diff --git a/api/resolvers/item.js b/api/resolvers/item.js
index 781409e09..35875993c 100644
--- a/api/resolvers/item.js
+++ b/api/resolvers/item.js
@@ -727,6 +727,21 @@ export default {
         homeMaxBoost: homeAgg._max.boost || 0,
         subMaxBoost: subAgg?._max.boost || 0
       }
+    },
+    newComments: async (parent, { rootId, after }, { models, me }) => {
+      const comments = await itemQueryWithMeta({
+        me,
+        models,
+        query: `
+          ${SELECT}
+          FROM "Item"
+          -- comments can be nested, so we need to get all comments that are descendants of the root
+          WHERE "Item".path <@ (SELECT path FROM "Item" WHERE id = $1)
+          AND "Item"."created_at" > $2
+          ORDER BY "Item"."created_at" ASC`
+      }, Number(rootId), after)
+
+      return { comments }
     }
   },
 
diff --git a/api/typeDefs/item.js b/api/typeDefs/item.js
index a40a99ae1..4d19c7440 100644
--- a/api/typeDefs/item.js
+++ b/api/typeDefs/item.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export default gql`
     auctionPosition(sub: String, id: ID, boost: Int): Int!
     boostPosition(sub: String, id: ID, boost: Int): BoostPositions!
     itemRepetition(parentId: ID): Int!
+    newComments(rootId: ID, after: Date): Comments!
   }
 
   type BoostPositions {
@@ -148,6 +149,7 @@ export default gql`
     ncomments: Int!
     nDirectComments: Int!
     comments(sort: String, cursor: String): Comments!
+    newComments(rootId: ID, after: Date): Comments!
     path: String
     position: Int
     prior: Int
diff --git a/components/comment.js b/components/comment.js
index 73e64d0c3..8f17e06d6 100644
--- a/components/comment.js
+++ b/components/comment.js
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import LinkToContext from './link-to-context'
 import Boost from './boost-button'
 import { gql, useApolloClient } from '@apollo/client'
 import classNames from 'classnames'
+import { ITEM_FULL } from '@/fragments/items'
+import { COMMENT_WITH_NEW } from '@/fragments/comments'
 
 function Parent ({ item, rootText }) {
   const root = useRoot()
@@ -275,6 +277,9 @@ export default function Comment ({
                   : null}
                 {/* TODO: add link to more comments if they're limited */}
               </div>
+              {item.newComments?.length > 0 && (
+                <ShowNewComments newComments={item.newComments} itemId={item.id} />
+              )}
             </div>
             )
       )}
@@ -338,3 +343,61 @@ export function CommentSkeleton ({ skeletonChildren }) {
     </div>
   )
 }
+
+export function ShowNewComments ({ newComments = [], itemId, topLevel = false }) {
+  const client = useApolloClient()
+
+  const showNewComments = () => {
+    if (topLevel) {
+      client.cache.updateQuery({
+        query: ITEM_FULL,
+        variables: { id: itemId }
+      }, (data) => {
+        if (!data) return data
+        const { item } = data
+
+        return {
+          item: {
+            ...item,
+            comments: dedupeComments(item.comments, newComments),
+            newComments: []
+          }
+        }
+      })
+    } else {
+      client.cache.updateFragment({
+        id: `Item:${itemId}`,
+        fragment: COMMENT_WITH_NEW,
+        fragmentName: 'CommentWithNew'
+      }, (data) => {
+        if (!data) return data
+
+        return {
+          ...data,
+          comments: dedupeComments(data.comments, newComments),
+          newComments: []
+        }
+      })
+    }
+  }
+
+  const dedupeComments = (existingComments = [], newComments = []) => {
+    const existingIds = new Set(existingComments.comments?.map(c => c.id))
+    const filteredNew = newComments.filter(c => !existingIds.has(c.id))
+    return {
+      ...existingComments,
+      comments: [...filteredNew, ...(existingComments.comments || [])]
+    }
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <span onClick={showNewComments}>
+      <div className={!topLevel ? styles.comments : 'pb-2'}>
+        <div className={`d-block fw-bold ${styles.comment} pb-2 ps-3 d-flex align-items-center gap-2 pointer`}>
+          load new comments
+          <div className={styles.newCommentDot} />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </span>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/components/comment.module.css b/components/comment.module.css
index 6f24ab615..215993d64 100644
--- a/components/comment.module.css
+++ b/components/comment.module.css
@@ -135,4 +135,27 @@
 
