diff --git a/HellionChat/PluginHostFactory.cs b/HellionChat/PluginHostFactory.cs
index 23bd483..ed5f2fa 100644
--- a/HellionChat/PluginHostFactory.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/PluginHostFactory.cs
@@ -141,6 +141,10 @@ internal static class PluginHostFactory
             sp.GetRequiredService<ThemeRegistry>(),
             sp.GetRequiredService<Ui.StyleEngine.TokenResolver>()
         ));
+        services.AddSingleton(sp => new Ui.Components.StatusBar(
+            sp.GetRequiredService<ThemeRegistry>(),
+            sp.GetRequiredService<FontManager>()
+        ));
         services.AddSingleton(sp => new Integrations.FailedTellNotifier(
             sp.GetRequiredService<ILogger<Integrations.FailedTellNotifier>>()
         ));
diff --git a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/StatusBar.cs b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/StatusBar.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9342c5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/StatusBar.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+using System.Globalization;
+using System.Numerics;
+using Dalamud.Bindings.ImGui;
+using Dalamud.Interface;
+using Dalamud.Interface.Utility;
+using Dalamud.Interface.Utility.Raii;
+using HellionChat.Code;
+using HellionChat.Resources;
+using HellionChat.Themes;
+using HellionChat.Util;
+
+namespace HellionChat.Ui.Components;
+
+// Bottom status bar. Slots left to right: channel indicator, privacy badge,
+// counts, tells (hidden at 0), version (right-aligned). Updates at 1Hz to
+// keep the per-frame cost down on slow systems; format strings cache
+// between updates and only recompute on the tick boundary.
+internal sealed class StatusBar
+{
+    // DPI-aware bar height. A fixed pixel constant clipped at display
+    // scaling above 100% — GetTextLineHeightWithSpacing scales with the
+    // active ImGui font, the 2px spacer rounds against GlobalScale so the
+    // result lands on integer pixel boundaries.
+    public static float Height =>
+        ImGui.GetTextLineHeightWithSpacing() + MathF.Round(2f * ImGuiHelpers.GlobalScale);
+
+    private const long UpdateIntervalMs = 1000;
+
+    private readonly ThemeRegistry _themes;
+    private readonly FontManager _fonts;
+
+    private long _lastUpdateMs = -UpdateIntervalMs;
+    private string _cachedCountsText = string.Empty;
+    private string _cachedTellsText = string.Empty;
+
+    public StatusBar(ThemeRegistry themes, FontManager fonts)
+    {
+        _themes = themes;
+        _fonts = fonts;
+    }
+
+    // Pure string logic so the build suite can pin format edge cases
+    // (locale-sensitive k-suffix, singular/plural pivot) without ImGui.
+    public static string FormatCounts(int tabs, int messages)
+    {
+        var msgPart =
+            messages >= 1000
+                ? string.Format(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, "{0:0.0}k msg", messages / 1000.0)
+                : $"{messages} msg";
+        var tabsPart = $"{tabs} {(tabs == 1 ? "tab" : "tabs")}";
+        return $"{tabsPart} · {msgPart}";
+    }
+
+    public static string FormatTells(int count)
+    {
+        if (count <= 0)
+            return string.Empty;
+        return $"{count} {(count == 1 ? "tell" : "tells")}";
+    }
+
+    // Single-pass aggregator — same shape as the previous helper so the
+    // build-suite test continues to pin the contract.
+    internal static (int messages, int tells) AggregateForStatusBar(IList<Tab> tabs)
+    {
+        int messages = 0,
+            tells = 0;
+        foreach (var t in tabs)
+        {
+            messages += t.Messages.Count;
+            if (t.IsTempTab)
+                tells++;
+        }
+        return (messages, tells);
+    }
+
+    internal (string counts, string tells) SnapshotForTest(
+        long now,
+        int tabs,
+        int messages,
+        int tells
+    )
+    {
+        UpdateCacheIfDue(now, tabs, messages, tells);
+        return (_cachedCountsText, _cachedTellsText);
+    }
+
+    private void UpdateCacheIfDue(long now, int tabs, int messages, int tells)
+    {
+        if (now - _lastUpdateMs < UpdateIntervalMs)
+            return;
+        _cachedCountsText = FormatCounts(tabs, messages);
+        _cachedTellsText = FormatTells(tells);
+        _lastUpdateMs = now;
+    }
+
+    public void Draw(Tab? activeTab)
+    {
+        if (!_fonts.FontsReady)
+        {
+            ImGui.Dummy(new Vector2(0, Height));
+            return;
+        }
+
+        var theme = _themes.Active;
+        var now = Environment.TickCount64;
+        if (now - _lastUpdateMs >= UpdateIntervalMs)
+        {
+            var (messages, tells) = AggregateForStatusBar(Plugin.Config.Tabs);
+            UpdateCacheIfDue(now, Plugin.Config.Tabs.Count, messages, tells);
+        }
+
+        // Top border via DrawList — ImGui.Separator has too much padding for
+        // a tight bottom strip.
