diff --git a/core/translate/expr.rs b/core/translate/expr.rs
index 958005259..6a9b7040b 100644
--- a/core/translate/expr.rs
+++ b/core/translate/expr.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use limbo_sqlite3_parser::ast::{self, UnaryOperator};
 use crate::function::JsonFunc;
 use crate::function::{Func, FuncCtx, MathFuncArity, ScalarFunc, VectorFunc};
 use crate::schema::{Table, Type};
-use crate::util::normalize_ident;
+use crate::util::{exprs_are_equivalent, normalize_ident};
 use crate::vdbe::{
     builder::ProgramBuilder,
     insn::{CmpInsFlags, Insn},
@@ -494,8 +494,8 @@ pub fn translate_expr(
     match expr {
         ast::Expr::Between { .. } => todo!(),
         ast::Expr::Binary(e1, op, e2) => {
-            // Check if both sides of the expression are identical and reuse the same register if so
-            if e1 == e2 {
+            // Check if both sides of the expression are equivalent and reuse the same register if so
+            if exprs_are_equivalent(e1, e2) {
                 let shared_reg = program.alloc_register();
                 translate_expr(program, referenced_tables, e1, shared_reg, resolver)?;
 
diff --git a/core/util.rs b/core/util.rs
index 3d12a2c6e..80a52f387 100644
--- a/core/util.rs
+++ b/core/util.rs
@@ -399,7 +399,11 @@ pub fn exprs_are_equivalent(expr1: &Expr, expr2: &Expr) -> bool {
         (Expr::Unary(op1, expr1), Expr::Unary(op2, expr2)) => {
             op1 == op2 && exprs_are_equivalent(expr1, expr2)
         }
-        (Expr::Variable(var1), Expr::Variable(var2)) => var1 == var2,
+        // Variables that are not bound to a specific value, are treated as NULL
+        // https://sqlite.org/lang_expr.html#varparam
+        (Expr::Variable(var), Expr::Variable(var2)) if var == "" && var2 == "" => false,
+        // Named variables can be compared by their name
+        (Expr::Variable(val), Expr::Variable(val2)) => val == val2,
         (Expr::Parenthesized(exprs1), Expr::Parenthesized(exprs2)) => {
             exprs1.len() == exprs2.len()
                 && exprs1
@@ -945,6 +949,24 @@ pub mod tests {
         assert_eq!(normalize_ident("\"foo\""), "foo");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_anonymous_variable_comparison() {
+        let expr1 = Expr::Variable("".to_string());
+        let expr2 = Expr::Variable("".to_string());
+        assert!(!exprs_are_equivalent(&expr1, &expr2));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_named_variable_comparison() {
+        let expr1 = Expr::Variable("1".to_string());
+        let expr2 = Expr::Variable("1".to_string());
+        assert!(exprs_are_equivalent(&expr1, &expr2));
+
+        let expr1 = Expr::Variable("1".to_string());
+        let expr2 = Expr::Variable("2".to_string());
+        assert!(!exprs_are_equivalent(&expr1, &expr2));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_basic_addition_exprs_are_equivalent() {
         let expr1 = Expr::Binary(