 .comment:has(.comment) + .comment{
     padding-top: .5rem;
+}
+
+.newCommentDot {
+    width: 10px;
+    height: 10px;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    background-color: var(--bs-primary);
+    animation: pulse 2s infinite;
+}
+
+@keyframes pulse {
+    0% {
+        background-color: #FADA5E;
+        opacity: 0.7;
+    }
+    50% {
+        background-color: #F6911D;
+        opacity: 1;
+    }
+    100% {
+        background-color: #FADA5E;
+        opacity: 0.7;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/components/comments-live.js b/components/comments-live.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..020e4011c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/comments-live.js
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+import { useQuery, useApolloClient } from '@apollo/client'
+import { SSR } from '../lib/constants'
+import { GET_NEW_COMMENTS, COMMENT_WITH_NEW } from '../fragments/comments'
+import { ITEM_FULL } from '../fragments/items'
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+
+export default function useLiveComments (rootId, after) {
+  const client = useApolloClient()
+  const [lastChecked, setLastChecked] = useState(after)
+  const [polling, setPolling] = useState(true)
+  const [engagedAt, setEngagedAt] = useState(new Date())
+
+  // reset engagedAt when polling is toggled
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (polling) {
+      setEngagedAt(new Date())
+    }
+  }, [polling])
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const checkActivity = () => {
+      const now = new Date()
+      const timeSinceEngaged = now.getTime() - engagedAt.getTime()
+      const isActive = document.visibilityState === 'visible'
+
+      // poll only if the user is active and has been active in the last 30 minutes
+      if (timeSinceEngaged < 1000 * 60 * 30) {
+        setPolling(isActive)
+      } else {
+        setPolling(false)
+      }
+    }
+
+    // check activity every minute
+    const interval = setInterval(checkActivity, 1000 * 60)
+    // check activity also on visibility change
+    document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', checkActivity)
+
+    return () => {
+      document.removeEventListener('visibilitychange', checkActivity)
+      clearInterval(interval)
+    }
+  }, [engagedAt])
+
+  const { data } = useQuery(GET_NEW_COMMENTS, SSR
+    ? {}
+    : {
+        pollInterval: polling ? 10000 : null,
+        variables: { rootId, after: lastChecked }
+      })
+
+  if (data && data.newComments) {
+    saveNewComments(client, rootId, data.newComments.comments)
+    const latestCommentCreatedAt = getLastCommentCreatedAt(data.newComments.comments)
+    if (latestCommentCreatedAt) {
+      setLastChecked(latestCommentCreatedAt)
+    }
+  }
+
+  return { polling, setPolling }
+}
+
+function saveNewComments (client, rootId, newComments) {
+  for (const comment of newComments) {
+    const { parentId } = comment
+    const topLevel = Number(parentId) === Number(rootId)
+
+    // if the comment is a top level comment, update the item
+    if (topLevel) {
+      client.cache.updateQuery({
+        query: ITEM_FULL,
+        variables: { id: rootId }
+      }, (data) => {
+        if (!data) return data
+        // we return the entire item, not just the newComments
+        return { item: dedupeComment(data?.item, comment) }
+      })
+    } else {
+      // if the comment is a reply, update the parent comment
+      client.cache.updateFragment({
+        id: `Item:${parentId}`,
+        fragment: COMMENT_WITH_NEW,
+        fragmentName: 'CommentWithNew'
+      }, (data) => {
+        if (!data) return data
+        // here we return the parent comment with the new comment added
+        return dedupeComment(data, comment)
+      })
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+function dedupeComment (item, newComment) {
+  // get the existing comment ids for faster lookup
+  const existingCommentIds = new Set(
+    (item.comments?.comments || []).map(c => c.id)
+  )
+  const existingNewComments = item.newComments || []
+
+  // is the incoming new comment already in item's new comments?
+  if (existingNewComments.some(c => c.id === newComment.id)) {
+    return item
+  }
+
+  // if the incoming new comment is not in item's new comments, add it
+  // sanity check: and if somehow the incoming new comment is in
+  // item's new comments, remove it
+  const updatedNewComments = !existingCommentIds.has(newComment.id)
+    ? [...existingNewComments, newComment]
+    : existingNewComments.filter(c => c.id !== newComment.id)
+
+  return { ...item, newComments: updatedNewComments }
+}
+
+function getLastCommentCreatedAt (comments) {
+  if (comments.length === 0) return null
+  let latest = comments[0].createdAt
+  for (const comment of comments) {
+    if (comment.createdAt > latest) {
+      latest = comment.createdAt
+    }
+  }
+  return latest
+}
diff --git a/components/comments.js b/components/comments.js
index cb5d86416..a5696c3ec 100644
--- a/components/comments.js
+++ b/components/comments.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Fragment, useMemo } from 'react'
-import Comment, { CommentSkeleton } from './comment'
+import Comment, { CommentSkeleton, ShowNewComments } from './comment'
 import styles from './header.module.css'
 import Nav from 'react-bootstrap/Nav'
 import Navbar from 'react-bootstrap/Navbar'
@@ -8,8 +8,11 @@ import { defaultCommentSort } from '@/lib/item'
 import { useRouter } from 'next/router'
 import MoreFooter from './more-footer'
 import { FULL_COMMENTS_THRESHOLD } from '@/lib/constants'
+import useLiveComments from './comments-live'
+import ActionTooltip from './action-tooltip'
+import classNames from 'classnames'
 
