spy.counts.published).toBe(1)
+    })
+
+    it('Tracks multiple statuses correctly', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'consumed' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'consumed' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE_2 },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'error', errorReason: 'handlerError' }, message: null },
+        'err1',
+        TYPE_NOT_RESOLVED,
+      )
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'retryLater' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+
+      expect(spy.counts).toEqual({
+        consumed: 2,
+        published: 0,
+        retryLater: 1,
+        error: 1,
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('Resets counts on clear', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'consumed' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'error', errorReason: 'invalidMessage' }, message: null },
+        'abc',
+        TYPE_NOT_RESOLVED,
+      )
+
+      spy.clear()
+
+      expect(spy.counts).toEqual({
+        consumed: 0,
+        published: 0,
+        retryLater: 0,
+        error: 0,
+      })
+    })
+
+    it('Returns a copy, not a reference', () => {
+      const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()
+
+      const countsBefore = spy.counts
+      spy.addProcessedMessage(
+        { processingResult: { status: 'consumed' }, message: TEST_MESSAGE },
+        undefined,
+        'test.type',
+      )
+
+      expect(countsBefore.consumed).toBe(0)
+      expect(spy.counts.consumed).toBe(1)
+    })
+  })
+
   describe('isHandlerSpy', () => {
     it('HandlerSpy returns true', () => {
       const spy = new HandlerSpy<Message>()