diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.test.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.test.tsx
index 1e9e0dffefb..3d5a17fe411 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.test.tsx
@@ -84,4 +84,71 @@ describe("ProjectUsage", () => {
     expect(screen.getAllByText("4").length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
     expect(screen.getAllByText("Project Alpha").length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
   });
+
+  it("shows an error instead of silently rendering zeros when the request fails", async () => {
+    mockProjectDailyActivityCall.mockRejectedValue(new Error("Project management is an enterprise feature"));
+
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    renderWithProviders(
+      <ProjectUsage accessToken="test-token" projectList={PROJECT_LIST} dateValue={DATE_VALUE} premiumUser={true} />,
+    );
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("combobox"));
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Project Alpha" }));
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText("Could not load project usage")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText("Project management is an enterprise feature")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText("No project usage data")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("shows a loading indicator while fetching data for a newly-added project", async () => {
+    let resolveSecondCall: (value: unknown) => void = () => {};
+    mockProjectDailyActivityCall
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        start_date: "2026-09-01",
+        end_date: "2026-09-08",
+        results: [
+          {
+            date: "2026-09-01",
+            project_id: "project-alpha",
+            project_alias: "Project Alpha",
+            spend: 12.5,
+            prompt_tokens: 100,
+            completion_tokens: 50,
+            total_tokens: 150,
+            api_requests: 4,
+            successful_requests: 3,
+            failed_requests: 1,
+          },
+        ],
+      })
+      .mockImplementationOnce(
+        () =>
+          new Promise((resolve) => {
+            resolveSecondCall = resolve;
+          }),
+      );
+
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    renderWithProviders(
+      <ProjectUsage accessToken="test-token" projectList={PROJECT_LIST} dateValue={DATE_VALUE} premiumUser={true} />,
+    );
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("combobox"));
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Project Alpha" }));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByText("$12.50").length).toBeGreaterThan(0));
+
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("combobox"));
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("option", { name: "Project Beta" }));
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.getAllByText("Loading chart data...").length).toBeGreaterThan(0));
+
+    resolveSecondCall({
+      start_date: "2026-09-01",
+      end_date: "2026-09-08",
+      results: [],
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(screen.queryAllByText("Loading chart data...").length).toBe(0));
+  });
 });
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.tsx
index b4f06af67c8..62e3d675318 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/ProjectUsage.tsx
@@ -10,12 +10,18 @@ import type { DateRangePickerValue } from "@/components/shared/date_picker_types
 import { Card as ShadcnCard, CardContent, CardHeader, CardTitle } from "@/components/ui/card";
 import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from "@/components/ui/tooltip";
 import { projectDailyActivityCall } from "@/components/networking";
+import { extractProxyErrorMessage } from "@/lib/http/client";
 import { valueFormatterSpend } from "@/components/UsagePage/utils/value_formatters";
 
 import { buildSummaryTiles, type SummaryTile } from "../EntityUsage/entityUsageSummary";
 import type { EntityList } from "../EntityUsage/EntityUsage";
 import ProjectSpendBreakdown from "./ProjectSpendBreakdown";
-import { buildDailySpendSeries, buildProjectSpendBreakdown, summarizeProjectUsage } from "./projectUsageAggregations";
+import {
+  buildDailySpendSeries,
+  buildProjectSpendBreakdown,
+  humanizeBackendListMessage,
+  summarizeProjectUsage,
+} from "./projectUsageAggregations";
 
 interface ProjectUsageProps {
   accessToken: string | null;
@@ -55,7 +61,7 @@ const ProjectUsage: React.FC<ProjectUsageProps> = ({ accessToken, projectList, d
     enabled,
     placeholderData: keepPreviousData,
   };
-  const { data, isFetching, isPlaceholderData } = useQuery(queryOptions);
+  const { data, isPending, isFetching, isPlaceholderData, isError, error } = useQuery(queryOptions);
 
