diff --git a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/Cargo.toml b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/Cargo.toml
index 906bd347e..508c524e5 100644
--- a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/Cargo.toml
+++ b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/Cargo.toml
@@ -34,12 +34,20 @@ test = false
 doc = false
 bench = false
 
+[[bin]]
+name = "differential"
+path = "fuzz_targets/differential.rs"
+test = false
+doc = false
+bench = false
+
 [dependencies]
 arbitrary = { version = "1.4.2", features = ["derive"] }
 hex = "0.4.3"
 libfuzzer-sys = "0.4"
 mlt-core = { path = "..", features = ["arbitrary", "__private"] }
 pretty_assertions = "1.4"
+serde_json = "1"
 
 [lints.rust]
 unsafe_code = "forbid"
diff --git a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/README.md b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/README.md
index 49c00bb3d..19bcd20f3 100644
--- a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/README.md
+++ b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/README.md
@@ -69,6 +69,41 @@ Tests the `Layer` parser and serializer by generating arbitrary `LayerInput` val
 
 If a mismatch is found, the fuzzer panics with a detailed error message showing both the input and output in hexadecimal format.
 
+### `differential`
+
+**Location:** `fuzz_targets/differential.rs`
+
+Compares the Rust decoder against the C++ decoder.
+Each input is an arbitrary `StagedLayer`.
+The target:
+
+1. encodes it to MLT bytes with the Rust encoder,
+2. decodes those bytes with the Rust decoder to a `FeatureCollection` JSON, and
+3. decodes the same bytes with the C++ `mlt-cpp-json` tool, run as a subprocess.
+
+The two JSON outputs must match.
+A mismatch is a crash, and the report prints both outputs and the input bytes as hex.
+If the C++ tool fails to decode the bytes (e.g. an unsupported encoding), the
+input is skipped rather than treated as a failure.
+
+The target runs the prebuilt `mlt-cpp-json` binary, so no C++ code or build changes are needed.
+That binary is part of the cpp CMake project.
+Build it once, then set `$MLT_CPP_JSON_BIN` to its path:
+
+```bash
+# Build the C++ tool (from the cpp/ directory)
+cmake -S cpp -B cpp/build -DMLT_WITH_TESTS=OFF
+cmake --build cpp/build --target mlt-cpp-json
+
+# Run the fuzzer (from rust/mlt-core/fuzz)
+export MLT_CPP_JSON_BIN="$PWD/../../../cpp/build/tool/mlt-cpp-json"
+cargo +nightly fuzz run differential
+```
+
+Coverage comes from the instrumented Rust encode and decode path.
+The C++ decoder is a black-box oracle.
+Numbers are compared by value, so `0` and `0.0` count as equal.
+
 ## Corpus
 
