diff --git a/test/cli/dag_layout_test.go b/test/cli/dag_layout_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eb82a3387
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/cli/dag_layout_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/ipfs/kubo/test/cli/harness"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// TestBalancedDAGLayout verifies that kubo uses the "balanced" DAG layout
+// (all leaves at same depth) rather than "balanced-packed" (varying leaf depths).
+//
+// DAG layout differences across implementations:
+//
+//   - balanced: kubo, helia (all leaves at same depth, uniform traversal distance)
+//   - balanced-packed: singularity (trailing leaves may be at different depths)
+//   - trickle: kubo --trickle (varying depths, optimized for append-only/streaming)
+//
+// kubo does not implement balanced-packed. The trickle layout also produces
+// non-uniform leaf depths but with different trade-offs: trickle is optimized
+// for append-only and streaming reads (no seeking), while balanced-packed
+// minimizes node count.
+//
+// IPIP-499 documents the balanced vs balanced-packed distinction. Files larger
+// than dag_width × chunk_size will have different CIDs between implementations
+// using different layouts.
+//
+// Set DAG_LAYOUT_CAR_OUTPUT environment variable to export CAR files.
+// Example: DAG_LAYOUT_CAR_OUTPUT=/tmp/dag-layout go test -run TestBalancedDAGLayout -v
+func TestBalancedDAGLayout(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	carOutputDir := os.Getenv("DAG_LAYOUT_CAR_OUTPUT")
+	exportCARs := carOutputDir != ""
+	if exportCARs {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(carOutputDir, 0755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("failed to create CAR output directory: %v", err)
+		}
+		t.Logf("CAR export enabled, writing to: %s", carOutputDir)
+	}
+
+	t.Run("balanced layout has uniform leaf depth", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+		node := harness.NewT(t).NewNode().Init().StartDaemon()
+
+		// Create file that triggers multi-level DAG.
+		// For default v0: 175 chunks × 256KiB = ~44.8 MiB (just over 174 max links)
+		// This creates a 2-level DAG where balanced layout ensures uniform depth.
+		fileSize := "45MiB"
+		seed := "balanced-test"
+
+		cidStr := node.IPFSAddDeterministic(fileSize, seed)
+
+		// Collect leaf depths by walking DAG
+		depths := collectLeafDepths(t, node, cidStr, 0)
+
+		// All leaves must be at same depth for balanced layout
+		require.NotEmpty(t, depths, "expected at least one leaf node")
+		firstDepth := depths[0]
+		for i, d := range depths {
+			require.Equal(t, firstDepth, d,
+				"leaf %d at depth %d, expected %d (balanced layout requires uniform leaf depth)",
+				i, d, firstDepth)
+		}
+		t.Logf("verified %d leaves all at depth %d (CID: %s)", len(depths), firstDepth, cidStr)
+
+		if exportCARs {
+			carPath := filepath.Join(carOutputDir, "balanced_"+fileSize+".car")
+			require.NoError(t, node.IPFSDagExport(cidStr, carPath))
+			t.Logf("exported: %s -> %s", cidStr, carPath)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("trickle layout has varying leaf depth", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+		node := harness.NewT(t).NewNode().Init().StartDaemon()
+
+		fileSize := "45MiB"
+		seed := "trickle-test"
+
+		// Add with trickle layout (--trickle flag).
+		// Trickle produces non-uniform leaf depths, optimized for append-only
+		// and streaming reads (no seeking). This subtest validates the test
+		// logic by confirming we can detect varying depths.
+		cidStr := node.IPFSAddDeterministic(fileSize, seed, "--trickle")
+
+		depths := collectLeafDepths(t, node, cidStr, 0)
+
+		// Trickle layout should have varying depths
+		require.NotEmpty(t, depths, "expected at least one leaf node")
+		minDepth, maxDepth := depths[0], depths[0]
+		for _, d := range depths {
+			if d < minDepth {
+				minDepth = d
+			}
+			if d > maxDepth {
+				maxDepth = d
+			}
+		}
+		require.NotEqual(t, minDepth, maxDepth,
+			"trickle layout should have varying leaf depths, got uniform depth %d", minDepth)
+		t.Logf("verified %d leaves with depths ranging from %d to %d (CID: %s)", len(depths), minDepth, maxDepth, cidStr)
+
+		if exportCARs {
+			carPath := filepath.Join(carOutputDir, "trickle_"+fileSize+".car")
+			require.NoError(t, node.IPFSDagExport(cidStr, carPath))
+			t.Logf("exported: %s -> %s", cidStr, carPath)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+// collectLeafDepths recursively walks DAG and returns depth of each leaf node.
+// A node is a leaf if it's a raw block or a dag-pb node with no links.
+func collectLeafDepths(t *testing.T, node *harness.Node, cid string, depth int) []int {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	// Check codec to see if this is a raw leaf
+	res := node.IPFS("cid", "format", "-f", "%c", cid)
+	codec := strings.TrimSpace(res.Stdout.String())
+	if codec == "raw" {
+		// Raw blocks are always leaves
+		return []int{depth}
+	}
+
+	// Try to inspect as dag-pb node
+	pbNode, err := node.InspectPBNode(cid)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Can't parse as dag-pb, treat as leaf
+		return []int{depth}
+	}
+
+	// No links = leaf node
+	if len(pbNode.Links) == 0 {
+		return []int{depth}
+	}
+
+	// Recurse into children
+	var depths []int
+	for _, link := range pbNode.Links {
+		childDepths := collectLeafDepths(t, node, link.Hash.Slash, depth+1)
+		depths = append(depths, childDepths...)
+	}
+	return depths
+}