diff --git a/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-model.ts b/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-model.ts
index c430dd1..78bdb84 100644
--- a/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-model.ts
+++ b/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-model.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ export interface SettingsDraft {
   dryRun: boolean;
   prioritizeRecentPosts: boolean;
   recentWindowMinutes: string;
+  maxReadyCandidates: string;
   subreddits: SubredditDraft[];
   advancedConfigJson: string;
 }
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ const ValidatedSettingsSchema = z.strictObject({
   dryRun: z.boolean(),
   prioritizeRecentPosts: z.boolean(),
   recentWindowMinutes: z.number().finite().positive('Recent window must be greater than 0 minutes.'),
+  maxReadyCandidates: z.number().int().min(1, 'Ready-post limit must be at least 1.').max(500, 'Ready-post limit cannot exceed 500.'),
   subreddits: z.array(EditableSubredditSchema).min(1, 'At least one subreddit is required.'),
 }).superRefine((value, context) => {
   const names = value.subreddits.map((subreddit) => subreddit.name.trim().toLowerCase());
@@ -69,6 +71,7 @@ export function createSettingsDraft(config: ConfigResponse): SettingsDraft {
     dryRun: config.browser.dryRun,
     prioritizeRecentPosts: config.reddit.prioritizeRecentPosts,
     recentWindowMinutes: String(config.reddit.recentWindowMinutes),
+    maxReadyCandidates: String(config.reddit.maxReadyCandidates),
     subreddits: config.subreddits.map((subreddit) => ({
       name: subreddit.name,
       enabled: subreddit.enabled,
@@ -90,6 +93,7 @@ export function validateSettingsDraft(draft: SettingsDraft): SettingsValidationR
   if (draft.maxMessagesPerHour.trim() === '') requiredErrors.maxMessagesPerHour = 'Maximum messages per hour is required.';
   if (draft.jitterSeconds.trim() === '') requiredErrors.jitterSeconds = 'Jitter is required.';
   if (draft.recentWindowMinutes.trim() === '') requiredErrors.recentWindowMinutes = 'Recent window is required.';
+  if (draft.maxReadyCandidates.trim() === '') requiredErrors.maxReadyCandidates = 'Ready-post limit is required.';
   draft.subreddits.forEach((subreddit, index) => {
     if (subreddit.name.trim() === '') requiredErrors[`subreddits.${index}.name`] = 'Subreddit name is required.';
     if (subreddit.weight.trim() !== '' && Number(subreddit.weight) <= 0) {
@@ -125,6 +129,7 @@ export function validateSettingsDraft(draft: SettingsDraft): SettingsValidationR
     dryRun: draft.dryRun,
     prioritizeRecentPosts: draft.prioritizeRecentPosts,
     recentWindowMinutes: Number(draft.recentWindowMinutes),
+    maxReadyCandidates: Number(draft.maxReadyCandidates),
     subreddits: draft.subreddits.map((subreddit) => ({
       name: subreddit.name.trim(),
       enabled: subreddit.enabled,
@@ -165,6 +170,7 @@ export function validateSettingsDraft(draft: SettingsDraft): SettingsValidationR
     reddit: {
       prioritizeRecentPosts: parsed.data.prioritizeRecentPosts,
       recentWindowMinutes: parsed.data.recentWindowMinutes,
+      maxReadyCandidates: parsed.data.maxReadyCandidates,
     },
     subreddits: parsed.data.subreddits,
     ...(advanced ? { advanced } : {}),
diff --git a/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-sections.tsx b/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-sections.tsx
index 5fcf2af..ffd4bcb 100644
--- a/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-sections.tsx
+++ b/apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settings-sections.tsx
@@ -58,6 +58,14 @@ export function MonitoringSection({ draft, errors, onChange }: SectionProps) {
         onChange={(recentWindowMinutes) => onChange({ ...draft, recentWindowMinutes })}
         value={draft.recentWindowMinutes}
       />
+      <NumberField
+        error={errors.maxReadyCandidates}
+        label="Maximum ready posts"
+        min={1}
+        name="maximum-ready-posts"
+        onChange={(maxReadyCandidates) => onChange({ ...draft, maxReadyCandidates })}
+        value={draft.maxReadyCandidates}
+      />
     </section>
   );
 }
diff --git a/config.yaml b/config.yaml
index d8a245e..2d3b5da 100644
--- a/config.yaml
+++ b/config.yaml
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ reddit:
   filterSellers: true  # Skip profiles that appear to be OnlyFans/content sellers
   prioritizeRecentPosts: true  # Prefer posts within recentWindowMinutes; older posts only as fallback
   recentWindowMinutes: 30
+  maxReadyCandidates: 25  # Pause screening when this many posts are ready to send
   # sellerKeywords: [...]  # Uncomment to override default keyword list
 
