diff --git a/server/lib/readConfigFile.ts b/server/lib/readConfigFile.ts
index b9f90d46..5d8500b4 100644
--- a/server/lib/readConfigFile.ts
+++ b/server/lib/readConfigFile.ts
@@ -162,6 +162,7 @@ export const configSchema = z
         gerbil: z
             .object({
                 exit_node_name: z.string().optional(),
+                max_connections: z.number().positive().gt(0).optional(),
                 start_port: portSchema
                     .optional()
                     .default(51820)
diff --git a/server/routers/newt/handleNewtPingRequestMessage.ts b/server/routers/newt/handleNewtPingRequestMessage.ts
index 70bb52c3..946152a8 100644
--- a/server/routers/newt/handleNewtPingRequestMessage.ts
+++ b/server/routers/newt/handleNewtPingRequestMessage.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
-import { db } from "@server/db";
+import { db, sites } from "@server/db";
 import { MessageHandler } from "../ws";
 import { exitNodes, Newt } from "@server/db";
 import logger from "@server/logger";
+import config from "@server/lib/config";
+import { eq, and, count } from "drizzle-orm";
 
 export const handleNewtPingRequestMessage: MessageHandler = async (context) => {
     const { message, client, sendToClient } = context;
@@ -15,18 +17,41 @@ export const handleNewtPingRequestMessage: MessageHandler = async (context) => {
     }
 
     // TODO: pick which nodes to send and ping better than just all of them
-    const exitNodesList = await db
-        .select()
-        .from(exitNodes);
+    const exitNodesList = await db.select().from(exitNodes);
 
-    const exitNodesPayload = exitNodesList.map((node) => ({
-        exitNodeId: node.exitNodeId,
-        exitNodeName: node.name,
-        endpoint: node.endpoint,
-        weight: 1 // TODO: Implement weight calculation if needed depending on load
-        // (MAX_CONNECTIONS - current_connections) / MAX_CONNECTIONS)
-        // higher = more desirable
-    }));
+    const exitNodesPayload = await Promise.all(
+        exitNodesList.map(async (node) => {
+            // (MAX_CONNECTIONS - current_connections) / MAX_CONNECTIONS)
+            // higher = more desirable
+
+            let weight = 1;
+            const maxConnections = config.getRawConfig().gerbil.max_connections;
+            if (maxConnections !== undefined) {
+                const [currentConnections] = await db
+                    .select({
+                        count: count()
+                    })
+                    .from(sites)
+                    .where(
+                        and(
+                            eq(sites.exitNodeId, node.exitNodeId),
+                            eq(sites.online, true)
+                        )
+                    );
+
+                weight =
+                    (maxConnections - currentConnections.count) /
+                    maxConnections;
+            }
+
+            return {
+                exitNodeId: node.exitNodeId,
+                exitNodeName: node.name,
+                endpoint: node.endpoint,
+                weight
+            };
+        })
+    );
 
     return {
         message: {