 The `corpus/layer` directory contains input files that have been discovered during fuzzing. These serve as:
diff --git a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/fuzz_targets/differential.rs b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/fuzz_targets/differential.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2ca9b872f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/fuzz_targets/differential.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#![no_main]
+
+use libfuzzer_sys::fuzz_target;
+use mlt_fuzz::DifferentialInput;
+
+fuzz_target!(|input: DifferentialInput| {
+    input.fuzz();
+});
diff --git a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/differential.rs b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/differential.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..16b5b9a6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/differential.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::process::Command;
+use std::sync::OnceLock;
+
+use hex::ToHex as _;
+use mlt_core::encoder::{Codecs, Encoder, EncoderConfig, StagedLayer};
+use mlt_core::geojson::FeatureCollection;
+use mlt_core::{Decoder, Parser};
+
+/// An arbitrary tile and encoder config, encoded by Rust and decoded by both
+/// decoders. The Rust decoder and the C++ `mlt-cpp-json` tool must agree on the
+/// [`FeatureCollection`] JSON.
+#[derive(arbitrary::Arbitrary)]
+pub struct DifferentialInput {
+    pub layer: StagedLayer,
+    pub config: EncoderConfig,
+}
+
+impl DifferentialInput {
+    pub fn fuzz(self) {
+        // Encode the arbitrary layer to MLT bytes with the fuzzed encoder
+        // config. These bytes are the shared input fed to both decoders.
+        let mut codecs = Codecs::default();
+        let buffer = self
+            .layer
+            .encode_into(Encoder::new(self.config), &mut codecs)
+            .expect("encode should not fail")
+            .into_layer_bytes()
+            .expect("into_layer_bytes should not fail");
+
+        let rust_json = rust_decode(&buffer);
+
+        // A C++ decode failure (unsupported technique, thrown exception) is not
+        // a mismatch. Skip these inputs and only flag genuine disagreements
+        // between the two decoders' output.
+        let Some(cpp_json) = cpp_decode(&buffer) else {
+            return;
+        };
+
+        let rust_value: serde_json::Value =
+            serde_json::from_str(&rust_json).expect("rust JSON should parse");
+        let cpp_value: serde_json::Value =
+            serde_json::from_str(&cpp_json).expect("C++ JSON should parse");
+
+        assert!(
+            json_eq(&rust_value, &cpp_value),
+            "Rust and C++ decoders disagree\n\
+             rust: {rust_json}\n\
+             cpp:  {cpp_json}\n\
+             bytes: {}",
+            buffer.encode_hex::<String>()
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+/// Decode MLT bytes with the Rust decoder to `FeatureCollection` JSON.
+/// The format matches the output of `mlt-cpp-json`.
+fn rust_decode(buffer: &[u8]) -> String {
+    let layers = Parser::default()
+        .parse_layers(buffer)
+        .expect("layer must re-parse");
+    let parsed = Decoder::default()
+        .decode_all(layers)
+        .expect("decode should not fail");
+    let fc = FeatureCollection::from_layers(parsed).expect("FeatureCollection should build");
+    serde_json::to_string(&fc).expect("FeatureCollection should serialize")
+}
+
+/// Decode MLT bytes with the C++ `mlt-cpp-json` tool.
+/// Returns `None` when the tool exits non-zero, which covers decode errors and
+/// thrown exceptions.
+fn cpp_decode(buffer: &[u8]) -> Option<String> {
+    let path = temp_tile_path();
+    std::fs::write(path, buffer).expect("write temp tile");
+
+    let output = Command::new(cpp_json_bin())
+        .arg(path)
+        .output()
+        .expect("failed to run mlt-cpp-json");
+
+    if !output.status.success() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    Some(String::from_utf8(output.stdout).expect("C++ JSON should be valid UTF-8"))
+}
+
+/// Path to the `mlt-cpp-json` binary, from `$MLT_CPP_JSON_BIN`.
+fn cpp_json_bin() -> &'static str {
+    static BIN: OnceLock<String> = OnceLock::new();
+    BIN.get_or_init(|| {
+        std::env::var("MLT_CPP_JSON_BIN").unwrap_or_else(|_| {
+            panic!(
+                "set MLT_CPP_JSON_BIN to the path of the `mlt-cpp-json` binary \