+        var cursorY = ImGui.GetCursorScreenPos().Y;
+        var winLeft = ImGui.GetWindowPos().X;
+        var winRight = winLeft + ImGui.GetWindowSize().X;
+        ImGui
+            .GetWindowDrawList()
+            .AddLine(
+                new Vector2(winLeft, cursorY),
+                new Vector2(winRight, cursorY),
+                ColourUtil.RgbaToAbgr(theme.Colors.Border),
+                1f
+            );
+        ImGui.Dummy(new Vector2(0, 2));
+
+        // Slot 1: active channel indicator
+        var inputCh = activeTab?.CurrentChannel?.Channel ?? InputChannel.Invalid;
+        var hasChannel = inputCh != InputChannel.Invalid;
+        var chatType = inputCh.ToChatType();
+        var channelName = hasChannel ? chatType.Name() : "—";
+        var dotColor = hasChannel ? theme.Colors.Primary : theme.Colors.TextMuted;
+        DrawDot(dotColor);
+        ImGui.SameLine();
+        ImGui.TextUnformatted(channelName);
+
+        // Slot 2: privacy badge
+        ImGui.SameLine();
+        DrawSeparator();
+        ImGui.SameLine();
+        using (_fonts.FontAwesome.Push())
+            ImGui.TextUnformatted(FontAwesomeIcon.Lock.ToIconString());
+        ImGui.SameLine();
+        var privacyLabel = Plugin.Config.PrivacyFilterEnabled
+            ? HellionStrings.StatusBar_Privacy_Enabled
+            : HellionStrings.StatusBar_Privacy_Open;
+        ImGui.TextUnformatted(privacyLabel);
+
+        // Slot 3: counts
+        ImGui.SameLine();
+        DrawSeparator();
+        ImGui.SameLine();
+        ImGui.TextUnformatted(_cachedCountsText);
+
+        // Slot 4: tells (hidden at 0)
+        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(_cachedTellsText))
+        {
+            ImGui.SameLine();
+            DrawSeparator();
+            ImGui.SameLine();
+            ImGui.TextUnformatted(_cachedTellsText);
+        }
+
+        // Slot 5: version + brand, right-aligned, muted. Hidden when the
+        // window cannot fit all five slots without overlap.
+        var versionText = $"v{Plugin.Interface.Manifest.AssemblyVersion} · Hellion";
+        var versionWidth = ImGui.CalcTextSize(versionText).X;
+        var contentRegionMax = ImGui.GetContentRegionMax().X;
+        const float MinOtherSlotsWidth = 200f;
+        if (contentRegionMax - versionWidth > MinOtherSlotsWidth)
+        {
+            ImGui.SameLine(contentRegionMax - versionWidth);
+            using (ImRaii.PushColor(ImGuiCol.Text, ColourUtil.RgbaToAbgr(theme.Colors.TextMuted)))
+                ImGui.TextUnformatted(versionText);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void DrawDot(uint rgba)
+    {
+        var pos = ImGui.GetCursorScreenPos();
+        const float radius = 4f;
+        ImGui
+            .GetWindowDrawList()
+            .AddCircleFilled(
+                new Vector2(pos.X + radius, pos.Y + ImGui.GetTextLineHeight() / 2f),
+                radius,
+                ColourUtil.RgbaToAbgr(rgba)
+            );
+        ImGui.Dummy(new Vector2(radius * 2 + 4, ImGui.GetTextLineHeight()));
+    }
+
+    private static void DrawSeparator() => ImGui.TextDisabled("·");
+}