diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/getEntitiesPerformance.test.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/getEntitiesPerformance.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..47fd664b71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/getEntitiesPerformance.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2024 The Backstage Authors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { describePerformanceTest, performanceTraceEnabled } from './lib/env';
+import { startTestBackend, TestDatabases } from '@backstage/backend-test-utils';
+import { applyDatabaseMigrations } from '../../database/migrations';
+import {
+  SyntheticLoadEntitiesProcessor,
+  SyntheticLoadEntitiesProvider,
+  SyntheticLoadOptions,
+} from './lib/catalogModuleSyntheticLoadEntities';
+import { CatalogClient } from '@backstage/catalog-client';
+import {
+  coreServices,
+  createBackendModule,
+  createServiceFactory,
+} from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
+import { catalogProcessingExtensionPoint } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog-node/alpha';
+import { Knex } from 'knex';
+
+jest.setTimeout(600_000);
+
+const traceLog: typeof console.log = performanceTraceEnabled
+  ? console.log
+  : () => {};
+
+const completionPolling = async (load: SyntheticLoadOptions, knex: Knex) => {
+  const { baseEntitiesCount, childrenCount } = load;
+  const expectedTotal = baseEntitiesCount + baseEntitiesCount * childrenCount;
+
+  return new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+    const interval = setInterval(async () => {
+      try {
+        const stitchedCount = await knex('final_entities')
+          .count({ count: '*' })
+          .whereNotNull('final_entity')
+          .then(rows => Number(rows[0].count));
+
+        if (stitchedCount === expectedTotal) {
+          clearInterval(interval);
+          resolve();
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        clearInterval(interval);
+        reject(error);
+      }
+    }, 1000);
+  });
+};
+
+describePerformanceTest('getEntitiesPerformanceTest', () => {
+  const databases = TestDatabases.create({
+    ids: [/* 'MYSQL_8', */ 'POSTGRES_16', /* 'POSTGRES_12',*/ 'SQLITE_3'],
+    disableDocker: false,
+  });
+
+  it.each(databases.eachSupportedId())(
+    'fetch entities, %p',
+    async databaseId => {
+      const knex = await databases.init(databaseId);
+      await applyDatabaseMigrations(knex);
+
+      const load: SyntheticLoadOptions = {
+        baseEntitiesCount: 2000,
+        baseRelationsCount: 3,
+        baseRelationsSkew: 0.3,
+        childrenCount: 3,
+      };
+
+      traceLog('Starting test backend');
+
+      const backend = await startTestBackend({
+        features: [
+          import('@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend/alpha'),
+          createServiceFactory({
+            service: coreServices.database,
+            deps: {},
+            factory: () => ({ getClient: async () => knex }),
+          }),
+          createBackendModule({
+            pluginId: 'catalog',
+            moduleId: 'synthetic-load-entities',
+            register(reg) {
+              reg.registerInit({
+                deps: {
+                  catalog: catalogProcessingExtensionPoint,
+                },
+                async init({ catalog }) {
+                  catalog.addEntityProvider(
+                    new SyntheticLoadEntitiesProvider(load, {}),
+                  );
+                  catalog.addProcessor(
+                    new SyntheticLoadEntitiesProcessor(load),
+                  );
+                },
+              });
+            },
+          }),
+        ],
+      });
+
+      const expectedTotal =
+        load.baseEntitiesCount + load.baseEntitiesCount * load.childrenCount;
+      traceLog(`Waiting for completion polling of ${expectedTotal} entities`);
+
+      await expect(completionPolling(load, knex)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+
+      const client = new CatalogClient({
+        discoveryApi: {
+          getBaseUrl: jest
+            .fn()
+            .mockResolvedValue(
+              `http://localhost:${backend.server.port()}/api/catalog`,
+            ),
+        },
+      });
+      const start = Date.now();
+      traceLog(`[${databaseId}] Starting to fetch ${expectedTotal} entities`);
+
+      // Fetch all entities
+      const response = await client.getEntities();
+      expect(response.items).toHaveLength(expectedTotal);
+
+      const fetchDuration = Date.now() - start;
+      traceLog(
+        `[${databaseId}] Fetched ${expectedTotal} entities in ${fetchDuration}ms`,
+      );
+
+      await backend.stop();
+      await knex.destroy();
+    },
+  );
+});
diff --git a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/lib/env.ts b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/lib/env.ts
index c272930292..a1b4e72260 100644
--- a/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/lib/env.ts
+++ b/plugins/catalog-backend/src/tests/performance/lib/env.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,16 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-export const performanceTraceEnabled = !!process.env.PERFORMANCE_TRACE;
+import yn from 'yn';
 
-export const describePerformanceTest: jest.Describe = process.env
-  .PERFORMANCE_TEST
+export const performanceTraceEnabled = yn(process.env.PERFORMANCE_TRACE, {
+  default: false,
+});
+
+export const performanceTestEnabled = yn(process.env.PERFORMANCE_TEST, {
+  default: false,
+});
+
+export const describePerformanceTest: jest.Describe = performanceTestEnabled
   ? describe
   : describe.skip;