   if (!premiumUser) {
     return (
@@ -76,7 +82,79 @@ const ProjectUsage: React.FC<ProjectUsageProps> = ({ accessToken, projectList, d
   const summary = summarizeProjectUsage(rows);
   const dailySpend = buildDailySpendSeries(rows);
   const projectBreakdown = buildProjectSpendBreakdown(rows);
-  const isLoadingRows = isFetching && !isPlaceholderData;
+  const isLoadingRows = isPending || (isFetching && isPlaceholderData);
+
+  const renderResultsPanel = () => {
+    if (!hasSelection) {
+      return (
+        <div className="col-span-2">
+          <ShadcnCard>
+            <CardContent>
+              <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground py-8 text-center">
+                Select at least one project above to view its usage.
+              </p>
+            </CardContent>
+          </ShadcnCard>
+        </div>
+      );
+    }
+
+    if (isError) {
+      return (
+        <div className="col-span-2">
+          <Alert variant="error">
+            <AlertTitle>Could not load project usage</AlertTitle>
+            <AlertDescription>{humanizeBackendListMessage(extractProxyErrorMessage(error))}</AlertDescription>
+          </Alert>
+        </div>
+      );
+    }
+
+    return (
+      <>
+        <div className="col-span-2">
+          <ShadcnCard>
+            <CardContent>
+              <h3 className="text-lg font-medium text-foreground">Project Spend Overview</h3>
+              {isLoadingRows ? (
+                <ChartLoader isDateChanging={false} />
+              ) : (
+                <div className="grid grid-cols-5 gap-4 mt-4">
+                  {buildSummaryTiles(summary, false).map(renderSummaryTile)}
+                </div>
+              )}
+            </CardContent>
+          </ShadcnCard>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="col-span-2">
+          <ShadcnCard>
+            <CardHeader>
+              <CardTitle className="text-base font-semibold">Daily Spend</CardTitle>
+            </CardHeader>
+            <CardContent>
+              {isLoadingRows ? (
+                <ChartLoader isDateChanging={false} />
+              ) : (
+                <BarChart
+                  data={dailySpend}
+                  index="date"
+                  categories={["spend"]}
+                  colors={["cyan"]}
+                  valueFormatter={valueFormatterSpend}
+                  yAxisWidth={100}
+                />
+              )}
+            </CardContent>
+          </ShadcnCard>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="col-span-2">
+          <ProjectSpendBreakdown loading={isLoadingRows} isDateChanging={false} projectSpend={projectBreakdown} />
+        </div>
+      </>
+    );
+  };
 
   return (
     <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-2 w-full">
@@ -101,56 +179,7 @@ const ProjectUsage: React.FC<ProjectUsageProps> = ({ accessToken, projectList, d
         </ShadcnCard>
       </div>
 
-      {!hasSelection ? (
-        <div className="col-span-2">
-          <ShadcnCard>
-            <CardContent>
-              <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground py-8 text-center">
-                Select at least one project above to view its usage.
-              </p>
-            </CardContent>
-          </ShadcnCard>
-        </div>
-      ) : (
-        <>
-          <div className="col-span-2">
-            <ShadcnCard>
-              <CardContent>
-                <h3 className="text-lg font-medium text-foreground">Project Spend Overview</h3>
-                <div className="grid grid-cols-5 gap-4 mt-4">
-                  {buildSummaryTiles(summary, false).map(renderSummaryTile)}
-                </div>
-              </CardContent>
-            </ShadcnCard>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="col-span-2">
-            <ShadcnCard>
-              <CardHeader>
-                <CardTitle className="text-base font-semibold">Daily Spend</CardTitle>
-              </CardHeader>
-              <CardContent>
-                {isLoadingRows ? (
-                  <ChartLoader isDateChanging={false} />
-                ) : (
-                  <BarChart
-                    data={dailySpend}
-                    index="date"
-                    categories={["spend"]}
-                    colors={["cyan"]}
-                    valueFormatter={valueFormatterSpend}
-                    yAxisWidth={100}
-                  />
-                )}
-              </CardContent>
-            </ShadcnCard>
-          </div>
-
-          <div className="col-span-2">
-            <ProjectSpendBreakdown loading={isLoadingRows} isDateChanging={false} projectSpend={projectBreakdown} />
-          </div>
-        </>
-      )}
+      {renderResultsPanel()}
     </div>
   );
 };
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.test.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.test.ts
index 090ee973dd4..c95747f7a7f 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.test.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.test.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 import type { ProjectDailySpendRow } from "@/components/networking";
 
