diff --git a/src/beet/contrib/output.py b/src/beet/contrib/output.py
index 48657e91f..19e278577 100644
--- a/src/beet/contrib/output.py
+++ b/src/beet/contrib/output.py
@@ -6,31 +6,114 @@
 ]
 
 
-from typing import Optional
+import filecmp
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
 
 from beet import Context, ListOption, PluginOptions, configurable
 from beet.core.utils import FileSystemPath, log_time_scope
+from beet.library.base import Pack, PackFile
+from beet.library.utils import list_files as list_dir_files
 
 
 class OutputOptions(PluginOptions):
-    directory: Optional[ListOption[FileSystemPath]] = None
+    directory: ListOption[FileSystemPath] | None = None
+    incremental: bool | None = None
 
 
 def beet_default(ctx: Context):
     ctx.require(output)
 
 
+def incremental_save(pack: Pack, output_path: Path) -> None:
+    """ Save a pack incrementally: delete removed files, write new/changed files, skip unchanged. """
+    # Build expected set: posix-style relative paths -> PackFile
+    expected: dict[str, PackFile] = dict(pack.list_files())
+
+    # Build disk set: posix-style relative paths currently on disk
+    disk_set: set[str] = set()
+    if output_path.is_dir():
+        for rel in list_dir_files(output_path):
+            disk_set.add(rel.as_posix())
+
+    # Delete files that are no longer present in the pack
+    deleted_files: set[str] = disk_set - expected.keys()
+    for rel_path in deleted_files:
+        disk_path: Path = output_path / rel_path
+        disk_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+
+    # Remove empty directories left after deletions (bottom-up)
+    for dirpath, _dirnames, _filenames in os.walk(output_path, topdown=False):
+        dir_obj = Path(dirpath)
+        if dir_obj == output_path:
+            continue
+        try:
+            dir_obj.rmdir()  # only succeeds if empty
+        except OSError:
+            pass  # not empty - leave it
+
+    # Ensure the root output directory exists
+    if output_path.exists() and not output_path.is_dir():
+        output_path.unlink()
+    output_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
+    # For each expected file, compare with disk and write if new/changed
+    for rel_path, pack_file in expected.items():
+        disk_path: Path = output_path / rel_path
+
+        # New file, write directly without comparison
+        if not disk_path.exists():
+            disk_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            pack_file.dump(output_path, rel_path)
+
+        # Existing file: compare before writing
+        else:
+            changed: bool = True
+            try:
+                # Fast path: if the pack file still points directly to a source path, avoid loading content into memory
+                if (
+                    pack_file.source_path is not None
+                    and pack_file.source_start is None
+                    and pack_file.source_stop is None
+                ):
+                    changed = not filecmp.cmp(pack_file.source_path, disk_path, shallow=False)
+                else:
+                    # Standard path: compare the **exact** serialized output against disk content.
+                    serialized: str | bytes = pack_file.ensure_serialized()
+                    if isinstance(serialized, str):
+                        encoding: str = getattr(pack_file, "encoding", None) or "utf-8"
+                        changed = disk_path.read_text(encoding=encoding) != serialized
+                    else:
+                        changed = disk_path.read_bytes() != serialized
+            except Exception:
+                changed = True  # Fallback to overwrite on any error
+
+            if changed:
+                pack_file.dump(output_path, rel_path)
+
+
 @configurable(validator=OutputOptions)
 def output(ctx: Context, opts: OutputOptions):
-    """Plugin that outputs the data pack and the resource pack in a local directory."""
+    """ Plugin that outputs the data pack and the resource pack in a local directory. """
     if opts.directory is None:
         return
 
-    paths = [ctx.directory / path for path in opts.directory.entries()]
-    packs = list(filter(None, ctx.packs))
+    # Check both opts and ctx.meta.output for incremental flag
+    incremental: bool | None = opts.incremental
+    if incremental is None:
+        meta_opts = ctx.meta.get("output")
+        if isinstance(meta_opts, dict):
+            incremental = bool(meta_opts.get("incremental", False))
+
+    paths: list[Path] = [ctx.directory / path for path in opts.directory.entries()]
+    packs: list[Pack] = list(filter(None, ctx.packs))
 
     if paths and packs:
         with log_time_scope("Output files."):
             for pack in packs:
                 for path in paths:
-                    pack.save(path, overwrite=True)
+                    if incremental and not pack.zipped and pack.name is not None:
+                        incremental_save(pack, Path(path) / pack.name)
+                    else:
+                        pack.save(path, overwrite=True)
+