-export function CommentsHeader ({ handleSort, pinned, bio, parentCreatedAt, commentSats }) {
+export function CommentsHeader ({ handleSort, pinned, bio, parentCreatedAt, commentSats, livePolling, setLivePolling }) {
   const router = useRouter()
   const sort = router.query.sort || defaultCommentSort(pinned, bio, parentCreatedAt)
 
@@ -28,6 +31,25 @@ export function CommentsHeader ({ handleSort, pinned, bio, parentCreatedAt, comm
         <Nav.Item className='text-muted'>
           {numWithUnits(commentSats)}
         </Nav.Item>
+        {livePolling
+          ? (
+            <Nav.Item className='ps-2'>
+              <ActionTooltip notForm overlayText='comments are live'>
+                <div className={styles.newCommentDot} />
+              </ActionTooltip>
+            </Nav.Item>
+            )
+          : (
+            <Nav.Item className='ps-2'>
+              <ActionTooltip notForm overlayText='click to resume live comments'>
+                <div
+                  className={classNames(styles.newCommentDot, styles.paused)}
+                  onClick={() => setLivePolling(true)}
+                  style={{ cursor: 'pointer' }}
+                />
+              </ActionTooltip>
+            </Nav.Item>
+            )}
         <div className='ms-auto d-flex'>
           <Nav.Item>
             <Nav.Link
@@ -64,9 +86,11 @@ export function CommentsHeader ({ handleSort, pinned, bio, parentCreatedAt, comm
 
 export default function Comments ({
   parentId, pinned, bio, parentCreatedAt,
-  commentSats, comments, commentsCursor, fetchMoreComments, ncomments, ...props
+  commentSats, comments, commentsCursor, fetchMoreComments, ncomments, newComments, lastCommentAt, ...props
 }) {
   const router = useRouter()
+  // update item.newComments in cache
+  const { polling: livePolling, setPolling: setLivePolling } = useLiveComments(parentId, lastCommentAt || parentCreatedAt)
 
   const pins = useMemo(() => comments?.filter(({ position }) => !!position).sort((a, b) => a.position - b.position), [comments])
 
