diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.ParityTests/SubscribeAndEventRateParityTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.ParityTests/SubscribeAndEventRateParityTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe5955e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.ParityTests/SubscribeAndEventRateParityTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+using Shouldly;
+using Xunit;
+using ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Core.Abstractions;
+
+namespace ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Galaxy.ParityTests;
+
+/// <summary>
+///     PR 5.3 — Subscribe + event-rate parity. Both backends must accept the same
+///     full-reference list, return a usable subscription handle, and dispatch a
+///     similar number of OnDataChange events for the same observation window.
+/// </summary>
+[Trait("Category", "ParityE2E")]
+[Collection(nameof(ParityCollection))]
+public sealed class SubscribeAndEventRateParityTests
+{
+    private readonly ParityHarness _h;
+    public SubscribeAndEventRateParityTests(ParityHarness h) => _h = h;
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Subscribe_returns_a_handle_for_each_backend()
+    {
+        _h.RequireBoth();
+
+        var sample = await PickSampleAsync(5);
+        if (sample.Length == 0) Assert.Skip("dev Galaxy has no discoverable variables");
+
+        var handles = await _h.RunOnAvailableAsync(
+            (driver, ct) => ((ISubscribable)driver).SubscribeAsync(sample, TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500), ct),
+            CancellationToken.None);
+
+        handles[ParityHarness.Backend.LegacyHost].ShouldNotBeNull();
+        handles[ParityHarness.Backend.MxGateway].ShouldNotBeNull();
+
+        // Clean up so we don't leave dangling advises in either backend.
+        foreach (var (backend, handle) in handles)
+        {
+            await ((ISubscribable)_h.GetDriver(backend))
+                .UnsubscribeAsync(handle, CancellationToken.None);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Subscribe_event_rate_within_tolerance_for_a_3s_window()
+    {
+        _h.RequireBoth();
+
+        var sample = await PickSampleAsync(5);
+        if (sample.Length == 0) Assert.Skip("dev Galaxy has no discoverable variables");
+
+        var counts = new Dictionary<ParityHarness.Backend, int>();
+        var subs = new Dictionary<ParityHarness.Backend, ISubscriptionHandle>();
+        try
+        {
+            foreach (var backend in new[] { ParityHarness.Backend.LegacyHost, ParityHarness.Backend.MxGateway })
+            {
+                var driver = _h.GetDriver(backend);
+                var local = 0;
+                EventHandler<DataChangeEventArgs> handler = (_, _) => Interlocked.Increment(ref local);
+                ((ISubscribable)driver).OnDataChange += handler;
+                var handle = await ((ISubscribable)driver)
+                    .SubscribeAsync(sample, TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500), CancellationToken.None);
+                subs[backend] = handle;
+
+                await Task.Delay(3_000, TestContext.Current.CancellationToken);
+
+                ((ISubscribable)driver).OnDataChange -= handler;
+                counts[backend] = Volatile.Read(ref local);
+            }
+
+            // Tolerance is generous because both backends are looking at the same
+            // physical Galaxy; the gateway's StreamEvents pump and the legacy
+            // OnDataChange COM advises are fed by the same MXAccess subscriptions
+            // upstream. ±50% absorbs scheduler jitter without hiding a wholesale
+            // event-rate regression.
+            var legacyCount = counts[ParityHarness.Backend.LegacyHost];
+            var mxgwCount = counts[ParityHarness.Backend.MxGateway];
+            if (legacyCount + mxgwCount == 0)
+            {
+                Assert.Skip("no value changes observed in 3s window — sample may be all static configuration tags");
+            }
+            var ratio = (double)mxgwCount / Math.Max(legacyCount, 1);
+            ratio.ShouldBeInRange(0.5, 1.5,
+                $"event-rate parity within ±50%: legacy={legacyCount}, mxgw={mxgwCount}");
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            foreach (var (backend, handle) in subs)
+            {
+                try
+                {
+                    await ((ISubscribable)_h.GetDriver(backend))
+                        .UnsubscribeAsync(handle, CancellationToken.None);
+                }
+                catch { /* best-effort cleanup */ }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private async Task<string[]> PickSampleAsync(int count)
+    {
+        var b = new RecordingAddressSpaceBuilder();
+        await ((ITagDiscovery)_h.LegacyDriver!).DiscoverAsync(b, CancellationToken.None);
+        return b.Variables.Take(count).Select(v => v.AttributeInfo.FullName).ToArray();
+    }
+}