diff --git a/include/dsn/utility/metrics.h b/include/dsn/utility/metrics.h
index 06e76017f..7c1f47900 100644
--- a/include/dsn/utility/metrics.h
+++ b/include/dsn/utility/metrics.h
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include <dsn/utility/autoref_ptr.h>
 #include <dsn/utility/casts.h>
 #include <dsn/utility/enum_helper.h>
+#include <dsn/utility/long_adder.h>
 #include <dsn/utility/ports.h>
 #include <dsn/utility/singleton.h>
 #include <dsn/utility/string_view.h>
@@ -68,11 +69,27 @@
     ::dsn::gauge_prototype<int64_t> METRIC_##name({#entity_type, #name, unit, desc, ##__VA_ARGS__})
 #define METRIC_DEFINE_gauge_double(entity_type, name, unit, desc, ...)                             \
     ::dsn::gauge_prototype<double> METRIC_##name({#entity_type, #name, unit, desc, ##__VA_ARGS__})
+// There are 2 kinds of counters:
+// - `counter` is the general type of counter that is implemented by striped_long_adder, which can
+//   achieve high performance while consuming less memory if it's not updated very frequently.
+// - `concurrent_counter` uses concurrent_long_adder as the underlying implementation. It has
+//   higher performance while consuming more memory if it's updated very frequently.
+// See also include/dsn/utility/long_adder.h for details.
+#define METRIC_DEFINE_counter(entity_type, name, unit, desc, ...)                                  \
+    ::dsn::counter_prototype<::dsn::striped_long_adder> METRIC_##name(                             \
+        {#entity_type, #name, unit, desc, ##__VA_ARGS__})
+#define METRIC_DEFINE_concurrent_counter(entity_type, name, unit, desc, ...)                       \
+    ::dsn::counter_prototype<::dsn::concurrent_long_adder> METRIC_##name(                          \
+        {#entity_type, #name, unit, desc, ##__VA_ARGS__})
 
 // The following macros act as forward declarations for entity types and metric prototypes.
 #define METRIC_DECLARE_entity(name) extern ::dsn::metric_entity_prototype METRIC_ENTITY_##name
 #define METRIC_DECLARE_gauge_int64(name) extern ::dsn::gauge_prototype<int64_t> METRIC_##name
 #define METRIC_DECLARE_gauge_double(name) extern ::dsn::gauge_prototype<double> METRIC_##name
+#define METRIC_DECLARE_counter(name)                                                               \
+    extern ::dsn::counter_prototype<::dsn::striped_long_adder> METRIC_##name
+#define METRIC_DECLARE_concurrent_counter(name)                                                    \
+    extern ::dsn::counter_prototype<::dsn::concurrent_long_adder> METRIC_##name
 
 namespace dsn {
 
@@ -176,6 +193,7 @@ enum class metric_unit
     kMicroSeconds,
     kMilliSeconds,
     kSeconds,
+    kRequests,
     kInvalidUnit,
 };
 
@@ -305,4 +323,40 @@ using gauge_ptr = ref_ptr<gauge<T>>;
 template <typename T>
 using gauge_prototype = metric_prototype_with<gauge<T>>;
 
+// A counter in essence is a 64-bit integer that can be incremented and decremented. It can be
+// used to measure the number of tasks in queues, current number of running manual compacts,
+// etc. All counters start out at 0.
+template <typename Adder = striped_long_adder>
+class counter : public metric
+{
+public:
+    int64_t value() const { return _adder.value(); }
+
+    void increment_by(int64_t x) { _adder.increment_by(x); }
+    void increment() { _adder.increment(); }
+    void decrement() { _adder.decrement(); }
+
+    void reset() { _adder.reset(); }
+
+protected:
+    counter(const metric_prototype *prototype) : metric(prototype) {}
+
+    virtual ~counter() = default;
+
+private:
+    friend class metric_entity;
+    friend class ref_ptr<counter<Adder>>;
+
+    long_adder_wrapper<Adder> _adder;
+
+    DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(counter);
+};
+
+template <typename Adder = striped_long_adder>
+using counter_ptr = ref_ptr<counter<Adder>>;
+using concurrent_counter_ptr = counter_ptr<concurrent_long_adder>;
+
+template <typename Adder = striped_long_adder>
+using counter_prototype = metric_prototype_with<counter<Adder>>;
+
 } // namespace dsn
diff --git a/src/utils/test/metrics_test.cpp b/src/utils/test/metrics_test.cpp
index e1b72e2b6..123661c88 100644
--- a/src/utils/test/metrics_test.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/test/metrics_test.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
 // under the License.
 
 #include <dsn/utility/metrics.h>
+#include <dsn/utility/rand.h>
+
+#include <thread>
+#include <vector>
 
 #include <gtest/gtest.h>
 
@@ -82,6 +86,16 @@ METRIC_DEFINE_gauge_double(my_server,
                            dsn::metric_unit::kSeconds,
                            "a server-level gauge of double type for test");
 
+METRIC_DEFINE_counter(my_server,
+                      test_counter,
+                      dsn::metric_unit::kRequests,
+                      "a server-level counter for test");
+
+METRIC_DEFINE_concurrent_counter(my_server,
+                                 test_concurrent_counter,
+                                 dsn::metric_unit::kRequests,
+                                 "a server-level concurrent_counter for test");
+
 namespace dsn {
 
 TEST(metrics_test, create_entity)
@@ -238,7 +252,6 @@ TEST(metrics_test, recreate_metric)
 