@@ -75,7 +99,7 @@ export default function Comments ({
       {comments?.length > 0
         ? <CommentsHeader
             commentSats={commentSats} parentCreatedAt={parentCreatedAt}
-            pinned={pinned} bio={bio} handleSort={sort => {
+            pinned={pinned} bio={bio} livePolling={livePolling} setLivePolling={setLivePolling} handleSort={sort => {
               const { commentsViewedAt, commentId, ...query } = router.query
               delete query.nodata
               router.push({
@@ -88,6 +112,9 @@ export default function Comments ({
             }}
           />
         : null}
+      {newComments?.length > 0 && (
+        <ShowNewComments topLevel newComments={newComments} itemId={parentId} />
+      )}
       {pins.map(item => (
         <Fragment key={item.id}>
           <Comment depth={1} item={item} {...props} pin />
diff --git a/components/header.module.css b/components/header.module.css
index 1134e8480..33cf61032 100644
--- a/components/header.module.css
+++ b/components/header.module.css
@@ -109,4 +109,32 @@
     padding-top: 1px;
     background-color: var(--bs-body-bg);
     z-index: 1000;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+.newCommentDot {
+    width: 10px;
+    height: 10px;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    background-color: var(--bs-primary);
+    animation: pulse 2s infinite;
+}
+
+.newCommentDot.paused {
+    background-color: var(--bs-grey-darkmode);
+    animation: none;
+}
+
+@keyframes pulse {
+    0% {
+        background-color: #FADA5E;
+        opacity: 0.7;
+    }
+    50% {
+        background-color: #F6911D;
+        opacity: 1;
+    }
+    100% {
+        background-color: #FADA5E;
+        opacity: 0.7;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/components/item-full.js b/components/item-full.js
index 72c60b9c6..02621981b 100644
--- a/components/item-full.js
+++ b/components/item-full.js
@@ -182,17 +182,18 @@ export default function ItemFull ({ item, fetchMoreComments, bio, rank, ...props
                 ? <BioItem item={item} {...props} />
                 : <TopLevelItem item={item} {...props} />}
               </div>)}
-          {item.comments &&
-            <div className={styles.comments}>
-              <Comments
-                parentId={item.id} parentCreatedAt={item.createdAt}
-                pinned={item.position} bio={bio} commentSats={item.commentSats}
-                ncomments={item.ncomments}
-                comments={item.comments.comments}
-                commentsCursor={item.comments.cursor}
-                fetchMoreComments={fetchMoreComments}
-              />
-            </div>}
+          <div className={styles.comments}>
+            <Comments
+              parentId={item.id} parentCreatedAt={item.createdAt}
+              pinned={item.position} bio={bio} commentSats={item.commentSats}
+              ncomments={item.ncomments}
+              comments={item.comments.comments}
+              commentsCursor={item.comments.cursor}
+              fetchMoreComments={fetchMoreComments}
+              newComments={item.newComments}
+              lastCommentAt={item.lastCommentAt}
+            />
+          </div>
         </CarouselProvider>
       </RootProvider>
     </>
diff --git a/fragments/comments.js b/fragments/comments.js
index 2fd28d0f1..f7e325c4c 100644
--- a/fragments/comments.js
+++ b/fragments/comments.js
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ export const COMMENT_FIELDS = gql`
     otsHash
     ncomments
     nDirectComments
+    newComments @client
     imgproxyUrls
     rel
     apiKey
@@ -116,3 +117,30 @@ export const COMMENTS = gql`
       }
     }
   }`
+
+export const COMMENT_WITH_NEW = gql`
+  ${COMMENT_FIELDS}
+  ${COMMENTS}
+  
+  fragment CommentWithNew on Item {
+    ...CommentFields
+    comments {
+      comments {
+        ...CommentsRecursive
+      }
+    }
+    newComments @client
+  }
+`
+
+export const GET_NEW_COMMENTS = gql`
+  ${COMMENTS}
+  
+  query GetNewComments($rootId: ID, $after: Date) {
+    newComments(rootId: $rootId, after: $after) {
+      comments {
+        ...CommentsRecursive
+      }
+    }
+  }
+`
diff --git a/fragments/items.js b/fragments/items.js
index 151587a20..95eed0421 100644
--- a/fragments/items.js
+++ b/fragments/items.js
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ export const ITEM_FIELDS = gql`
     bio
     ncomments
     nDirectComments
+    newComments @client
     commentSats
     commentCredits
     lastCommentAt
diff --git a/lib/apollo.js b/lib/apollo.js
index 3739ba3fd..dc7b8127b 100644
--- a/lib/apollo.js
+++ b/lib/apollo.js
@@ -313,6 +313,11 @@ function getClient (uri) {
                 }
               }
             },
+            newComments: {
+              read (newComments) {
+                return newComments || []
+              }
+            },
             meAnonSats: {
               read (existingAmount, { readField }) {
                 if (SSR) return null