diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index 8e4d14a165f..d63daae50dc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -45,12 +45,13 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v8.2.0\...main[Check the HEAD diff]
 - Support for multiline zookeeper logs {issue}2496[2496]
 - Allow `clock_nanosleep` in the default seccomp profiles for amd64 and 386. Newer versions of glibc (e.g. 2.31) require it. {issue}33792[33792]
 - Disable lockfile when running under elastic-agent. {pull}33988[33988]
+- Add checks to ensure reloading of units if the configuration actually changed. {pull}34346[34346]
 
 *Auditbeat*
 
 
 *Filebeat*
-- [GCS] Added support for more mime types & introduced offset tracking via cursor state. Also added support for 
+- [GCS] Added support for more mime types & introduced offset tracking via cursor state. Also added support for
    automatic splitting at root level, if root level element is an array. {pull}34155[34155]
 - [httpsjon] Improved error handling during pagination with chaining & split processor {pull}34127[34127]
 - [Azure blob storage] Added support for more mime types & introduced offset tracking via cursor state. {pull}33981[33981]
diff --git a/x-pack/libbeat/management/managerV2.go b/x-pack/libbeat/management/managerV2.go
index 70c196e347a..fbca2c28032 100644
--- a/x-pack/libbeat/management/managerV2.go
+++ b/x-pack/libbeat/management/managerV2.go
@@ -13,18 +13,19 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-client/v7/pkg/client"
+	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-client/v7/pkg/proto"
+	conf "github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs/config"
+	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs/logp"
+	"github.com/gofrs/uuid"
 	"github.com/joeshaw/multierror"
 	"go.uber.org/zap/zapcore"
-
-	"github.com/gofrs/uuid"
+	gproto "google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
 
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common/reload"
 	lbmanagement "github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/management"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/version"
-	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-client/v7/pkg/client"
-	conf "github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs/config"
-	"github.com/elastic/elastic-agent-libs/logp"
 )
 
 // unitKey is used to identify a unique unit in a map
@@ -66,13 +67,17 @@ type BeatV2Manager struct {
 
 	isRunning bool
 
-	// is set on first instance of a config reload,
-	// allowing us to restart the beat if stopOnOutputReload is set
-	outputIsConfigured bool
+	// set with the last applied output config
+	// allows tracking if the configuration actually changed and if the
+	// beat needs to restart if stopOnOutputReload is set
+	lastOutputCfg *proto.UnitExpectedConfig
+
+	// set with the last applied input configs
+	lastInputCfgs map[string]*proto.UnitExpectedConfig
 
 	// used for the debug callback to report as-running config
-	lastOutputCfg *reload.ConfigWithMeta
-	lastInputCfg  []*reload.ConfigWithMeta
+	lastBeatOutputCfg *reload.ConfigWithMeta
+	lastBeatInputCfgs []*reload.ConfigWithMeta
 }
 
 // ================================
@@ -496,22 +501,31 @@ func (cm *BeatV2Manager) reloadOutput(unit *client.Unit) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to reload output: %w", err)
 		}
 		cm.lastOutputCfg = nil
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	if cm.stopOnOutputReload && cm.outputIsConfigured {
-		cm.logger.Info("beat is restarting because output changed")
-		_ = unit.UpdateState(client.UnitStateStopping, "Restarting", nil)
-		cm.Stop()
+		cm.lastBeatOutputCfg = nil
 		return nil
 	}
 
 	_, _, rawConfig := unit.Expected()
 	if rawConfig == nil {
+		// should not happen; hard stop
 		return fmt.Errorf("output unit has no config")
 	}
+
+	if cm.lastOutputCfg != nil && gproto.Equal(cm.lastOutputCfg, rawConfig) {
+		// configuration for the output did not change; do nothing
+		cm.logger.Debug("Skipped reloading output; configuration didn't change")
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	cm.logger.Debugf("Got output unit config '%s'", rawConfig.GetId())
 
+	if cm.stopOnOutputReload && cm.lastOutputCfg != nil {
+		cm.logger.Info("beat is restarting because output changed")
+		_ = unit.UpdateState(client.UnitStateStopping, "Restarting", nil)
+		cm.Stop()
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	reloadConfig, err := groupByOutputs(rawConfig)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to generate config for output: %w", err)
@@ -521,9 +535,8 @@ func (cm *BeatV2Manager) reloadOutput(unit *client.Unit) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to reload output: %w", err)
 	}
-	cm.lastOutputCfg = reloadConfig
-	// set to true, we'll reload the output if we need to re-configure
-	cm.outputIsConfigured = true
+	cm.lastOutputCfg = rawConfig
+	cm.lastBeatOutputCfg = reloadConfig
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -533,22 +546,40 @@ func (cm *BeatV2Manager) reloadInputs(inputUnits []*client.Unit) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to find beat reloadable type 'input'")
 	}
 
-	var inputCfgs []*reload.ConfigWithMeta
+	inputCfgs := make(map[string]*proto.UnitExpectedConfig, len(inputUnits))
+	inputBeatCfgs := make([]*reload.ConfigWithMeta, 0, len(inputUnits))
 	agentInfo := cm.client.AgentInfo()
 	for _, unit := range inputUnits {
 		_, _, rawConfig := unit.Expected()
+		if rawConfig == nil {
+			// should not happen; hard stop
+			return fmt.Errorf("input unit %s has no config", unit.ID())
+		}
+
+		var prevCfg *proto.UnitExpectedConfig
+		if cm.lastInputCfgs != nil {
+			prevCfg, _ = cm.lastInputCfgs[unit.ID()]
+		}
+		if prevCfg != nil && gproto.Equal(prevCfg, rawConfig) {
+			// configuration for the input did not change; do nothing
+			cm.logger.Debugf("Skipped reloading input unit %s; configuration didn't change", unit.ID())
+			continue
+		}
+
 		inputCfg, err := generateBeatConfig(rawConfig, agentInfo)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to generate configuration for unit %s: %w", unit.ID(), err)
 		}
-		inputCfgs = append(inputCfgs, inputCfg...)
+		inputCfgs[unit.ID()] = rawConfig
+		inputBeatCfgs = append(inputBeatCfgs, inputCfg...)
 	}
 
-	err := obj.Reload(inputCfgs)
+	err := obj.Reload(inputBeatCfgs)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to reloading inputs: %w", err)
 	}
-	cm.lastInputCfg = inputCfgs
+	cm.lastInputCfgs = inputCfgs
+	cm.lastBeatInputCfgs = inputBeatCfgs
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -557,7 +588,7 @@ func (cm *BeatV2Manager) reloadInputs(inputUnits []*client.Unit) error {
 func (cm *BeatV2Manager) handleDebugYaml() []byte {
 	// generate input
 	inputList := []map[string]interface{}{}
-	for _, module := range cm.lastInputCfg {
+	for _, module := range cm.lastBeatInputCfgs {
 		var inputMap map[string]interface{}
 		err := module.Config.Unpack(&inputMap)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -569,8 +600,8 @@ func (cm *BeatV2Manager) handleDebugYaml() []byte {
 
 	// generate output
 	outputCfg := map[string]interface{}{}
-	if cm.lastOutputCfg != nil {
-		err := cm.lastOutputCfg.Config.Unpack(&outputCfg)
+	if cm.lastBeatOutputCfg != nil {
+		err := cm.lastBeatOutputCfg.Config.Unpack(&outputCfg)
 		if err != nil {
 			cm.logger.Errorf("error unpacking output config for debug callback: %s", err)
 			return nil