diff --git a/.changeset/sampling-improvements.md b/.changeset/sampling-improvements.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..304caaf40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/sampling-improvements.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@hyperdx/app": patch
+---
+
+feat: deterministic sampling with adaptive sample size for Event Deltas
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/DBDeltaChart.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/DBDeltaChart.tsx
index fd5bd68de..d38d44ff9 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/DBDeltaChart.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/DBDeltaChart.tsx
@@ -23,9 +23,11 @@ import { getFirstTimestampValueExpression } from '@/source';
 import { SQLPreview } from './ChartSQLPreview';
 import {
   getPropertyStatistics,
+  getStableSampleExpression,
   isDenylisted,
   isHighCardinality,
   mergeValueStatisticsMaps,
+  SAMPLE_SIZE,
 } from './deltaChartUtils';
 import {
   CHART_GAP,
@@ -42,6 +44,7 @@ export default function DBDeltaChart({
   xMax,
   yMin,
   yMax,
+  spanIdExpression,
 }: {
   config: ChartConfigWithDateRange;
   valueExpr: string;
@@ -49,10 +52,14 @@ export default function DBDeltaChart({
   xMax: number;
   yMin: number;
   yMax: number;
+  spanIdExpression?: string;
 }) {
   // Determine if the value expression uses aggregate functions
   const isAggregate = isAggregateFunction(valueExpr);
 
+  // Build deterministic ORDER BY expression from source's spanIdExpression
+  const stableSampleExpr = getStableSampleExpression(spanIdExpression);
+
   // Get the timestamp expression from config
   const timestampExpr = getFirstTimestampValueExpression(
     config.timestampValueExpression,
@@ -136,8 +143,8 @@ export default function DBDeltaChart({
                 ]
               : []),
           ],
-          orderBy: [{ ordering: 'DESC', valueExpression: 'rand()' }],
-          limit: { limit: 1000 },
+          orderBy: [{ ordering: 'DESC', valueExpression: stableSampleExpr }],
+          limit: { limit: SAMPLE_SIZE },
         },
       },
     ];
@@ -191,8 +198,8 @@ export default function DBDeltaChart({
     with: buildWithClauses(true),
     select: '*',
     filters: buildFilters(true),
-    orderBy: [{ ordering: 'DESC', valueExpression: 'rand()' }],
-    limit: { limit: 1000 },
+    orderBy: [{ ordering: 'DESC', valueExpression: stableSampleExpr }],
+    limit: { limit: SAMPLE_SIZE },
   });
 
   const { data: inlierData } = useQueriedChartConfig({
@@ -200,8 +207,8 @@ export default function DBDeltaChart({
     with: buildWithClauses(false),
     select: '*',
     filters: buildFilters(false),
-    orderBy: [{ ordering: 'DESC', valueExpression: 'rand()' }],
-    limit: { limit: 1000 },
+    orderBy: [{ ordering: 'DESC', valueExpression: stableSampleExpr }],
+    limit: { limit: SAMPLE_SIZE },
   });
 
   // Column metadata for field classification (from ClickHouse response)
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/Search/DBSearchHeatmapChart.tsx b/packages/app/src/components/Search/DBSearchHeatmapChart.tsx
index 1b710ea1c..fea4425cd 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/Search/DBSearchHeatmapChart.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/Search/DBSearchHeatmapChart.tsx
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ export function DBSearchHeatmapChart({
           xMax={fields.xMax}
           yMin={fields.yMin}
           yMax={fields.yMax}
+          spanIdExpression={source.spanIdExpression}
         />
       ) : (
         <Center mih={100} h="100%">
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/__tests__/deltaChartSampling.test.ts b/packages/app/src/components/__tests__/deltaChartSampling.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7403ec0eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/__tests__/deltaChartSampling.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import {
+  computeEffectiveSampleSize,
+  getStableSampleExpression,
+  MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE,
+  MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE,
+  SAMPLE_RATIO,
+  SAMPLE_SIZE,
+} from '../deltaChartUtils';
+
+describe('getStableSampleExpression', () => {
+  it('returns cityHash64 of spanIdExpression when provided', () => {
+    expect(getStableSampleExpression('SpanId')).toBe('cityHash64(SpanId)');
+  });
+
+  it('uses custom spanId column name', () => {
+    expect(getStableSampleExpression('my_span_id')).toBe(
+      'cityHash64(my_span_id)',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to rand() when spanIdExpression is undefined', () => {
+    expect(getStableSampleExpression(undefined)).toBe('rand()');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to rand() when spanIdExpression is empty', () => {
+    expect(getStableSampleExpression('')).toBe('rand()');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('computeEffectiveSampleSize', () => {
+  it('returns SAMPLE_SIZE when totalCount is 0 (fallback)', () => {
+    expect(computeEffectiveSampleSize(0)).toBe(SAMPLE_SIZE);
+  });
+
+  it('returns SAMPLE_SIZE when totalCount is negative', () => {
+    expect(computeEffectiveSampleSize(-1)).toBe(SAMPLE_SIZE);
+  });
+
+  it('returns MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE for small datasets', () => {
+    expect(computeEffectiveSampleSize(100)).toBe(MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE);
+  });
+
+  it('returns SAMPLE_RATIO * totalCount for mid-size datasets', () => {
+    const result = computeEffectiveSampleSize(200_000);
+    expect(result).toBe(Math.ceil(200_000 * SAMPLE_RATIO));
+    expect(result).toBeGreaterThan(MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE);
+    expect(result).toBeLessThan(MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE);
+  });
+
+  it('caps at MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE for very large datasets', () => {
+    expect(computeEffectiveSampleSize(10_000_000)).toBe(MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE);
+  });
+
+  it('returns exact 1% for datasets where 1% falls in the valid range', () => {
+    expect(computeEffectiveSampleSize(100_000)).toBe(1000);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/app/src/components/deltaChartUtils.ts b/packages/app/src/components/deltaChartUtils.ts
index cad5013bf..1fe08c793 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/components/deltaChartUtils.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/components/deltaChartUtils.ts
@@ -283,3 +283,43 @@ export function isHighCardinality(
 
   return effectiveUniqueness > 0.9;
 }
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Sampling configuration
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/** Default number of rows sampled when the total count is unknown */
+export const SAMPLE_SIZE = 1000;
+
+/** Minimum number of rows to sample */
+export const MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE = 500;
+
+/** Maximum number of rows to sample */
+export const MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE = 5000;
+
+/** Fraction of total rows to sample (e.g., 0.01 = 1%) */
+export const SAMPLE_RATIO = 0.01;
+
+/**
+ * Builds a deterministic ORDER BY expression for stable sampling.
+ * Uses the source's spanIdExpression when available, falls back to rand().
+ */
+export function getStableSampleExpression(spanIdExpression?: string): string {
+  if (spanIdExpression) {
+    return `cityHash64(${spanIdExpression})`;
+  }
+  return 'rand()';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Computes the effective sample size based on total row count.
+ * Adaptive formula: clamp(MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE, ceil(totalCount * SAMPLE_RATIO), MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE).
+ * Returns SAMPLE_SIZE as fallback when totalCount is 0 or unavailable.
+ */
+export function computeEffectiveSampleSize(totalCount: number): number {
+  if (totalCount <= 0) return SAMPLE_SIZE;
+  return Math.min(
+    MAX_SAMPLE_SIZE,
+    Math.max(MIN_SAMPLE_SIZE, Math.ceil(totalCount * SAMPLE_RATIO)),
+  );
+}