diff --git a/src/net_processing.cpp b/src/net_processing.cpp
index 37778322151..f60ab27b187 100644
--- a/src/net_processing.cpp
+++ b/src/net_processing.cpp
@@ -5425,8 +5425,8 @@ public:
     bool operator()(std::set<Wtxid>::iterator a, std::set<Wtxid>::iterator b)
     {
         /* As std::make_heap produces a max-heap, we want the entries with the
-         * fewest ancestors/highest fee to sort later. */
-        return m_mempool->CompareDepthAndScore(*b, *a);
+         * higher mining score to sort later. */
+        return m_mempool->CompareMiningScoreWithTopology(*b, *a);
     }
 };
 } // namespace
diff --git a/src/txmempool.cpp b/src/txmempool.cpp
index f2a63c26d26..fa7da083a14 100644
--- a/src/txmempool.cpp
+++ b/src/txmempool.cpp
@@ -803,24 +803,20 @@ void CTxMemPool::check(const CCoinsViewCache& active_coins_tip, int64_t spendhei
     assert(innerUsage == cachedInnerUsage);
 }
 
-bool CTxMemPool::CompareDepthAndScore(const Wtxid& hasha, const Wtxid& hashb) const
+bool CTxMemPool::CompareMiningScoreWithTopology(const Wtxid& hasha, const Wtxid& hashb) const
 {
-    /* Return `true` if hasha should be considered sooner than hashb. Namely when:
-     *   a is not in the mempool, but b is
-     *   both are in the mempool and a has fewer ancestors than b
-     *   both are in the mempool and a has a higher score than b
+    /* Return `true` if hasha should be considered sooner than hashb, namely when:
+     *     a is not in the mempool but b is, or
+     *     both are in the mempool but a is sorted before b in the total mempool ordering
+     *     (which takes dependencies and (chunk) feerates into account).
      */
     LOCK(cs);
     auto j{GetIter(hashb)};
     if (!j.has_value()) return false;
     auto i{GetIter(hasha)};
     if (!i.has_value()) return true;
-    uint64_t counta = i.value()->GetCountWithAncestors();
-    uint64_t countb = j.value()->GetCountWithAncestors();
-    if (counta == countb) {
-        return CompareTxMemPoolEntryByScore()(*i.value(), *j.value());
-    }
-    return counta < countb;
+
+    return m_txgraph->CompareMainOrder(*i.value(), *j.value()) < 0;
 }
 
 namespace {
diff --git a/src/txmempool.h b/src/txmempool.h
index 5834cd0065a..232538aec36 100644
--- a/src/txmempool.h
+++ b/src/txmempool.h
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ public:
     void removeConflicts(const CTransaction& tx) EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs);
     void removeForBlock(const std::vector<CTransactionRef>& vtx, unsigned int nBlockHeight) EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(cs);
 
-    bool CompareDepthAndScore(const Wtxid& hasha, const Wtxid& hashb) const;
+    bool CompareMiningScoreWithTopology(const Wtxid& hasha, const Wtxid& hashb) const;
     bool isSpent(const COutPoint& outpoint) const;
     unsigned int GetTransactionsUpdated() const;
     void AddTransactionsUpdated(unsigned int n);
diff --git a/test/functional/mempool_packages.py b/test/functional/mempool_packages.py
index b5f994e8030..8f53d913c96 100755
--- a/test/functional/mempool_packages.py
+++ b/test/functional/mempool_packages.py
@@ -245,21 +245,17 @@ class MempoolPackagesTest(BitcoinTestFramework):
         mempool1 = self.nodes[1].getrawmempool(False)
         assert set(mempool1).issubset(set(mempool0))
         assert parent_transaction in mempool1
-        # Note: this test is brittle, because it relies on the relay sort order
-        # of node0 to be based on ancestor count (so that the first 10
-        # descendants of parent_transaction relay before the later ones).
-        for tx in chain[:CUSTOM_DESCENDANT_LIMIT-1]:
-            assert tx in mempool1
-        for tx in chain[CUSTOM_DESCENDANT_LIMIT:]:
-            assert tx not in mempool1
-        for tx in mempool1:
-            entry0 = self.nodes[0].getmempoolentry(tx)
-            entry1 = self.nodes[1].getmempoolentry(tx)
-            assert not entry0['unbroadcast']
-            assert not entry1['unbroadcast']
-            assert_equal(entry1['fees']['base'], entry0['fees']['base'])
-            assert_equal(entry1['vsize'], entry0['vsize'])
-            assert_equal(entry1['depends'], entry0['depends'])
+        for tx in chain:
+            if tx in mempool1:
+                entry0 = self.nodes[0].getmempoolentry(tx)
+                entry1 = self.nodes[1].getmempoolentry(tx)
+                assert not entry0['unbroadcast']
+                assert not entry1['unbroadcast']
+                assert entry1["descendantcount"] <= CUSTOM_DESCENDANT_LIMIT
+                assert_equal(entry1['fees']['base'], entry0['fees']['base'])
+                assert_equal(entry1['vsize'], entry0['vsize'])
+                assert_equal(entry1['depends'], entry0['depends'])
+
         # Test reorg handling
         # First, the basics:
         self.generate(self.nodes[0], 1)