 TEST(metrics_test, gauge_int64)
 {
-
     // Test cases:
     // - create a gauge of int64 type without initial value, then increase
     // - create a gauge of int64 type without initial value, then decrease
@@ -280,7 +293,6 @@ TEST(metrics_test, gauge_int64)
 
 TEST(metrics_test, gauge_double)
 {
-
     // Test cases:
     // - create a gauge of double type without initial value, then increase
     // - create a gauge of double type without initial value, then decrease
@@ -313,11 +325,140 @@ TEST(metrics_test, gauge_double)
         ASSERT_DOUBLE_EQ(my_metric->value(), test.new_value);
 
         auto metrics = my_server_entity->metrics();
-        ASSERT_EQ(static_cast<metric *>(metrics[&METRIC_test_gauge_double].get()), my_metric.get());
+        ASSERT_EQ(metrics[&METRIC_test_gauge_double].get(), static_cast<metric *>(my_metric.get()));
 
         ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->prototype(),
                   static_cast<const metric_prototype *>(&METRIC_test_gauge_double));
     }
 }
 
+void execute(int64_t num_threads, std::function<void(int)> runner)
+{
+    std::vector<std::thread> threads;
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < num_threads; i++) {
+        threads.emplace_back([i, &runner]() { runner(i); });
+    }
+    for (auto &t : threads) {
+        t.join();
+    }
+}
+
+template <typename Adder>
+void run_counter_increment_by(::dsn::counter_ptr<Adder> &my_metric,
+                              int64_t base_value,
+                              int64_t num_operations,
+                              int64_t num_threads,
+                              int64_t &result)
+{
+    std::vector<int64_t> deltas;
+    int64_t n = num_operations * num_threads;
+    deltas.reserve(n);
+
+    int64_t expected_value = base_value;
+    for (int64_t i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
+        auto delta = static_cast<int64_t>(dsn::rand::next_u64(1000000));
+        if (delta % 3 == 0) {
+            delta = -delta;
+        }
+        expected_value += delta;
+        deltas.push_back(delta);
+    }
+
+    execute(num_threads, [num_operations, &my_metric, &deltas](int tid) mutable {
+        for (int64_t i = 0; i < num_operations; ++i) {
+            my_metric->increment_by(deltas[tid * num_operations + i]);
+        }
+    });
+    ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->value(), expected_value);
+    result = expected_value;
+}
+
+template <typename Adder>
+void run_counter_increment(::dsn::counter_ptr<Adder> &my_metric,
+                           int64_t base_value,
+                           int64_t num_operations,
+                           int64_t num_threads,
+                           int64_t &result)
+{
+    execute(num_threads, [num_operations, &my_metric](int) mutable {
+        for (int64_t i = 0; i < num_operations; ++i) {
+            my_metric->increment();
+        }
+    });
+
+    int64_t expected_value = base_value + num_operations * num_threads;
+    ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->value(), expected_value);
+    result = expected_value;
+}
+
+template <typename Adder>
+void run_counter_decrement(::dsn::counter_ptr<Adder> &my_metric,
+                           int64_t base_value,
+                           int64_t num_operations,
+                           int64_t num_threads,
+                           int64_t &result)
+{
+    execute(num_threads, [num_operations, &my_metric](int) mutable {
+        for (int64_t i = 0; i < num_operations; ++i) {
+            my_metric->decrement();
+        }
+    });
+
+    int64_t expected_value = base_value - num_operations * num_threads;
+    ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->value(), expected_value);
+    result = expected_value;
+}
+
+template <typename Adder>
+void run_counter_cases(::dsn::counter_prototype<Adder> *prototype, int64_t num_threads)
+{
+    // Test cases:
+    // - test the counter with small-scale computations
+    // - test the counter with large-scale computations
+    struct test_case
+    {
+        std::string entity_id;
+        int64_t increments_by;
+        int64_t increments;
+        int64_t decrements;
+    } tests[] = {{"server_9", 100, 1000, 1000}, {"server_10", 1000000, 10000000, 10000000}};
+
+    for (const auto &test : tests) {
+        auto my_server_entity = METRIC_ENTITY_my_server.instantiate(test.entity_id);
+
+        auto my_metric = prototype->instantiate(my_server_entity);
+
+        int64_t value = 0;
+        ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->value(), value);
+        run_counter_increment_by(my_metric, value, test.increments_by, num_threads, value);
+        run_counter_increment(my_metric, value, test.increments, num_threads, value);
+        run_counter_decrement(my_metric, value, test.decrements, num_threads, value);
+
+        my_metric->reset();
+        ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->value(), 0);
+
+        auto metrics = my_server_entity->metrics();
+        ASSERT_EQ(metrics[prototype].get(), static_cast<metric *>(my_metric.get()));
+
+        ASSERT_EQ(my_metric->prototype(), prototype);
+    }
+}
+
+template <typename Adder>
+void run_counter_cases(::dsn::counter_prototype<Adder> *prototype)
+{
+    // Do single-threaded tests
+    run_counter_cases(prototype, 1);
+
+    // Do multi-threaded tests
+    run_counter_cases(prototype, 4);
+}
+
+TEST(metrics_test, counter)
+{
+    // Test both kinds of counter
+    run_counter_cases<striped_long_adder>(&METRIC_test_counter);
+    run_counter_cases<concurrent_long_adder>(&METRIC_test_concurrent_counter);
+}
+
 } // namespace dsn