-import { buildDailySpendSeries, buildProjectSpendBreakdown, summarizeProjectUsage } from "./projectUsageAggregations";
+import {
+  buildDailySpendSeries,
+  buildProjectSpendBreakdown,
+  humanizeBackendListMessage,
+  summarizeProjectUsage,
+} from "./projectUsageAggregations";
 
 const row = (overrides: Partial<ProjectDailySpendRow> = {}): ProjectDailySpendRow => ({
   date: "2026-09-01",
@@ -103,4 +108,41 @@ describe("buildProjectSpendBreakdown", () => {
 
     expect(buildProjectSpendBreakdown(rows)[0].project_alias).toBe("project-untitled");
   });
+
+  it("disambiguates two projects that share the same human-set alias", () => {
+    const rows = [
+      row({ project_id: "project-one", project_alias: "Production" }),
+      row({ project_id: "project-two", project_alias: "Production" }),
+    ];
+
+    const aliases = buildProjectSpendBreakdown(rows).map((r) => r.project_alias);
+    expect(new Set(aliases).size).toBe(2);
+    expect(aliases.every((alias) => alias.includes("Production"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves a unique alias untouched", () => {
+    const rows = [row({ project_id: "project-alpha", project_alias: "Project Alpha" })];
+
+    expect(buildProjectSpendBreakdown(rows)[0].project_alias).toBe("Project Alpha");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("humanizeBackendListMessage", () => {
+  it("strips a single-quoted Python list down to plain text", () => {
+    expect(humanizeBackendListMessage("Project(s) not found: ['proj-123']")).toBe(
+      "Project(s) not found: proj-123",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("comma-joins a multi-item Python list", () => {
+    expect(humanizeBackendListMessage("Project(s) not found: ['proj-1', 'proj-2']")).toBe(
+      "Project(s) not found: proj-1, proj-2",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("leaves a message with no trailing list untouched", () => {
+    expect(humanizeBackendListMessage("Not authorized to view this project")).toBe(
+      "Not authorized to view this project",
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.ts b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.ts
index 8a0422fbadf..a94b3aa67e4 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.ts
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/ProjectUsage/projectUsageAggregations.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import type { ProjectDailySpendRow } from "@/components/networking";
 
-/** One row per project, summed across the whole range: the shape the breakdown table and donut chart render. */
 export interface ProjectSpendRow extends Record<string, unknown> {
   project_id: string;
   project_alias: string;
@@ -11,7 +10,6 @@ export interface ProjectSpendRow extends Record<string, unknown> {
   tokens: number;
 }
 
-/** One point per day, spend summed across every selected project: the shape the daily spend chart renders. */
 export interface DailyProjectSpendPoint extends Record<string, unknown> {
   date: string;
   spend: number;
@@ -33,7 +31,6 @@ const EMPTY_SUMMARY: ProjectUsageSummary = {
   total_tokens: 0,
 };
 
-/** Aggregate totals across every row, for the summary tiles. */
 export const summarizeProjectUsage = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): ProjectUsageSummary =>
   rows.reduce(
     (totals, row) => ({
@@ -46,41 +43,54 @@ export const summarizeProjectUsage = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): ProjectUsag
     EMPTY_SUMMARY,
   );
 
-/** One point per day, spend summed across every selected project, sorted oldest first. */
 export const buildDailySpendSeries = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): DailyProjectSpendPoint[] => {
-  const spendByDate = new Map<string, number>();
-  rows.forEach((row) => {
-    spendByDate.set(row.date, (spendByDate.get(row.date) ?? 0) + row.spend);
-  });
-  return Array.from(spendByDate, ([date, spend]) => ({ date, spend })).sort((a, b) => a.date.localeCompare(b.date));
+  const spendByDate = rows.reduce<Record<string, number>>(
+    (totals, row) => ({ ...totals, [row.date]: (totals[row.date] ?? 0) + row.spend }),
+    {},
+  );
+  return Object.entries(spendByDate)
+    .map(([date, spend]) => ({ date, spend }))
+    .sort((a, b) => a.date.localeCompare(b.date));
 };
 
