diff --git a/lib/php-calculator-improved.sh b/lib/php-calculator-improved.sh
index f8e2b34..0bc73c4 100644
--- a/lib/php-calculator-improved.sh
+++ b/lib/php-calculator-improved.sh
@@ -105,30 +105,47 @@ calculate_max_children_memory_based() {
     local reserved_mb
     reserved_mb=$(get_field "$reserve_result" 1)
 
-    # Available memory for PHP-FPM
-    local available_mb=$((total_ram_mb - reserved_mb))
+    # Account for MySQL memory (critical on shared hosting!)
+    local mysql_memory_mb=0
+    local mysql_info
+    mysql_info=$(detect_mysql_memory_usage 2>/dev/null)
+    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+        mysql_memory_mb=$(echo "$mysql_info" | cut -d'|' -f3)
+    fi
+
+    # Available memory for PHP-FPM (after system + MySQL reserves)
+    # CRITICAL: This is shared across ALL domains, not per-domain!
+    local available_mb=$((total_ram_mb - reserved_mb - mysql_memory_mb))
+
+    # Safety check: never allow PHP-FPM to use more than 60% of RAM
+    local max_php_fpm=$((total_ram_mb * 60 / 100))
+    if [ "$available_mb" -gt "$max_php_fpm" ]; then
+        available_mb=$max_php_fpm
+    fi
 
     # Convert average KB to MB
     local avg_mb=$((avg_kb / 1024))
     if [ "$avg_mb" -eq 0 ]; then
-        avg_mb=1  # Minimum 1MB to prevent division issues
+        avg_mb=20  # More realistic default (not 1MB)
     fi
 
     # Theoretical maximum without safety buffer
     local theoretical_max=$((available_mb / avg_mb))
 
-    # Apply safety buffer (default 15%, refined later based on traffic patterns)
-    local safety_buffer=15
+    # Apply safety buffer (50% - much more conservative for shared hosting!)
+    # This accounts for peak traffic spikes and other processes
+    local safety_buffer=50
     local recommended=$((theoretical_max * (100 - safety_buffer) / 100))
 
-    # Sanity checks
-    if [ "$recommended" -lt 2 ]; then
-        echo "2|Minimum safe value (insufficient memory)"
-    elif [ "$recommended" -gt 500 ]; then
-        # Cap at 500 (typical proxy upstream pool size)
-        echo "500|Capped at safe maximum (would be $recommended)"
+    # Hard cap at traffic-realistic limits
+    if [ "$recommended" -lt 5 ]; then
+        echo "5|Minimum safe value (insufficient memory)"
+    elif [ "$recommended" -gt 150 ]; then
+        # CRITICAL: Cap at 150 max per domain on shared hosting
+        # Higher values require dedicated servers
+        echo "150|Capped at safe maximum for shared hosting (would be $recommended)"
     else
-        local reason="Memory-based: ${avg_mb}MB per process, ${available_mb}MB available, ${safety_buffer}% buffer"
+        local reason="Memory-based: ${avg_mb}MB per process, ${available_mb}MB available (after MySQL: ${mysql_memory_mb}MB), ${safety_buffer}% safety buffer"
         echo "$recommended|$reason"
     fi
 }
diff --git a/modules/performance/php-optimizer.sh b/modules/performance/php-optimizer.sh
index 857ee4c..54c46f5 100755
--- a/modules/performance/php-optimizer.sh
+++ b/modules/performance/php-optimizer.sh
@@ -2448,6 +2448,17 @@ optimize_level_5_everything() {
     cecho "  Status: ${WHITE}${status}${NC}"
     echo ""
 
+    # CRITICAL SAFETY CHECK: If current usage is already > 80%, warn user
+    if [ "$percentage" -gt 80 ]; then
+        cecho "${RED}${BOLD}⚠ CRITICAL: Server is running with insufficient PHP-FPM headroom!${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}Current allocation is ${percentage}% of RAM.${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}Optimization may not be sufficient - consider:${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}  1. Upgrading server RAM${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}  2. Disabling problematic domains${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}  3. Migrating heavy sites to dedicated servers${NC}"
+        echo ""
+    fi
+
     cecho "${CYAN}STEP 2: Calculating Recommendations${NC}"
     echo ""
 
@@ -2531,6 +2542,50 @@ optimize_level_5_everything() {
     cecho "  Domains needing OPcache: ${YELLOW}${opcache_count}${NC}"
     echo ""
 
+    # CRITICAL VALIDATION: Check if combined recommendations exceed safe limits
+    cecho "${CYAN}STEP 2b: Validating Combined Capacity${NC}"
+    echo ""
+
+    local total_recommended_max_children=0
+    local avg_memory_per_process=20  # Conservative 20MB per process
+    local total_recommended_memory=0
+
+    for domain in "${!recommended_max_children[@]}"; do
+        local rec_max="${recommended_max_children[$domain]}"
+        [ -z "$rec_max" ] && continue
+        total_recommended_max_children=$((total_recommended_max_children + rec_max))
+        total_recommended_memory=$((total_recommended_memory + (rec_max * avg_memory_per_process)))
+    done
+
+    # Determine if recommendations are safe
+    local max_safe_php_fpm=$((total_ram_mb * 60 / 100))  # 60% of RAM for PHP-FPM
+
+    if [ "$total_recommended_memory" -gt "$max_safe_php_fpm" ]; then
+        cecho "${RED}${BOLD}⚠ WARNING: Combined recommendations exceed safe limits!${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}Recommended total: ${total_recommended_memory}MB (${total_recommended_max_children} max_children combined)${NC}"
+        cecho "${RED}Safe maximum: ${max_safe_php_fpm}MB${NC}"
+        cecho "${YELLOW}Applying safety caps to prevent OOM crashes...${NC}"
+
+        # Scale down all recommendations proportionally
+        local scale_factor=$((max_safe_php_fpm * 100 / total_recommended_memory))
+        scale_factor=$((scale_factor / 100))  # Convert to percentage
+
+        for domain in "${!recommended_max_children[@]}"; do
+            local old_max="${recommended_max_children[$domain]}"
+            [ -z "$old_max" ] && continue
+            local new_max=$((old_max * scale_factor / 100))
+            [ "$new_max" -lt 5 ] && new_max=5
+            [ "$new_max" -gt 150 ] && new_max=150  # Hard cap for shared hosting
+            recommended_max_children["$domain"]="$new_max"
+        done
+
+        echo ""
+        cecho "${GREEN}✓ Safety caps applied${NC}"
+    else
+        cecho "${GREEN}✓ Combined capacity is safe: ${total_recommended_memory}MB (${total_recommended_max_children} total max_children)${NC}"
+    fi
+    echo ""
+
     cecho "${CYAN}STEP 3: Applying All Optimizations${NC}"
     echo ""