diff --git a/cmd/server/observer_count_1888_test.go b/cmd/server/observer_count_1888_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..89d4bd22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/server/observer_count_1888_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// #1888: /api/stats.totalObservers and /api/observers disagreed because they
+// counted different sets. GetObservers() (and therefore the Observers page)
+// returns only rows the retention sweep has not soft-deleted
+// (inactive IS NULL OR inactive = 0), while the store's stats query counted
+// every row in the table. On a deployment with observerDays retention the two
+// drift apart by exactly the number of soft-deleted observers — 79 vs 51 on the
+// instance this was reproduced against.
+//
+// The two stats implementations did not even agree with each other: the DB
+// fallback (DB.GetStats) already applied the inactive filter, the store path
+// did not.
+
+// seedObserversForCount inserts 3 live observers and 2 soft-deleted ones.
+func seedObserversForCount(t *testing.T, db *DB) {
+	t.Helper()
+	now := time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+	if _, err := db.conn.Exec(`DELETE FROM observers`); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("clear observers: %v", err)
+	}
+	live := []string{"live1", "live2", "live3"}
+	for _, id := range live {
+		if _, err := db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name, last_seen, first_seen, packet_count, inactive)
+			VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, 10, 0)`, id, "Observer "+id, now, now); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("insert %s: %v", id, err)
+		}
+	}
+	// One explicitly soft-deleted, one with a NULL flag — GetObservers treats
+	// NULL as live, so only the inactive=1 row must be excluded.
+	if _, err := db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name, last_seen, first_seen, packet_count, inactive)
+		VALUES ('gone1', 'Gone One', ?, ?, 5, 1)`, now, now); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert gone1: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name, last_seen, first_seen, packet_count, inactive)
+		VALUES ('nullflag', 'Null Flag', ?, ?, 5, NULL)`, now, now); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert nullflag: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestStoreStatsTotalObserversExcludesSoftDeleted(t *testing.T) {
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+	seedTestData(t, db)
+	seedObserversForCount(t, db)
+
+	store := NewPacketStore(db, nil)
+	if err := store.Load(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("store.Load: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	st, err := store.GetStoreStats()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetStoreStats: %v", err)
+	}
+	if st.TotalObservers != 4 {
+		t.Errorf("TotalObservers = %d, want 4 (3 live + 1 NULL flag, excluding 1 soft-deleted)", st.TotalObservers)
+	}
+}
+
+// The count must equal what the Observers page actually lists — that is the
+// whole point of the issue: three UI surfaces showing three numbers.
+func TestStoreStatsTotalObserversMatchesObserverList(t *testing.T) {
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+	seedTestData(t, db)
+	seedObserversForCount(t, db)
+
+	store := NewPacketStore(db, nil)
+	if err := store.Load(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("store.Load: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	st, err := store.GetStoreStats()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetStoreStats: %v", err)
+	}
+	observers, err := db.GetObservers()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetObservers: %v", err)
+	}
+	if st.TotalObservers != len(observers) {
+		t.Errorf("stats totalObservers = %d but /api/observers lists %d",
+			st.TotalObservers, len(observers))
+	}
+}
+
+// The store path and the DB fallback must not report different totals for the
+// same database.
+func TestStoreAndDBStatsAgreeOnTotalObservers(t *testing.T) {
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+	seedTestData(t, db)
+	seedObserversForCount(t, db)
+
+	store := NewPacketStore(db, nil)
+	if err := store.Load(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("store.Load: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	storeStats, err := store.GetStoreStats()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetStoreStats: %v", err)
+	}
+	dbStats, err := db.GetStats()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetStats: %v", err)
+	}
+	if storeStats.TotalObservers != dbStats.TotalObservers {
+		t.Errorf("store path reports %d observers, DB fallback reports %d",
+			storeStats.TotalObservers, dbStats.TotalObservers)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/server/store.go b/cmd/server/store.go
index 013b7ff2..8c6d4f66 100644
--- a/cmd/server/store.go
+++ b/cmd/server/store.go
@@ -2086,7 +2086,7 @@ func (s *PacketStore) GetStoreStats() (*Stats, error) {
 			`SELECT
 				(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM nodes WHERE last_seen > ?) AS active_nodes,
 				(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM nodes) AS all_nodes,
-				(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observers) AS observers`,
+				(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observers WHERE inactive IS NULL OR inactive = 0) AS observers`,
 			sevenDaysAgo,
 		).Scan(&st.TotalNodes, &st.TotalNodesAllTime, &st.TotalObservers)
 	}()