diff --git a/src/routes/stats/npm/$packages.tsx b/src/routes/stats/npm/$packages.tsx
index 6f98b9f39..e52db00b6 100644
--- a/src/routes/stats/npm/$packages.tsx
+++ b/src/routes/stats/npm/$packages.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-import * as React from 'react'
-import { createFileRoute, useNavigate } from '@tanstack/react-router'
+import {
+  createFileRoute,
+  notFound,
+  redirect,
+  stripSearchParams,
+} from '@tanstack/react-router'
 import * as v from 'valibot'
-import { seo } from '~/utils/seo'
 import {
   parsePackagesFromUrl,
   transformModeSchema,
@@ -15,129 +18,72 @@ import {
   timeRangeSchema,
   viewModeSchema,
 } from './-utils'
-import { Spinner } from '~/components/Spinner'
-import { chartHeightSchema, chartWidthSchema } from '~/utils/schemas'
+import {
+  chartHeightSchema,
+  chartWidthSchema,
+  isNpmPackageName,
+} from '~/utils/schemas'
 
 const timelineZoomTimeSchema = v.pipe(v.number(), v.integer(), v.minValue(0))
 
-export const Route = createFileRoute('/stats/npm/$packages')({
-  validateSearch: v.object({
-    range: v.fallback(v.optional(timeRangeSchema, '365-days'), '365-days'),
-    transform: v.fallback(v.optional(transformModeSchema, 'none'), 'none'),
-    binType: v.fallback(v.optional(binTypeSchema, 'weekly'), 'weekly'),
-    viewMode: v.fallback(v.optional(viewModeSchema, 'history'), 'history'),
-    chartType: v.fallback(v.optional(chartTypeSchema, 'line'), 'line'),
-    barOrientation: v.fallback(v.optional(barOrientationSchema), undefined),
-    barSort: v.fallback(v.optional(latestBarSortSchema, 'value'), 'value'),
-    bucketOffset: v.fallback(
-      v.optional(
-        v.pipe(v.number(), v.integer(), v.minValue(-5000), v.maxValue(0)),
-        0,
-      ),
+export const comparisonSearchSchema = v.object({
+  range: v.fallback(v.optional(timeRangeSchema, '365-days'), '365-days'),
+  transform: v.fallback(v.optional(transformModeSchema, 'none'), 'none'),
+  binType: v.fallback(v.optional(binTypeSchema, 'weekly'), 'weekly'),
+  viewMode: v.fallback(v.optional(viewModeSchema, 'history'), 'history'),
+  chartType: v.fallback(v.optional(chartTypeSchema, 'line'), 'line'),
+  barOrientation: v.fallback(v.optional(barOrientationSchema), undefined),
+  barSort: v.fallback(v.optional(latestBarSortSchema, 'value'), 'value'),
+  bucketOffset: v.fallback(
+    v.optional(
+      v.pipe(v.number(), v.integer(), v.minValue(-5000), v.maxValue(0)),
       0,
     ),
-    playbackIntervalMs: v.fallback(
-      v.optional(playbackIntervalMsSchema, defaultPlaybackIntervalMs),
-      defaultPlaybackIntervalMs,
-    ),
-    playbackLoop: v.fallback(v.optional(v.boolean(), false), false),
-    playbackPlaying: v.fallback(v.optional(v.boolean(), false), false),
-    showDataMode: v.fallback(v.optional(showDataModeSchema, 'all'), 'all'),
-    showLegend: v.fallback(v.optional(v.boolean(), false), false),
-    height: v.fallback(v.optional(chartHeightSchema, 400), 400),
-    width: v.fallback(v.optional(chartWidthSchema), undefined),
-    timelineStart: v.fallback(v.optional(timelineZoomTimeSchema), undefined),
-    timelineEnd: v.fallback(v.optional(timelineZoomTimeSchema), undefined),
-  }),
-  loader: ({ params }) => {
-    const packages = parsePackagesFromUrl(params.packages)
-    return { packages }
-  },
-  head: ({ loaderData }) => {
-    const packages = loaderData?.packages || []
-    const packageList = packages.join(' vs ')
-
-    // SEO-optimized title and description
-    const title =
-      packages.length === 1
-        ? `${packages[0]} - NPM Download Statistics & Trends`
-        : `${packageList} - NPM Download Comparison`
-
-    const description =
-      packages.length === 1
-        ? `View npm download statistics and trends for ${packages[0]}. Track weekly downloads, historical data, and growth patterns.`
-        : `Compare npm downloads for ${packageList}. View download trends, weekly statistics, and historical data to choose the best package for your project.`
-
-    const keywords = `${packages.join(', ')}, npm downloads, npm stats, package comparison, npm trends, download statistics`
-
-    // JSON-LD structured data
-    const jsonLd = {
-      '@context': 'https://schema.org',
-      '@type': 'WebPage',
-      name: title,
-      description,
-      url: `https://tanstack.com/stats/npm/${packages.join('-vs-')}`,
-      isPartOf: {
-        '@type': 'WebApplication',
-        name: 'TanStack NPM Stats',
-        url: 'https://tanstack.com/stats/npm',
-      },
-      about: packages.map((pkg) => ({
-        '@type': 'SoftwareApplication',
-        name: pkg,
-        applicationCategory: 'DeveloperApplication',
-      })),
-    }
+    0,
+  ),
+  playbackIntervalMs: v.fallback(
+    v.optional(playbackIntervalMsSchema, defaultPlaybackIntervalMs),
+    defaultPlaybackIntervalMs,
+  ),
+  playbackLoop: v.fallback(v.optional(v.boolean(), false), false),
+  playbackPlaying: v.fallback(v.optional(v.boolean(), false), false),
+  showDataMode: v.fallback(v.optional(showDataModeSchema, 'all'), 'all'),
+  showLegend: v.fallback(v.optional(v.boolean(), false), false),
+  height: v.fallback(v.optional(chartHeightSchema, 400), 400),
+  width: v.fallback(v.optional(chartWidthSchema), undefined),
+  timelineStart: v.fallback(v.optional(timelineZoomTimeSchema), undefined),
+  timelineEnd: v.fallback(v.optional(timelineZoomTimeSchema), undefined),
+})
 
