diff --git a/backend/app/core/rate_limit.py b/backend/app/core/rate_limit.py
index 216a9d23..6277cbf0 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/rate_limit.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/rate_limit.py
@@ -24,6 +24,18 @@ logger = get_logger(__name__)
 # Run a full sweep of all keys every 128 calls to is_allowed.
 _CLEANUP_INTERVAL = 128
 
+# Shared async Redis clients keyed by URL to avoid duplicate connection pools.
+_async_redis_clients: dict[str, aioredis.Redis] = {}
+
+
+def _get_async_redis(redis_url: str) -> aioredis.Redis:
+    """Return a shared async Redis client for *redis_url*, creating one if needed."""
+    client = _async_redis_clients.get(redis_url)
+    if client is None:
+        client = aioredis.from_url(redis_url)
+        _async_redis_clients[redis_url] = client
+    return client
+
 
 class RateLimiter(ABC):
     """Base interface for sliding-window rate limiters."""
@@ -96,7 +108,7 @@ class RedisRateLimiter(RateLimiter):
         self._namespace = namespace
         self._max_requests = max_requests
         self._window_seconds = window_seconds
-        self._client: aioredis.Redis = aioredis.from_url(redis_url)
+        self._client: aioredis.Redis = _get_async_redis(redis_url)
 
     async def is_allowed(self, key: str) -> bool:
         """Return True if the request should be allowed, False if rate-limited."""
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_rate_limit.py b/backend/tests/test_rate_limit.py
index beec1ad3..5741ee12 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_rate_limit.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_rate_limit.py
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ def _make_redis_limiter(
     window_seconds: float = 60.0,
 ) -> RedisRateLimiter:
     """Build a RedisRateLimiter wired to a _FakeRedis instance."""
-    with patch("redis.asyncio.from_url", return_value=fake):
+    with patch("app.core.rate_limit._get_async_redis", return_value=fake):
         return RedisRateLimiter(
             namespace=namespace,
             max_requests=max_requests,
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ def test_factory_returns_redis_when_configured(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch)
     monkeypatch.setattr("app.core.config.settings.rate_limit_backend", RateLimitBackend.REDIS)
     monkeypatch.setattr("app.core.config.settings.rate_limit_redis_url", "redis://localhost:6379/0")
     fake = _FakeRedis()
-    with patch("redis.asyncio.from_url", return_value=fake):
+    with patch("app.core.rate_limit._get_async_redis", return_value=fake):
         limiter = create_rate_limiter(namespace="test", max_requests=10, window_seconds=60.0)
     assert isinstance(limiter, RedisRateLimiter)