diff --git a/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks.csproj b/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks.csproj
index e1cfab4ef0..e86a8dcf84 100644
--- a/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks.csproj
+++ b/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks/TUnit.PerformanceBenchmarks.csproj
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@
     </PropertyGroup>
 
     <ItemGroup>
-        <ProjectReference Include="..\TUnit\TUnit.csproj" />
+        <!-- Use direct references to avoid telemetry/code coverage overhead in benchmarks -->
+        <ProjectReference Include="..\TUnit.Engine\TUnit.Engine.csproj" />
+        <ProjectReference Include="..\TUnit.Assertions\TUnit.Assertions.csproj" />
         <ProjectReference Include="..\TUnit.Core.SourceGenerator\TUnit.Core.SourceGenerator.csproj" OutputItemType="Analyzer" ReferenceOutputAssembly="false" />
     </ItemGroup>
 
diff --git a/tools/speed-comparison/UnifiedTests/UnifiedTests.csproj b/tools/speed-comparison/UnifiedTests/UnifiedTests.csproj
index 6bbfc661e7..8996d34283 100644
--- a/tools/speed-comparison/UnifiedTests/UnifiedTests.csproj
+++ b/tools/speed-comparison/UnifiedTests/UnifiedTests.csproj
@@ -37,9 +37,10 @@
         <IntermediateOutputPath>obj\$(Configuration)-$(TestFramework)\$(TargetFramework)\</IntermediateOutputPath>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
-    <!-- TUnit packages -->
+    <!-- TUnit packages - use direct references to avoid telemetry/code coverage overhead in benchmarks -->
     <ItemGroup Condition="'$(TestFramework)' == 'TUNIT'">
-        <PackageReference Include="TUnit" />
+        <ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\TUnit.Engine\TUnit.Engine.csproj" />
+        <ProjectReference Include="..\..\..\TUnit.Assertions\TUnit.Assertions.csproj" />
     </ItemGroup>
 
     <!-- xUnit v3 packages -->