diff --git a/projects/plugins/jetpack/changelog/fix-photon-on-vip b/projects/plugins/jetpack/changelog/fix-photon-on-vip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5d205154e23f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/plugins/jetpack/changelog/fix-photon-on-vip
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Significance: patch
+Type: other
+
+Photon: Ensure VIP sites are correctly identified, to prevent unnecessary early Photonization of URLs.
diff --git a/projects/plugins/jetpack/class.jetpack-gutenberg.php b/projects/plugins/jetpack/class.jetpack-gutenberg.php
index ee8d7ddb4e3cc..aede14da9b1e1 100644
--- a/projects/plugins/jetpack/class.jetpack-gutenberg.php
+++ b/projects/plugins/jetpack/class.jetpack-gutenberg.php
@@ -715,6 +715,7 @@ public static function enqueue_block_editor_assets() {
 			$modules              = $module_list_endpoint->get_modules();
 		}
 
+		$jetpack_plan  = Jetpack_Plan::get();
 		$initial_state = array(
 			'available_blocks'    => self::get_availability(),
 			'blocks_variation'    => $blocks_variation,
@@ -731,6 +732,9 @@ public static function enqueue_block_editor_assets() {
 				// this is the equivalent of JP initial state siteData.showMyJetpack (class-jetpack-redux-state-helper)
 				// used to determine if we can link to My Jetpack from the block editor
 				'is_my_jetpack_available'       => My_Jetpack_Initializer::should_initialize(),
+				'jetpack_plan'                  => array(
+					'data' => $jetpack_plan['product_slug'],
+				),
 				/**
 				 * Enable the RePublicize UI in the block editor context.
 				 *
diff --git a/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery.php b/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery.php
index 3be4604368cef..33b925fc2f0f5 100644
--- a/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery.php
+++ b/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/tiled-gallery.php
@@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ public static function render( $attr, $content ) {
 		Jetpack_Gutenberg::load_assets_as_required( __DIR__ );
 
 		$is_squareish_layout = self::is_squareish_layout( $attr );
-
+		// For backward compatibility (ensuring Tiled Galleries using now deprecated versions of the block are not affected).
+		// See isVIP() in utils/index.js.
 		$jetpack_plan = Jetpack_Plan::get();
 		wp_localize_script( 'jetpack-gallery-settings', 'jetpack_plan', array( 'data' => $jetpack_plan['product_slug'] ) );
 
diff --git a/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/utils/index.js b/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/utils/index.js
index 9a4e4f2ac3c6e..3de6ec8bdd0df 100644
--- a/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/utils/index.js
+++ b/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/tiled-gallery/utils/index.js
@@ -4,11 +4,23 @@ import {
 	isSimpleSite,
 } from '@automattic/jetpack-shared-extension-utils';
 import { isBlobURL } from '@wordpress/blob';
+import { select } from '@wordpress/data';
 import { range } from 'lodash';
 import photon from 'photon';
 import isOfflineMode from '../../../shared/is-offline-mode';
 import { PHOTON_MAX_RESIZE } from '../constants';
 
+let jetpackPlanFromState;
+
+window.addEventListener( 'load', function () {
+	const hasImageCompare = select( 'core/block-editor' )
+		.getBlocks()
+		.some( block => block.name === 'jetpack/image-compare' );
+	if ( hasImageCompare && ! jetpackPlanFromState ) {
+		jetpackPlanFromState = window?.Jetpack_Editor_Initial_State?.jetpack?.jetpack_plan;
+	}
+} );
+
 export function isSquareishLayout( layout ) {
 	return [ 'circle', 'square' ].includes( layout );
 }
@@ -112,9 +124,14 @@ export function photonizedImgProps( img, galleryAtts = {} ) {
 }
 function isVIP() {
 	/*global jetpack_plan*/
-	if ( typeof jetpack_plan !== 'undefined' && jetpack_plan.data === 'vip' ) {
-		return true;
+	// Use `jetpackPlanFromState` if available, otherwise fall back to `jetpack_plan` defined within the render function in tiled-gallery.php.
+	let jetpackPlan;
+	if ( typeof jetpackPlanFromState !== 'undefined' ) {
+		jetpackPlan = jetpackPlanFromState;
+	} else if ( typeof jetpack_plan !== 'undefined' ) {
+		jetpackPlan = jetpack_plan;
 	}
+	return jetpackPlan && jetpackPlan?.data === 'vip';
 }
 
 /**