-/**
- * One row per project, spend/tokens/requests summed across the whole range, sorted by
- * spend descending like every other "top X" breakdown on the usage page.
- */
-export const buildProjectSpendBreakdown = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): ProjectSpendRow[] => {
-  const byProject = new Map<string, ProjectSpendRow>();
-  rows.forEach((row) => {
-    const existing = byProject.get(row.project_id);
-    if (existing) {
-      existing.spend += row.spend;
-      existing.requests += row.api_requests;
-      existing.successful_requests += row.successful_requests;
-      existing.failed_requests += row.failed_requests;
-      existing.tokens += row.total_tokens;
-      return;
-    }
-    const newRow: ProjectSpendRow = {
-      project_id: row.project_id,
-      project_alias: row.project_alias || row.project_id,
-      spend: row.spend,
-      requests: row.api_requests,
-      successful_requests: row.successful_requests,
-      failed_requests: row.failed_requests,
-      tokens: row.total_tokens,
-    };
-    byProject.set(row.project_id, newRow);
-  });
-  return Array.from(byProject.values()).sort((a, b) => b.spend - a.spend);
+const groupByProjectId = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): Record<string, ProjectDailySpendRow[]> =>
+  rows.reduce<Record<string, ProjectDailySpendRow[]>>(
+    (groups, row) => ({ ...groups, [row.project_id]: [...(groups[row.project_id] ?? []), row] }),
+    {},
+  );
+
+const summarizeProjectGroup = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): ProjectSpendRow => {
+  const [{ project_id, project_alias }] = rows;
+  const totals = rows.reduce(
+    (acc, row) => ({
+      spend: acc.spend + row.spend,
+      requests: acc.requests + row.api_requests,
+      successful_requests: acc.successful_requests + row.successful_requests,
+      failed_requests: acc.failed_requests + row.failed_requests,
+      tokens: acc.tokens + row.total_tokens,
+    }),
+    { spend: 0, requests: 0, successful_requests: 0, failed_requests: 0, tokens: 0 },
+  );
+  return { project_id, project_alias: project_alias || project_id, ...totals };
 };
+
+const disambiguateAliases = (rows: ProjectSpendRow[]): ProjectSpendRow[] => {
+  const aliasCounts = rows.reduce<Record<string, number>>(
+    (counts, row) => ({ ...counts, [row.project_alias]: (counts[row.project_alias] ?? 0) + 1 }),
+    {},
+  );
+  return rows.map((row) =>
+    aliasCounts[row.project_alias] > 1 ? { ...row, project_alias: `${row.project_alias} (${row.project_id})` } : row,
+  );
+};
+
+export const buildProjectSpendBreakdown = (rows: ProjectDailySpendRow[]): ProjectSpendRow[] => {
+  const summarized = Object.values(groupByProjectId(rows)).map(summarizeProjectGroup);
+  return disambiguateAliases(summarized).sort((a, b) => b.spend - a.spend);
+};
+
+export const humanizeBackendListMessage = (message: string): string =>
+  message.replace(/\[([^\]]*)]\s*$/, (_match, listContents: string) => {
+    const items = [...listContents.matchAll(/'([^']*)'|"([^"]*)"/g)].map((m) => m[1] ?? m[2]);
+    return items.length > 0 ? items.join(", ") : listContents;
+  });
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/UsagePageView.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/UsagePageView.tsx
index 55aae0940a0..b6ca7397677 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/UsagePageView.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/app/(dashboard)/usage/_components/components/UsagePageView.tsx
@@ -121,12 +121,10 @@ const UsagePage: React.FC<UsagePageProps> = ({ teams, organizations }) => {
   const [isGlobalExportModalOpen, setIsGlobalExportModalOpen] = useState(false);
   const [isAiChatOpen, setIsAiChatOpen] = useState(false);
   const [selectedUsageView, setUsageView] = useState<UsageOption>("global");
-  // Org-admin membership is read from the server, so unlike the other usage
-  // views this one can be revoked while the page is open. Derive the view in
-  // render rather than storing it, so the fallback lands on the same paint and
-  // the selector never holds a value it no longer offers.
-  const usageView: UsageOption =
-    selectedUsageView === "organization" && !canViewOrganizationUsage ? "global" : selectedUsageView;
+  const stillHasAccessToSelectedView =
+    (selectedUsageView !== "organization" || canViewOrganizationUsage) &&
+    (selectedUsageView !== "project" || canViewProjectUsage);
+  const usageView: UsageOption = stillHasAccessToSelectedView ? selectedUsageView : "global";
 
   const [showCredentialBanner, setShowCredentialBanner] = useState(true);
   const [topKeysLimit, setTopKeysLimit] = useState<number>(5);
diff --git a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/networking.tsx b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/networking.tsx
index 21c71f9a774..67ddb5d2dba 100644
--- a/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/networking.tsx
+++ b/ui/litellm-dashboard/src/components/networking.tsx
@@ -1632,14 +1632,6 @@ export const projectDailyActivityCall = async (
   endTime: Date,
   projectIds: string[],
 ): Promise<ProjectDailySpendResponse> => {
-  /**
-   * Get daily spend per project from /project/daily/activity.
-   *
-   * Unlike team/user/tag/agent, there is no daily-aggregated project spend
-   * table, so this scans spend logs directly and returns the whole range in
-   * one response instead of paginating. project_ids is comma-joined because
-   * the endpoint takes a single string, not repeated query params.
-   */
   try {
     return await apiClient.get<ProjectDailySpendResponse>(`/project/daily/activity`, {
       accessToken,