+                 (build it via the cpp CMake project)"
+            )
+        })
+    })
+}
+
+/// A per-process temp file the C++ tool reads from.
+/// `mlt-cpp-json` only accepts a file path.
+/// Each input is written here and overwrites the previous one.
+fn temp_tile_path() -> &'static PathBuf {
+    static PATH: OnceLock<PathBuf> = OnceLock::new();
+    PATH.get_or_init(|| std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("mlt-diff-{}.mlt", std::process::id())))
+}
+
+/// Compares two JSON values structurally.
+/// Numbers are compared by value, so `0` and `0.0` count as equal.
+/// This stops the two JSON libraries' integer-vs-float formatting from
+/// reading as a difference.
+///
+/// Geometry coordinates are compared at `f32` precision because the C++ decoder
+/// stores coordinates as 32-bit `float` by design. Comparing them at `f64`
+/// would flag every coordinate above 2^24 as a difference and mask all other
+/// divergences. Properties and extent are still compared exactly.
+fn json_eq(a: &serde_json::Value, b: &serde_json::Value) -> bool {
+    json_eq_inner(a, b, false)
+}
+
+/// `coord` is true inside a geometry's `coordinates`, enabling `f32` tolerance.
+#[allow(
+    clippy::cast_possible_truncation,
+    reason = "intentional f64->f32 narrowing to match the C++ float coordinates"
+)]
+#[allow(
+    clippy::float_cmp,
+    reason = "exact equality is intended; the f32 cast and NaN checks are the explicit tolerances"
+)]
+fn json_eq_inner(a: &serde_json::Value, b: &serde_json::Value, coord: bool) -> bool {
+    use serde_json::Value::{Array, Bool, Null, Number, Object, String};
+    match (a, b) {
+        (Null, Null) => true,
+        (Bool(x), Bool(y)) => x == y,
+        (String(x), String(y)) => x == y,
+        (Number(x), Number(y)) => match (x.as_f64(), y.as_f64()) {
+            (Some(x), Some(y)) => {
+                x == y || (x.is_nan() && y.is_nan()) || (coord && x as f32 == y as f32)
+            }
+            _ => x == y,
+        },
+        (Array(x), Array(y)) => {
+            x.len() == y.len() && x.iter().zip(y).all(|(x, y)| json_eq_inner(x, y, coord))
+        }
+        (Object(x), Object(y)) => {
+            x.len() == y.len()
+                && x.iter().all(|(k, xv)| {
+                    y.get(k)
+                        .is_some_and(|yv| json_eq_inner(xv, yv, coord || k == "coordinates"))
+                })
+        }
+        _ => false,
+    }
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Debug for DifferentialInput {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        write!(
+            f,
+            "DifferentialInput {{\n\tconfig: {:#?}\n\tlayer: {:#?}\n}}",
+            self.config, self.layer
+        )
+    }
+}
diff --git a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/lib.rs b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/lib.rs
index edc3e1461..e19473894 100644
--- a/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/lib.rs
+++ b/rust/mlt-core/fuzz/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 mod decoded_layer;
+mod differential;
 mod layer;
 mod mvt_roundtrip;
 pub use decoded_layer::*;
+pub use differential::*;
 pub use layer::*;
 pub use mvt_roundtrip::*;
diff --git a/rust/mlt-core/src/encoder/fuzzing.rs b/rust/mlt-core/src/encoder/fuzzing.rs
index 8107237f3..cdd54bca9 100644
--- a/rust/mlt-core/src/encoder/fuzzing.rs
+++ b/rust/mlt-core/src/encoder/fuzzing.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,21 @@ use arbitrary::{Arbitrary, Result, Unstructured};
 
 use crate::encoder::model::StagedLayer;
 use crate::encoder::optimizer::Presence;
-use crate::encoder::{StagedId, StagedProperty, StagedSharedDict, StagedStrings};
+use crate::encoder::{EncoderConfig, StagedId, StagedProperty, StagedSharedDict, StagedStrings};
+
+impl Arbitrary<'_> for EncoderConfig {
+    fn arbitrary(u: &mut Unstructured<'_>) -> Result<Self> {
+        // Each optimization toggle is fuzzed independently via the public builder.
+        Ok(Self::default()
+            .with_tessellation(u.arbitrary()?)
+            .with_spatial_morton_sort(u.arbitrary()?)
+            .with_spatial_hilbert_sort(u.arbitrary()?)
+            .with_id_sort(u.arbitrary()?)
+            .with_fsst(u.arbitrary()?)
+            .with_fastpfor(u.arbitrary()?)
+            .with_shared_dict(u.arbitrary()?))
+    }
+}
 
 impl Arbitrary<'_> for StagedId {
     fn arbitrary(u: &mut Unstructured<'_>) -> Result<Self> {