diff --git a/README-sse.md b/README-sse.md
index ebfbb093..f5bb548f 100644
--- a/README-sse.md
+++ b/README-sse.md
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ sse.set_max_reconnect_attempts(10);
 sse.set_headers({{"Authorization", "Bearer new_token"}});
 ```
 
-An event, or a line still waiting for its end, longer than `CPPHTTPLIB_SSE_MAX_EVENT_LENGTH` (16MB by default, `0` for no limit) ends the connection with `Error::ExceedMaxPayloadSize`, and the client stops rather than reconnect to the same event. The whole stream also counts against the client's `set_payload_max_length()` (100MB by default), so set it to `0` for a long-lived stream.
+An event, or a line still waiting for its end, longer than `CPPHTTPLIB_SSE_MAX_EVENT_LENGTH` (16MB by default, `0` for no limit) ends the connection with `Error::ExceedMaxPayloadSize`, and the client stops rather than reconnect to the same event. The client's `set_payload_max_length()` does not apply to the stream as a whole, which has no end.
 
 #### Control
 
diff --git a/httplib.h b/httplib.h
index c3a85a98..b0ccd761 100644
--- a/httplib.h
+++ b/httplib.h
@@ -593,6 +593,10 @@ namespace ws {
 class WebSocket;
 } // namespace ws
 
+namespace sse {
+class SSEClient;
+} // namespace sse
+
 namespace detail {
 
 /*
@@ -2752,6 +2756,7 @@ public:
 
   private:
     friend class ClientImpl;
+    friend class sse::SSEClient;
 
     ssize_t read_with_decompression(char *buf, size_t len);
 
@@ -5020,8 +5025,11 @@ inline void SSEClient::run_event_loop() {
       request_headers.emplace("Last-Event-ID", last_event_id_);
     }
 
-    // Open streaming connection
-    auto result = stream::Get(client_, path_, request_headers);
+    // Open streaming connection. An event stream has no end, so each event is
+    // bounded instead of the whole body.
+    auto handle = client_.open_stream("GET", path_, {}, request_headers);
+    handle.body_reader_.payload_max_length = 0;
+    stream::Result result{std::move(handle)};
 
     // Connection error handling
     if (!result) {
diff --git a/test/test.cc b/test/test.cc
index 56f89c2e..b5030df1 100644
--- a/test/test.cc
+++ b/test/test.cc
@@ -24623,9 +24623,6 @@ TEST_F(SSEIntegrationTest, TooLongEventEndsTheConnection) {
   });
 
   Client client("localhost", get_port());
-  // Lift the payload limit, so that only the event limit can end this endless
-  // stream.
-  client.set_payload_max_length(0);
   sse::SSEClient sse(client, "/endless-line");
   std::atomic<bool> too_long{false};
   sse.on_error([&](Error err) {
@@ -24641,6 +24638,42 @@ TEST_F(SSEIntegrationTest, TooLongEventEndsTheConnection) {
   EXPECT_TRUE(too_long);
 }
 
+TEST_F(SSEIntegrationTest, PayloadLimitDoesNotEndTheStream) {
+  // Far more in all than the client's payload limit below.
+  server_->Get("/many-events", [](const Request &, Response &res) {
+    res.set_chunked_content_provider(
+        "text/event-stream", [](size_t offset, DataSink &sink) {
+          if (offset == 0) {
+            std::string events;
+            for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) {
+              events += "data: message\n\n";
+            }
+            sink.write(events.data(), events.size());
+          }
+          return false;
+        });
+  });
+
+  Client client("localhost", get_port());
+  client.set_payload_max_length(1024);
+  sse::SSEClient sse(client, "/many-events");
+  std::atomic<int> messages{0};
+  std::atomic<bool> too_large{false};
+  sse.on_message([&](const sse::SSEMessage &) { messages++; });
+  sse.on_error([&](Error err) {
+    if (err == Error::ExceedMaxPayloadSize) { too_large = true; }
+  });
+  sse.set_max_reconnect_attempts(1);
+  sse.start_async();
+
+  for (int i = 0; i < 500 && messages < 1000; i++) {
+    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(10));
+  }
+  sse.stop();
+  EXPECT_GE(messages.load(), 1000);
+  EXPECT_FALSE(too_large);
+}
+
 // Test: on_message callback
 TEST_F(SSEIntegrationTest, OnMessageCallback) {
   // Endpoint that sends multiple events then closes