-    return {
-      meta: seo({
-        title,
-        description,
-        keywords,
-      }),
-      scripts: [
-        {
-          type: 'application/ld+json',
-          children: JSON.stringify(jsonLd),
-        },
-      ],
-    }
-  },
-  component: RouteComponent,
-  staticData: {
-    includeSearchInCanonical: true,
+export const Route = createFileRoute('/stats/npm/$packages')({
+  validateSearch: comparisonSearchSchema,
+  search: {
+    middlewares: [stripSearchParams(v.parse(comparisonSearchSchema, {}))],
   },
+  beforeLoad: redirectNpmComparison,
 })
 
-function RouteComponent() {
-  const { packages } = Route.useLoaderData()
-  const search = Route.useSearch()
-  const navigate = useNavigate({ from: Route.fullPath })
-
-  // Navigate to the main page with packages as search params
-  // This happens client-side after SSR renders the meta tags
-  React.useEffect(() => {
-    navigate({
-      to: '/stats/npm',
-      search: {
-        ...search,
-        packageGroups: packages.map((name: string) => ({
-          packages: [{ name }],
-        })),
-      },
-      replace: true,
-    })
-  }, [navigate, packages, search])
-
-  // Show loading while navigating
-  return (
-    <div className="min-h-dvh flex items-center justify-center">
-      <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-4">
-        <Spinner />
-        <div className="text-sm text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400">
-          Loading {packages.join(' vs ')}...
-        </div>
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  )
+export function redirectNpmComparison({
+  params,
+  search,
+}: {
+  params: { packages: string }
+  search: v.InferOutput<typeof comparisonSearchSchema>
+}) {
+  const packages = parsePackagesFromUrl(params.packages)
+  if (
+    !packages.length ||
+    packages.length !== params.packages.split('-vs-').length ||
+    !packages.every(isNpmPackageName)
+  ) {
+    throw notFound()
+  }
+  throw redirect({
+    to: '/stats/npm',
+    search: {
+      ...search,
+      packageGroups: packages.map((name) => ({ packages: [{ name }] })),
+    },
+    replace: true,
+  })
 }
diff --git a/tests/npm-comparison-redirect.test.ts b/tests/npm-comparison-redirect.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1635157dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/npm-comparison-redirect.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/// <reference types="node" />
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+import test from 'node:test'
+import { isNotFound, isRedirect } from '@tanstack/react-router'
+import * as v from 'valibot'
+import {
+  comparisonSearchSchema,
+  redirectNpmComparison,
+} from '../src/routes/stats/npm/$packages'
+
+async function runBeforeLoad(packages: string) {
+  return redirectNpmComparison({
+    params: { packages },
+    search: v.parse(comparisonSearchSchema, { height: 600 }),
+  })
+}
+
+test('comparison links redirect before rendering and preserve selected packages', async () => {
+  for (const [path, names] of [
+    ['react', ['react']],
+    ['a'.repeat(214), ['a'.repeat(214)]],
+    ['@scope~1' + 'a'.repeat(207), ['@scope/' + 'a'.repeat(207)]],
+    ['react-vs-vue', ['react', 'vue']],
+    ['@tanstack~1react-query', ['@tanstack/react-query']],
+    ['@tanstack__react-query', ['@tanstack/react-query']],
+  ] satisfies [string, string[]][]) {
+    await assert.rejects(runBeforeLoad(path), (error: unknown) => {
+      assert.ok(isRedirect(error))
+      assert.equal(error.options.to, '/stats/npm')
+      assert.deepEqual(error.options.search, {
+        ...v.parse(comparisonSearchSchema, { height: 600 }),
+        packageGroups: names.map((name) => ({ packages: [{ name }] })),
+      })
+      return true
+    })
+  }
+})
+
+test('invalid or oversized comparisons return not found', async () => {
+  for (const path of [
+    'react-vs-',
+    '-vs-',
+    'react-vs-INVALID',
+    'a'.repeat(215),
+    '@scope~1' + 'a'.repeat(208),
+    Array(33).fill('react').join('-vs-'),
+  ]) {
+    await assert.rejects(runBeforeLoad(path), isNotFound)
+  }
+})