 openrouter:
diff --git a/packages/api-contracts/src/config.ts b/packages/api-contracts/src/config.ts
index 4a37cde..25968f1 100644
--- a/packages/api-contracts/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/api-contracts/src/config.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ export const RateLimitConfigSchema = z.strictObject({
 export const RuntimeRedditConfigSchema = z.strictObject({
   prioritizeRecentPosts: z.boolean(),
   recentWindowMinutes: z.number(),
+  maxReadyCandidates: z.number().int().min(1).max(500),
 });
 export const RuntimeConfigSchema = z.strictObject({
   rateLimit: RateLimitConfigSchema,
diff --git a/packages/api-contracts/tests/contracts.test.ts b/packages/api-contracts/tests/contracts.test.ts
index 71c6350..3afd21f 100644
--- a/packages/api-contracts/tests/contracts.test.ts
+++ b/packages/api-contracts/tests/contracts.test.ts
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ describe('dashboard endpoint contracts', () => {
     const payload = {
       rateLimit: { minDelayBetweenMessagesMs: 300_000, maxMessagesPerHour: 8, jitterMs: 60_000 },
       browser: { dryRun: false },
-      reddit: { prioritizeRecentPosts: true, recentWindowMinutes: 60 },
+      reddit: { prioritizeRecentPosts: true, recentWindowMinutes: 60, maxReadyCandidates: 25 },
       subreddits: [{ name: 'example', enabled: true, type: 'chat', weight: 2, tone: 'direct' }],
       tones: ['default', 'direct'],
     };
diff --git a/src/config/index.ts b/src/config/index.ts
index 4eea306..05188c1 100644
--- a/src/config/index.ts
+++ b/src/config/index.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ export const ConfigSchema = z.object({
     filterSellers: z.boolean().default(true),
     prioritizeRecentPosts: z.boolean().default(false),
     recentWindowMinutes: z.number().positive().default(60),
+    maxReadyCandidates: z.number().int().min(1).max(500).default(25),
     sellerKeywords: z
       .array(z.string())
       .default([
diff --git a/src/database/candidate-queue-repository.ts b/src/database/candidate-queue-repository.ts
index 7b523aa..1f2a9f9 100644
--- a/src/database/candidate-queue-repository.ts
+++ b/src/database/candidate-queue-repository.ts
@@ -191,12 +191,22 @@ export class CandidateQueueRepository {
     `).run(now, postId, workerId).changes === 1;
   }
 
-  promoteDueRetries(now: number = Date.now()): number {
+  promoteDueRetries(maxReadyCandidates: number, now: number = Date.now()): number {
+    if (!Number.isInteger(maxReadyCandidates) || maxReadyCandidates < 1) {
+      throw new Error('Maximum ready candidates must be a positive integer');
+    }
+    const capacity = maxReadyCandidates - this.countReady();
+    if (capacity <= 0) return 0;
     return this.db.prepare(`
       UPDATE candidate_queue
       SET status = 'ready', updated_at = ?, assigned_account_id = NULL
-      WHERE status = 'retryable' AND available_at <= ?
-    `).run(now, now).changes;
+      WHERE post_id IN (
+        SELECT post_id FROM candidate_queue
+        WHERE status = 'retryable' AND available_at <= ?
+        ORDER BY priority DESC, discovered_at ASC
+        LIMIT ?
+      )
+    `).run(now, now, capacity).changes;
   }
 
