diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 488e03507b2d..cd33a4c4a917 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 - Fixed main graph being clipped when the browser's root font size is smaller than the default 16px
 - Fixed issue with users with billing role not being able to create personal segments
 - Fixed period arrow keys hijacking custom-range calendar
+- Return a 400 instead of a 500 from the Stats API breakdown endpoint when `page` is not a positive integer
 
 ## v3.2.0 - 2026-01-16
 
diff --git a/lib/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller.ex b/lib/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller.ex
index 50cebddd70dc..63d7831bd332 100644
--- a/lib/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller.ex
+++ b/lib/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller.ex
@@ -40,9 +40,8 @@ defmodule PlausibleWeb.Api.ExternalStatsController do
          :ok <- validate_filters(site, query.filters),
          {:ok, metrics} <- parse_and_validate_metrics(params, query),
          {:ok, limit} <- validate_or_default_limit(params),
+         {:ok, page} <- validate_or_default_page(params),
          :ok <- ensure_custom_props_access(site, query) do
-      page = String.to_integer(Map.get(params, "page", "1"))
-
       %{results: results, meta: meta} =
         Legacy.Breakdown.breakdown(site, query, metrics, {limit, page})
 
@@ -88,6 +87,18 @@ defmodule PlausibleWeb.Api.ExternalStatsController do
   @default_breakdown_limit 100
   defp validate_or_default_limit(_), do: {:ok, @default_breakdown_limit}
 
+  defp validate_or_default_page(%{"page" => page}) do
+    case Integer.parse(page) do
+      {page, ""} when page > 0 ->
+        {:ok, page}
+
+      _ ->
+        {:error, "Please provide page as a positive number."}
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp validate_or_default_page(_), do: {:ok, 1}
+
   defp parse_and_validate_metrics(params, query) do
     metrics =
       Map.get(params, "metrics", "visitors")
diff --git a/test/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller/breakdown_test.exs b/test/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller/breakdown_test.exs
index b13b94870e44..f37886428b5f 100644
--- a/test/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller/breakdown_test.exs
+++ b/test/plausible_web/controllers/api/external_stats_controller/breakdown_test.exs
@@ -2492,6 +2492,30 @@ defmodule PlausibleWeb.Api.ExternalStatsController.BreakdownTest do
       assert json_response(conn, 400) == %{"error" => @invalid_limit_message}
     end
 
+    @invalid_page_message "Please provide page as a positive number."
+
+    test "returns error with non-integer page", %{conn: conn, site: site} do
+      conn =
+        get(conn, "/api/v1/stats/breakdown", %{
+          "site_id" => site.domain,
+          "property" => "event:page",
+          "page" => "foo"
+        })
+
+      assert json_response(conn, 400) == %{"error" => @invalid_page_message}
+    end
+
+    test "returns error with non-positive page", %{conn: conn, site: site} do
+      conn =
+        get(conn, "/api/v1/stats/breakdown", %{
+          "site_id" => site.domain,
+          "property" => "event:page",
+          "page" => 0
+        })
+
+      assert json_response(conn, 400) == %{"error" => @invalid_page_message}
+    end
+
     test "can paginate results", %{conn: conn, site: site} do
       populate_stats(site, [
         build(:pageview, pathname: "/a", timestamp: ~N[2021-01-01 00:00:00]),