diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b3ae726d..ecf6d3d2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Changed
 
+- Widgets spread their polling, so several on one dashboard no longer fetch from
+  your services on the same tick.
+
 - Importing from another dashboard reads a list written level with its key, a
   value folded across lines, and an empty `[]` or `{}`, each of which used to
   refuse the whole file.
diff --git a/docs/widgets.md b/docs/widgets.md
index d7d11347..dc7a8b47 100644
--- a/docs/widgets.md
+++ b/docs/widgets.md
@@ -599,6 +599,9 @@ A failure keeps the last good render in place; only after `staleAfter` (default
 2) consecutive failures does it surface `errorText` with how long ago the last
 success was. `sinceLabel(ts)` gives that "3m ago" label on its own.
 
+The first fetch runs immediately. Each repeat is spread by up to 15%, so several
+widgets on one dashboard do not fetch on the same tick.
+
 **Links**
 
 - `openUrl(href)` opens a link in a new tab. Use this rather than `window.open`,
diff --git a/tsconfig.frontend.json b/tsconfig.frontend.json
index db9c26cf..a04e22f8 100644
--- a/tsconfig.frontend.json
+++ b/tsconfig.frontend.json
@@ -139,6 +139,12 @@
       "/js/import-foreign.js": [
         "./ui/js/import-foreign.js"
       ],
+      "/js/jitter.js": [
+        "./ui/js/jitter.js"
+      ],
+      "/js/jitter.js?v=*": [
+        "./ui/js/jitter.js"
+      ],
       "/js/import-foreign.js?v=*": [
         "./ui/js/import-foreign.js"
       ],
diff --git a/ui/js/dashboard.js b/ui/js/dashboard.js
index 57e03c60..7ab55e08 100644
--- a/ui/js/dashboard.js
+++ b/ui/js/dashboard.js
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import {
   restorePage,
 } from '/js/dashboard-logic.js?v=640430ba';
 import { trapFocus } from '/js/dialog.js?v=b3841546';
+import { jitter } from '/js/jitter.js?v=1';
 
 const MOB = innerWidth <= 768 || /iPhone|iPod|Android/i.test(navigator.userAgent);
 
@@ -715,14 +716,13 @@ async function boot() {
 
   /* Jittered, so several open clients do not poll on the same tick. */
   let _pollTimers = [];
-  const _jit = base => Math.round(base * (1 + (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * 0.15));
   const _repeat = (fn, base) => {
     let h;
     const tick = async () => {
       try {
         await fn();
       } catch {}
-      h = setTimeout(tick, _jit(base));
+      h = setTimeout(tick, jitter(base));
     };
     h = setTimeout(tick, Math.round(Math.random() * base));
     _pollTimers.push(() => clearTimeout(h));
diff --git a/ui/js/jitter.js b/ui/js/jitter.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2e57ba5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/js/jitter.js
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+// @ts-check
+/* Spread repeated timers, so several pollers started together do not keep
+   firing on the same tick. Keep it dependency-free: it is imported inside
+   widget frames as well as by the dashboard. */
+
+const SPREAD = 0.15;
+
+/** A delay within ±15% of `base`.
+    @param {number} base milliseconds @returns {number} */
+export function jitter(base) {
+  const n = Number(base);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(n) || n <= 0) return 0;
+  return Math.round(n * (1 + (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * SPREAD));
+}
diff --git a/ui/js/widget-toolbox.js b/ui/js/widget-toolbox.js
index ae62b56e..cc7acbef 100644
--- a/ui/js/widget-toolbox.js
+++ b/ui/js/widget-toolbox.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import { esc, html, setHtml } from '/js/html.js?v=ccec347c';
 import { isSafeLinkUrl } from '/js/link-url.js?v=19038560';
+import { jitter } from '/js/jitter.js?v=1';
 
 export { esc, html, setHtml };
 
@@ -348,7 +349,9 @@ export function poll(opts = {}) {
       paused = true;
       return;
     }
-    timer = setTimeout(loop, intervalFor(lastData));
+    /* Jittered, so several widgets on one dashboard do not fetch in lockstep.
+       The first tick is not delayed: that one is the widget's content. */
+    timer = setTimeout(loop, jitter(intervalFor(lastData)));
   }
 
   function onVisibility() {
diff --git a/ui/test/jitter.test.mjs b/ui/test/jitter.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dbd799a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/test/jitter.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/* Several pollers started at the same moment keep firing at the same moment,
+   which lands on a service in bursts. The dashboard already spread its own
+   polls; widgets polled on an exact cadence. */
+
+import { test } from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { jitter } from '../js/jitter.js';
+
+const withRandom = (value, fn) => {
+  const real = Math.random;
+  Math.random = () => value;
+  try {
+    return fn();
+  } finally {
+    Math.random = real;
+  }
+};
+
+test('the delay stays within 15% of the interval, either way', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    withRandom(0, () => jitter(1000)),
+    850,
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    withRandom(1, () => jitter(1000)),
+    1150,
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    withRandom(0.5, () => jitter(1000)),
+    1000,
+  );
+});
+
+test('every delay across many draws stays inside the band', () => {
+  for (let i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
+    const d = jitter(30_000);
+    assert.ok(d >= 25_500 && d <= 34_500, `${d} is outside ±15%`);
+  }
+});
+
+test('two pollers on the same interval do not keep the same delay', () => {
+  const draws = new Set(Array.from({ length: 50 }, () => jitter(30_000)));
+  assert.ok(draws.size > 1, 'a fixed delay would defeat the point');
+});
+
+/* A caller that has no interval yet must not schedule into the past or be
+   handed NaN, which setTimeout treats as zero and turns into a busy loop. */
+test('an unusable interval gives zero, not NaN', () => {
+  for (const v of [0, -5, NaN, undefined, null, 'soon', {}]) {
+    assert.equal(jitter(v), 0, String(v));
+  }
+});
diff --git a/ui/test/widget-toolbox-poll.test.mjs b/ui/test/widget-toolbox-poll.test.mjs
index db4ca333..b6808742 100644
--- a/ui/test/widget-toolbox-poll.test.mjs
+++ b/ui/test/widget-toolbox-poll.test.mjs
@@ -259,3 +259,37 @@ test('stop while hidden stays stopped when the tab returns', async () => {
     assert.equal(calls, after, 'a stopped poll must not resurrect on visibility');
   });
 });
+
+/* Several widgets open together polled on the same exact cadence, so they kept
+   hitting the same services on the same tick. */
+test('the repeat interval is spread, and the first fetch is not delayed', async () => {
+  const delays = [];
+  const realTimeout = globalThis.setTimeout;
+  globalThis.setTimeout = (fn, ms, ...rest) => {
+    delays.push(ms);
+    return realTimeout(fn, ms, ...rest);
+  };
+  try {
+    await run(async (_dom, start) => {
+      const first = Date.now();
+      let firstFetchAt = 0;
+      start({
+        interval: 1000,
+        fetch: async () => {
+          firstFetchAt = firstFetchAt || Date.now();
+          return {};
+        },
+      });
+      await tick(20);
+      assert.ok(firstFetchAt - first < 50, 'the first fetch waits for nothing');
+    });
+  } finally {
+    globalThis.setTimeout = realTimeout;
+  }
+
+  const scheduled = delays.filter(d => d > 500);
+  assert.ok(scheduled.length > 0, 'the repeat was never scheduled');
+  for (const d of scheduled) {
+    assert.ok(d >= 850 && d <= 1150, `${d}ms is outside ±15% of the interval`);
+  }
+});