   recoverExpiredLeases(now: number = Date.now(), sendingDelayMs = 10 * 60_000): number {
diff --git a/src/main-loop.ts b/src/main-loop.ts
index 4a69115..442efa6 100644
--- a/src/main-loop.ts
+++ b/src/main-loop.ts
@@ -429,7 +429,6 @@ async function runConcurrentAccountRuntimes(app: AppContainer): Promise<void> {
   const workerInstance = `candidate-funnel-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`;
   const leaseMs = 5 * 60_000;
   const maxActiveCandidates = 500;
-  const readyTarget = 100;
   const recovered = candidateQueueRepo.recoverAllLeases();
   app.recipientDeduplicator.recoverStaleReservations(Date.now() - 10 * 60_000);
   logger.info(
@@ -527,7 +526,7 @@ async function runConcurrentAccountRuntimes(app: AppContainer): Promise<void> {
         candidateQueueRepo.expireStale(
           Date.now() - config.reddit.recentWindowMinutes * 60_000,
         );
-        if (candidateQueueRepo.countReady() >= readyTarget) {
+        if (candidateQueueRepo.countReady() >= config.reddit.maxReadyCandidates) {
           await sleep(2_000, controller.signal).catch(() => undefined);
           continue;
         }
@@ -590,7 +589,7 @@ async function runConcurrentAccountRuntimes(app: AppContainer): Promise<void> {
           await sleep(1_000, controller.signal).catch(() => undefined);
           continue;
         }
-        candidateQueueRepo.promoteDueRetries();
+        candidateQueueRepo.promoteDueRetries(config.reddit.maxReadyCandidates);
         candidateQueueRepo.recoverExpiredLeases();
         app.recipientDeduplicator.recoverStaleReservations(Date.now() - 10 * 60_000);
         const recipients = await availableRecipients();
diff --git a/src/web/routes/config.ts b/src/web/routes/config.ts
index 2416c5a..feb2124 100644
--- a/src/web/routes/config.ts
+++ b/src/web/routes/config.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ const AdvancedConfigSchema = z.strictObject({
     subreddits: true,
     prioritizeRecentPosts: true,
     recentWindowMinutes: true,
+    maxReadyCandidates: true,
   }),
   openrouter: ConfigSchema.shape.openrouter.omit({ apiKey: true }),
   browser: z.strictObject({ sessionDir: z.string() }),
@@ -19,7 +20,13 @@ const AdvancedConfigSchema = z.strictObject({
 });
 
 function advancedConfig(ctx: WebContext): z.infer<typeof AdvancedConfigSchema> {
-  const { subreddits: _subreddits, prioritizeRecentPosts: _prioritize, recentWindowMinutes: _window, ...reddit } = ctx.config.reddit;
+  const {
+    subreddits: _subreddits,
+    prioritizeRecentPosts: _prioritize,
+    recentWindowMinutes: _window,
+    maxReadyCandidates: _maxReady,
+    ...reddit
+  } = ctx.config.reddit;
   const { apiKey: _apiKey, ...openrouter } = ctx.config.openrouter;
   const { dryRun: _dryRun, ...browser } = ctx.config.browser;
   return {
@@ -98,6 +105,12 @@ export function createConfigRouter(ctx: WebContext): Router {
         if (typeof updates.reddit.recentWindowMinutes === 'number' && updates.reddit.recentWindowMinutes > 0) {
           ctx.runtimeConfig.reddit.recentWindowMinutes = updates.reddit.recentWindowMinutes;
         }
+        if (typeof updates.reddit.maxReadyCandidates === 'number'
+          && Number.isInteger(updates.reddit.maxReadyCandidates)
+          && updates.reddit.maxReadyCandidates >= 1
+          && updates.reddit.maxReadyCandidates <= 500) {
+          ctx.runtimeConfig.reddit.maxReadyCandidates = updates.reddit.maxReadyCandidates;
+        }
       }
 
       // Mirror into the loaded config so getStats reflects new values.
@@ -107,6 +120,7 @@ export function createConfigRouter(ctx: WebContext): Router {
       ctx.config.browser.dryRun = ctx.runtimeConfig.browser.dryRun;
       ctx.config.reddit.prioritizeRecentPosts = ctx.runtimeConfig.reddit.prioritizeRecentPosts;
       ctx.config.reddit.recentWindowMinutes = ctx.runtimeConfig.reddit.recentWindowMinutes;
+      ctx.config.reddit.maxReadyCandidates = ctx.runtimeConfig.reddit.maxReadyCandidates;
 
