diff --git a/conf/bleedingEdge.neon b/conf/bleedingEdge.neon
index 3d9d45eb107..318b968315e 100644
--- a/conf/bleedingEdge.neon
+++ b/conf/bleedingEdge.neon
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 parameters:
 	featureToggles:
+		adaptiveParallelWorkerCount: true
 		bleedingEdge: true
 		checkNonStringableDynamicAccess: true
 		checkParameterCastableToNumberFunctions: true
diff --git a/conf/config.neon b/conf/config.neon
index 52f5dd061ec..605946bd343 100644
--- a/conf/config.neon
+++ b/conf/config.neon
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ parameters:
 			tooWideImplicitThrowType: false
 			throwTypeCovariance: false
 	featureToggles:
+		adaptiveParallelWorkerCount: false
 		bleedingEdge: false
 		checkNonStringableDynamicAccess: false
 		checkParameterCastableToNumberFunctions: false
diff --git a/conf/parametersSchema.neon b/conf/parametersSchema.neon
index fd9dfd4d5d6..b3a244d490f 100644
--- a/conf/parametersSchema.neon
+++ b/conf/parametersSchema.neon
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ parametersSchema:
 	])
 	featureToggles: structure([
 		bleedingEdge: bool(),
+		adaptiveParallelWorkerCount: bool(),
 		checkNonStringableDynamicAccess: bool(),
 		checkParameterCastableToNumberFunctions: bool(),
 		skipCheckGenericClasses: listOf(string()),
diff --git a/src/Parallel/Scheduler.php b/src/Parallel/Scheduler.php
index 604792a3406..6b23c0f621e 100644
--- a/src/Parallel/Scheduler.php
+++ b/src/Parallel/Scheduler.php
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@
 use function floor;
 use function max;
 use function min;
+use function round;
 use function sprintf;
+use function sqrt;
 use function usort;
 
 #[AutowiredService]
@@ -29,6 +31,20 @@ final class Scheduler implements DiagnoseExtension
 	 */
 	private const AUTO_PROCESSES_LIMIT = 20;
 
+	/**
+	 * Workers per square root of the file count, when the adaptive strategy is on.
+	 *
+	 * A worker's startup is a fixed cost, so the number of files it needs to earn
+	 * its keep grows with the size of the run. Deriving the worker count from
+	 * sqrt(files) encodes that: about 12 files per worker at 25 files, about 40 at
+	 * 400, saturating at the usable core count from roughly 800 files upward - so
+	 * full runs are scheduled exactly as before and only small ones change.
+	 */
+	private const ADAPTIVE_WORKERS_PER_SQRT_FILE = 0.5;
+
+	/** Below this many files a second worker does not pay for its own startup. */
+	private const ADAPTIVE_SECOND_WORKER_FILE_THRESHOLD = 9;
+
 	/** @var array{int, int, int, int, string}|null */
 	private ?array $storedData = null;
 
@@ -44,6 +60,8 @@ public function __construct(
 		private int|string $maximumNumberOfProcesses,
 		#[AutowiredParameter(ref: '%parallel.minimumNumberOfJobsPerProcess%')]
 		private int $minimumNumberOfJobsPerProcess,
+		#[AutowiredParameter(ref: '%featureToggles.adaptiveParallelWorkerCount%')]
+		private bool $adaptiveParallelWorkerCount = false,
 	)
 	{
 	}
@@ -70,6 +88,19 @@ public function scheduleWork(
 		usort($files, static fn (string $a, string $b): int => $fileSizes[$b] <=> $fileSizes[$a]);
 
 		$numberOfJobs = (int) ceil(count($files) / $this->jobSize);
+
+		$desiredNumberOfProcesses = null;
+		if ($this->adaptiveParallelWorkerCount) {
+			$desiredNumberOfProcesses = $this->resolveDesiredNumberOfProcesses(count($files), $numberOfJobs, $cpuCores);
+
+			// the spawn loop stops when the queue runs dry, so a worker without a
+			// job of its own never starts - chunk finely enough to feed them all
+			$numberOfJobs = min(
+				count($files),
+				max($numberOfJobs, $desiredNumberOfProcesses * $this->minimumNumberOfJobsPerProcess),
+			);
+		}
+
 		$stripedJobs = [];
 		foreach ($files as $i => $file) {
 			$stripedJobs[$i % $numberOfJobs][] = $file;
@@ -83,10 +114,12 @@ public function scheduleWork(
 		unset($stripedJob);
 
 		$jobs = array_values($stripedJobs);
-		$numberOfProcesses = min(
-			max((int) floor(count($jobs) / $this->minimumNumberOfJobsPerProcess), 1),
-			$cpuCores,
-		);
+		$numberOfProcesses = $desiredNumberOfProcesses !== null
+			? min($desiredNumberOfProcesses, count($jobs), $cpuCores)
+			: min(
+				max((int) floor(count($jobs) / $this->minimumNumberOfJobsPerProcess), 1),
+				$cpuCores,
+			);
 
