diff --git a/src/constants.ts b/src/constants.ts
index 1527e8b0..4c420871 100644
--- a/src/constants.ts
+++ b/src/constants.ts
@@ -139,17 +139,23 @@ export const EARLY_PUBLISH_SUCCESS_GRACE_MS = 1200
  * 10002 is already in IndexedDB (the 30s publish timeout only runs after targets are resolved).
  */
 /**
- * Cold `fetchRelayLists` runs NIP-65 (10002) + HTTP list (10243) fetches and often a 10432 pass; those used
- * to run strictly in series under one race, so 32s was routinely shorter than real wall time → prioritize
- * publish timed out and the UI looked stuck.
+ * Budget for `fetchRelayLists` / NIP-65 resolution on the publish path. Longer waits block the reply button
+ * while relays stall; shorter values fall back to IndexedDB + deduped picker order sooner (still correct).
  */
-export const PUBLISH_RELAY_LIST_RESOLUTION_TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000
+export const PUBLISH_RELAY_LIST_RESOLUTION_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000
 
 /**
  * {@link ClientService.prioritizePublishUrlListWithTimeout}: must exceed {@link PUBLISH_RELAY_LIST_RESOLUTION_TIMEOUT_MS}
- * so one full `fetchRelayLists` can finish before we fall back to “deduped order without inbox fetch”.
+ * so one full `fetchRelayLists` budget can elapse before we fall back to “deduped order without inbox fetch”.
  */
-export const PUBLISH_PRIORITIZE_RELAY_ORDER_TIMEOUT_MS = PUBLISH_RELAY_LIST_RESOLUTION_TIMEOUT_MS + 25_000
+export const PUBLISH_PRIORITIZE_RELAY_ORDER_TIMEOUT_MS = PUBLISH_RELAY_LIST_RESOLUTION_TIMEOUT_MS + 14_000
+
+/**
+ * When {@link ClientService.publishEvent} targets more than one relay, cap per-relay publish ACK wait so one
+ * hung relay (e.g. 90s timeout) does not delay returning until every parallel publish settles. Single-relay
+ * publishes keep {@link RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS} for extension signers on slow paths.
+ */
+export const MULTI_RELAY_PUBLISH_ACK_CAP_MS = 24_000
 
 /** Max merged URLs per REQ / timeline relay list (see `relay-url-priority`). */
 export const MAX_REQ_RELAY_URLS = MAX_CONCURRENT_RELAY_CONNECTIONS
diff --git a/src/services/client.service.ts b/src/services/client.service.ts
index 7340e1c3..83d46b97 100644
--- a/src/services/client.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client.service.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   PUBLIC_MESSAGE_RSVP_PUBLISH_MAX_RELAYS,
   PUBLISH_PRIORITIZE_RELAY_ORDER_TIMEOUT_MS,
   PUBLISH_RELAY_LIST_RESOLUTION_TIMEOUT_MS,
+  MULTI_RELAY_PUBLISH_ACK_CAP_MS,
   RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS,
   RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS,
   RELAY_READ_ONLY_POOL_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS,
@@ -1429,6 +1430,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
     )
 
     const uniqueRelayUrls = filtered
+    /** Single-relay: full NIP-42 ACK budget; multi-relay: avoid waiting on the slowest peer for “all settled”. */
+    const publishAckBudgetCapMs =
+      uniqueRelayUrls.length <= 1
+        ? RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS
+        : Math.min(RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS, MULTI_RELAY_PUBLISH_ACK_CAP_MS)
 
     if (relayUrls.length !== uniqueRelayUrls.length || mergedRelayUrls.length !== uniqueRelayUrls.length) {
       logger.info('[PublishEvent] Publish target relays (UI selection vs actually contacted)', {
@@ -1520,11 +1526,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       const slotCap = Math.max(1, MAX_CONCURRENT_RELAY_CONNECTIONS)
       const publishWaves = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(uniqueRelayUrls.length / slotCap))
       const perWaveBudgetMs =
-        RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS + RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS + 10_000
+        RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS + publishAckBudgetCapMs + 10_000
       const publishGlobalDeadlineMs = Math.min(
         600_000,
         Math.max(
-          RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS + RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS + 30_000,
+          RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS + publishAckBudgetCapMs + 30_000,
           publishWaves * perWaveBudgetMs + 25_000
         )
       )
@@ -1594,8 +1600,8 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
           const isLocal = isLocalNetworkUrl(url)
           /** Match pool handshake budget; a shorter outer race used to abort `ensureRelay` at 8s while the pool allowed 20s — slow TLS never won. */
           const connectionTimeout = isLocal ? 5_000 : RELAY_POOL_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS
-          /** ACK wait: {@link applyRelayNip42AckTimeout} already sets relay.publishTimeout; do not override with a few seconds (extension signers + slow relays). */
-          const publishAckBudgetMs = isLocal ? 5_000 : RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS
+          /** ACK wait: pool sets {@link RELAY_NIP42_PUBLISH_ACK_TIMEOUT_MS}; outer race uses {@link publishAckBudgetCapMs} for multi-relay. */
+          const publishAckBudgetMs = isLocal ? 5_000 : publishAckBudgetCapMs
           const httpPublishBudgetMs = isLocal ? 5_000 : 8_000
 
           // Set up a per-relay timeout to ensure we always reach the finally block