diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/Shard.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/Shard.scala
index cb419b0f9b..fa029f5f91 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/Shard.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/Shard.scala
@@ -321,8 +321,6 @@ private[akka] class PersistentShard(
 
   override def snapshotPluginId: String = settings.snapshotPluginId
 
-  var persistCount = 0
-
   // would be initialized after recovery completed
   override def initialized(): Unit = {}
 
@@ -334,8 +332,7 @@ private[akka] class PersistentShard(
   }
 
   def saveSnapshotWhenNeeded(): Unit = {
-    persistCount += 1
-    if (persistCount % snapshotAfter == 0) {
+    if (lastSequenceNr % snapshotAfter == 0 && lastSequenceNr != 0) {
       log.debug("Saving snapshot, sequence number [{}]", snapshotSequenceNr)
       saveSnapshot(state)
     }
diff --git a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ShardCoordinator.scala b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ShardCoordinator.scala
index 12bc13c9c5..f28031aaeb 100644
--- a/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ShardCoordinator.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster-sharding/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/sharding/ShardCoordinator.scala
@@ -729,8 +729,6 @@ class PersistentShardCoordinator(typeName: String, settings: ClusterShardingSett
 
   override def snapshotPluginId: String = settings.snapshotPluginId
 
-  var persistCount = 0
-
   override def receiveRecover: Receive = {
     case evt: DomainEvent ⇒
       log.debug("receiveRecover {}", evt)
@@ -793,8 +791,7 @@ class PersistentShardCoordinator(typeName: String, settings: ClusterShardingSett
   }
 
   def saveSnapshotWhenNeeded(): Unit = {
-    persistCount += 1
-    if (persistCount % snapshotAfter == 0) {
+    if (lastSequenceNr % snapshotAfter == 0 && lastSequenceNr != 0) {
       log.debug("Saving snapshot, sequence number [{}]", snapshotSequenceNr)
       saveSnapshot(state)
     }
diff --git a/project/MiMa.scala b/project/MiMa.scala
index b7ab9ad626..9485d4216b 100644
--- a/project/MiMa.scala
+++ b/project/MiMa.scala
@@ -767,7 +767,13 @@ object MiMa extends AutoPlugin {
         ProblemFilters.exclude[DirectMissingMethodProblem]("akka.http.impl.util.package.printEvent"),
 
         // #20362 - parser private
-        ProblemFilters.exclude[ReversedMissingMethodProblem]("akka.http.impl.model.parser.CommonRules.expires-date")
+        ProblemFilters.exclude[ReversedMissingMethodProblem]("akka.http.impl.model.parser.CommonRules.expires-date"),
+        
+        // #20319 - remove not needed "no. of persists" counter in sharding
+       ProblemFilters.exclude[DirectMissingMethodProblem]("akka.cluster.sharding.PersistentShard.persistCount"),
+       ProblemFilters.exclude[DirectMissingMethodProblem]("akka.cluster.sharding.PersistentShard.persistCount_="),
+       ProblemFilters.exclude[DirectMissingMethodProblem]("akka.cluster.sharding.PersistentShardCoordinator.persistCount"),
+       ProblemFilters.exclude[DirectMissingMethodProblem]("akka.cluster.sharding.PersistentShardCoordinator.persistCount_=")
       )
     )
   }