 		[$maximumNumberOfProcesses, $decision] = $this->resolveMaximumNumberOfProcesses($cpuCores);
 		$usedNumberOfProcesses = min($numberOfProcesses, $maximumNumberOfProcesses);
@@ -95,6 +128,28 @@ public function scheduleWork(
 		return new Schedule($usedNumberOfProcesses, $jobs);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * How many workers the file count justifies, before the configured maximum applies.
+	 *
+	 * @return positive-int
+	 */
+	private function resolveDesiredNumberOfProcesses(int $numberOfFiles, int $numberOfJobs, int $cpuCores): int
+	{
+		if ($numberOfFiles < 1) {
+			return 1;
+		}
+
+		$floor = $numberOfFiles >= self::ADAPTIVE_SECOND_WORKER_FILE_THRESHOLD ? 2 : 1;
+		$fromFileCount = (int) round(self::ADAPTIVE_WORKERS_PER_SQRT_FILE * sqrt($numberOfFiles));
+
+		// never below what the job count alone already justifies: the point is to stop
+		// small runs being starved, not to take workers away from large ones, and
+		// sqrt() dips under the existing formula between roughly 400 and 800 files
+		$fromJobCount = max((int) floor($numberOfJobs / $this->minimumNumberOfJobsPerProcess), 1);
+
+		return max(1, min(max($floor, $fromFileCount, $fromJobCount), $cpuCores, $numberOfFiles));
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * How many workers may run at once, and a human-readable account of why - which
 	 * `diagnose` prints, because a user who thinks the number is wrong needs to see
diff --git a/tests/PHPStan/Parallel/SchedulerTest.php b/tests/PHPStan/Parallel/SchedulerTest.php
index de2b132980a..9b2c9bdfa2e 100644
--- a/tests/PHPStan/Parallel/SchedulerTest.php
+++ b/tests/PHPStan/Parallel/SchedulerTest.php
@@ -195,6 +195,78 @@ public function testAutoIsStillCappedByTheJobCount(): void
 		$this->assertSame(1, $schedule->getNumberOfProcesses());
 	}
 
+	public function testAdaptiveWorkerCountLeavesFullRunsAlone(): void
+	{
+		// from ~800 files the sqrt rule saturates at the usable cores, so a full
+		// run is scheduled exactly as it is without the toggle
+		foreach ([800, 4524] as $numberOfFiles) {
+			$files = array_fill(0, $numberOfFiles, 'file.php');
+			$legacy = (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2))->scheduleWork(14, $files, static fn (string $file): int => 0);
+			$adaptive = (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2, true))->scheduleWork(14, $files, static fn (string $file): int => 0);
+
+			$this->assertSame($legacy->getNumberOfProcesses(), $adaptive->getNumberOfProcesses());
+			$this->assertSame($legacy->getJobs(), $adaptive->getJobs());
+		}
+	}
+
+	public function testAdaptiveWorkerCountParallelisesSmallRuns(): void
+	{
+		// 50 files is one worker today, because jobSize 20 and 2 jobs per process
+		// ask for 40 files before a second worker is allowed
+		$files = array_fill(0, 50, 'file.php');
+		$callback = static fn (string $file): int => 0;
+
+		$this->assertSame(1, (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2))->scheduleWork(14, $files, $callback)->getNumberOfProcesses());
+		$this->assertSame(4, (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2, true))->scheduleWork(14, $files, $callback)->getNumberOfProcesses());
+	}
+
+	public function testAdaptiveWorkerCountKeepsTinyRunsSerial(): void
+	{
+		// below the threshold a second worker does not pay for its own startup
+		$callback = static fn (string $file): int => 0;
+		$scheduler = new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2, true);
+
+		$this->assertSame(1, $scheduler->scheduleWork(14, array_fill(0, 1, 'file.php'), $callback)->getNumberOfProcesses());
+		$this->assertSame(1, $scheduler->scheduleWork(14, array_fill(0, 8, 'file.php'), $callback)->getNumberOfProcesses());
+		$this->assertSame(2, $scheduler->scheduleWork(14, array_fill(0, 9, 'file.php'), $callback)->getNumberOfProcesses());
+	}
+
+	public function testAdaptiveWorkerCountIsNeverBelowTheDefault(): void
+	{
+		// the rule exists to stop small runs being starved, never to take workers away
+		// from large ones - sqrt() alone dips under the existing formula between roughly
+		// 400 and 800 files, which measured 13% slower at 600
+		$callback = static fn (string $file): int => 0;
+		foreach ([1, 5, 9, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800, 1424, 4524] as $numberOfFiles) {
+			$files = array_fill(0, $numberOfFiles, 'file.php');
+			$legacy = (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2))->scheduleWork(14, $files, $callback);
+			$adaptive = (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2, true))->scheduleWork(14, $files, $callback);
+
+			$this->assertGreaterThanOrEqual(
+				$legacy->getNumberOfProcesses(),
+				$adaptive->getNumberOfProcesses(),
+				sprintf('%d files', $numberOfFiles),
+			);
+		}
+	}
+
+	public function testAdaptiveWorkerCountNeverExceedsTheJobCount(): void
+	{
+		// a worker with no job never starts, so the schedule must not claim one
+		$callback = static fn (string $file): int => 0;
+		$schedule = (new Scheduler(20, Scheduler::AUTO, 2, true))->scheduleWork(14, array_fill(0, 3, 'file.php'), $callback);
+
+		$this->assertLessThanOrEqual(count($schedule->getJobs()), $schedule->getNumberOfProcesses());
+	}
+
+	public function testAdaptiveWorkerCountStillRespectsAnExplicitLimit(): void
+	{
+		$callback = static fn (string $file): int => 0;
+		$schedule = (new Scheduler(20, 2, 2, true))->scheduleWork(14, array_fill(0, 200, 'file.php'), $callback);
+
+		$this->assertSame(2, $schedule->getNumberOfProcesses());
+	}
+
 	public function testAnExplicitLimitStillWins(): void
 	{
 		$scheduler = new Scheduler(1, 20, 1);