diff --git a/.changeset/facets-count-optimization.md b/.changeset/facets-count-optimization.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5c251b8aef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/facets-count-optimization.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend': patch
+---
+
+Simplified the entity facets aggregation from `COUNT(DISTINCT entity_id)` to `COUNT(*)`. The unique constraint on `(entity_id, key, value)` guarantees each entity appears at most once per search row group, making the `DISTINCT` unnecessary. This allows the database to use a simpler aggregation plan.
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/service/DefaultEntitiesCatalog.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/service/DefaultEntitiesCatalog.ts
index b5a65d6d05..90866e3f56 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/service/DefaultEntitiesCatalog.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/service/DefaultEntitiesCatalog.ts
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ export class DefaultEntitiesCatalog implements EntitiesCatalog {
       .select({
         facet: 'search.key',
         value: 'search.original_value',
-        count: this.database.raw('count(DISTINCT search.entity_id)'),
+        count: this.database.raw('count(*)'),
       })
       .groupBy(['search.key', 'search.original_value']);