diff --git a/client/internal/conn_mgr.go b/client/internal/conn_mgr.go
index d10e8623d..2b9e32130 100644
--- a/client/internal/conn_mgr.go
+++ b/client/internal/conn_mgr.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package internal
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"maps"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
 	"sync"
@@ -57,6 +58,10 @@ type ConnMgr struct {
 	// (re)armed (Mode A at arm time). Injected by the engine; nil disables the reconcile.
 	reconcileRoutedIPs func(peerKey string) error
 
+	// appliedExcludeList is the exclude set last handed to the lazy manager, kept so an
+	// unchanged set on the next sync skips the O(n) reconciliation.
+	appliedExcludeList map[string]bool
+
 	wg            sync.WaitGroup
 	lazyCtx       context.Context
 	lazyCtxCancel context.CancelFunc
@@ -148,6 +153,13 @@ func (e *ConnMgr) SetExcludeList(ctx context.Context, peerIDs map[string]bool) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	// The exclude set is recomputed every sync but rarely changes; skip the O(n)
+	// store lookups and reconciliation when it matches what was already applied.
+	if maps.Equal(peerIDs, e.appliedExcludeList) {
+		return
+	}
+	e.appliedExcludeList = maps.Clone(peerIDs)
+
 	excludedPeers := make([]lazyconn.PeerConfig, 0, len(peerIDs))
 
 	for peerID := range peerIDs {
@@ -291,6 +303,8 @@ func (e *ConnMgr) Close() {
 	e.lazyConnMgrMu.Lock()
 	e.lazyConnMgr = nil
 	e.lazyConnMgrMu.Unlock()
+
+	e.appliedExcludeList = nil
 }
 
 func (e *ConnMgr) initLazyManager(engineCtx context.Context) {
@@ -304,6 +318,8 @@ func (e *ConnMgr) initLazyManager(engineCtx context.Context) {
 	e.lazyCtx, e.lazyCtxCancel = context.WithCancel(engineCtx)
 	e.lazyConnMgrMu.Unlock()
 
+	e.appliedExcludeList = nil
+
 	e.wg.Add(1)
 	go func() {
 		defer e.wg.Done()