       if (parsedSubreddits?.success) {
         const next: SubredditConfig[] = parsedSubreddits.data;
diff --git a/src/web/server.ts b/src/web/server.ts
index bfb526e..00674d2 100644
--- a/src/web/server.ts
+++ b/src/web/server.ts
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ export class WebServer {
       reddit: {
         prioritizeRecentPosts: config.reddit.prioritizeRecentPosts,
         recentWindowMinutes: config.reddit.recentWindowMinutes,
+        maxReadyCandidates: config.reddit.maxReadyCandidates,
       },
     };
     this.app = express();
diff --git a/src/web/types.ts b/src/web/types.ts
index d280e5c..13b8368 100644
--- a/src/web/types.ts
+++ b/src/web/types.ts
@@ -65,5 +65,6 @@ export interface RuntimeConfig {
   reddit: {
     prioritizeRecentPosts: boolean;
     recentWindowMinutes: number;
+    maxReadyCandidates: number;
   };
 }
diff --git a/tests/candidate-queue.test.ts b/tests/candidate-queue.test.ts
index 726ce2a..0fa15da 100644
--- a/tests/candidate-queue.test.ts
+++ b/tests/candidate-queue.test.ts
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ describe('CandidateQueueRepository', () => {
     queue.deferDelivery('p1', 'send-a', 'Matrix rate limited', 1_100, 1_004);
 
     expect(queue.claimReady('account-b', 'send-b', 100, 1_099)).toBeNull();
-    expect(queue.promoteDueRetries(1_100)).toBe(1);
+    expect(queue.promoteDueRetries(25, 1_100)).toBe(1);
     expect(queue.claimReady('account-b', 'send-b', 100, 1_101)).toMatchObject({
       postId: 'p1',
       assignedAccountId: 'account-b',
diff --git a/tests/config.test.ts b/tests/config.test.ts
index 60f9d46..645190f 100644
--- a/tests/config.test.ts
+++ b/tests/config.test.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,18 @@ describe('ConfigSchema', () => {
       }
     });
 
+    it('defaults the ready-post limit to 25 and requires a bounded integer', () => {
+      const result = ConfigSchema.safeParse(minimalConfig({ reddit: { subreddits: ['test'] } }));
+      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+      if (result.success) expect(result.data.reddit.maxReadyCandidates).toBe(25);
+      expect(ConfigSchema.safeParse(minimalConfig({
+        reddit: { subreddits: ['test'], maxReadyCandidates: 0 },
+      })).success).toBe(false);
+      expect(ConfigSchema.safeParse(minimalConfig({
+        reddit: { subreddits: ['test'], maxReadyCandidates: 25.5 },
+      })).success).toBe(false);
+    });
+
     it('applies default tone to subreddits', () => {
       const result = ConfigSchema.safeParse(minimalConfig({ reddit: { subreddits: ['test'] } }));
       expect(result.success).toBe(true);
diff --git a/tests/dashboard/settings.test.tsx b/tests/dashboard/settings.test.tsx
index 935a566..0e9622c 100644
--- a/tests/dashboard/settings.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/dashboard/settings.test.tsx
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { SettingsRoute } from '../../apps/dashboard/src/features/settings/settin
 const config = {
   rateLimit: { minDelayBetweenMessagesMs: 300_000, maxMessagesPerHour: 8, jitterMs: 60_000 },
   browser: { dryRun: true },
-  reddit: { prioritizeRecentPosts: false, recentWindowMinutes: 60 },
+  reddit: { prioritizeRecentPosts: false, recentWindowMinutes: 60, maxReadyCandidates: 25 },
   subreddits: [{ name: 'casualconversation', type: 'chat', weight: 2, tone: 'default' }],
   tones: ['default', 'dominant', 'submissive', 'playful', 'direct', 'gentle', 'kink-friendly', 'teasing'],
   advanced: { openrouter: { chatModel: 'example/chat-model' } },
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ describe('settings and access', () => {
     expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Saving settings' })).toBeDisabled();
 
     await waitFor(() => expect(resolveUpdate).toBeTypeOf('function'));
-    expect(requestBody).toMatchObject({ reddit: { prioritizeRecentPosts: true, recentWindowMinutes: 60 } });
+    expect(requestBody).toMatchObject({ reddit: { prioritizeRecentPosts: true, recentWindowMinutes: 60, maxReadyCandidates: 25 } });
     resolveUpdate?.(HttpResponse.json({
       success: true,
       config: {
diff --git a/tests/testUtils.ts b/tests/testUtils.ts
index ea697bb..b5673d5 100644
--- a/tests/testUtils.ts
+++ b/tests/testUtils.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ export function getTestConfig(overrides?: Partial<Config>): Config {
       sellerDomains: [],
       prioritizeRecentPosts: false,
       recentWindowMinutes: 60,
+      maxReadyCandidates: 25,
       ...overrides?.reddit,
     },
     openrouter: {