diff --git a/packages/vue/src/integration.ts b/packages/vue/src/integration.ts
index f4d3b2480d50..856fdcf56d9b 100644
--- a/packages/vue/src/integration.ts
+++ b/packages/vue/src/integration.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,36 @@ const vueInit = (app: Vue, options: Options): void => {
   }
 
   if (hasSpansEnabled(options)) {
-    app.mixin(createTracingMixins(options.tracingOptions));
+    const mixins = createTracingMixins(options.tracingOptions);
+    app.mixin(mixins);
+    warnIfMixinWasDropped(app, mixins);
   }
 };
+
+/**
+ * `app.mixin()` is a no-op when Options API is disabled (default in Nuxt 5).
+ * Without mixins (Options API) users lose every UI span (render, mount, etc.)
+
+ * See: https://github.com/vuejs/core/blob/v3.5.41/packages/runtime-core/src/apiCreateApp.ts
+ */
+function warnIfMixinWasDropped(app: Vue, mixin: unknown): void {
+  // Vue 2 has no `_context` and no Options API flag, so there is nothing to check.
+  const mixins = (app as Vue & { _context?: { mixins?: unknown[] } })._context?.mixins;
+
+  if (!mixins || mixins.includes(mixin)) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // `createNuxtApp()` sets `$nuxt` on the Vue app before it calls the `app:created` hook (where Nuxt SDK adds this integration).
+  const fix =
+    '$nuxt' in app
+      ? 'Set `vue: { optionsApi: true }` in your `nuxt.config.ts`.'
+      : 'Set `__VUE_OPTIONS_API__` to `true` in the `define` config of your bundler.';
+
+  consoleSandbox(() => {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+    console.warn(
+      `[@sentry/vue]: The Vue Options API is disabled (\`__VUE_OPTIONS_API__: false\`), so Sentry cannot record UI spans. You lose \`Application Render\` and the component mount, update and unmount spans. Errors, pageload spans and navigation spans still work. ${fix}`,
+    );
+  });
+}
diff --git a/packages/vue/test/integration/mixinRegistration.test.ts b/packages/vue/test/integration/mixinRegistration.test.ts
index 38fc3383783b..3a859415178e 100644
--- a/packages/vue/test/integration/mixinRegistration.test.ts
+++ b/packages/vue/test/integration/mixinRegistration.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
  */
 
 import { spanToJSON } from '@sentry/core';
-import { describe, expect, it as baseIt, vi } from 'vitest';
+import type { MockInstance } from 'vitest';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it as baseIt, vi } from 'vitest';
 import type { App } from 'vue';
 import { createApp, h } from 'vue';
 import * as Sentry from '../../src';
@@ -212,3 +213,67 @@ describe('tracing mixin span creation', () => {
     });
   });
 });
+
+describe('Options API detection guard', () => {
+  const OPTIONS_API_WARNING = expect.stringContaining('The Vue Options API is disabled');
+
+  let consoleWarn: MockInstance<Console['warn']>;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    consoleWarn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => {});
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    consoleWarn.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it('warns when the app dropped the tracing mixin', ({ app, initSentry }) => {
+    app.mixin = () => app;
+
+    initSentry();
+
+    expect(consoleWarn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(OPTIONS_API_WARNING);
+  });
+
+  it('points a plain Vue app at its bundler config', ({ app, initSentry }) => {
+    app.mixin = () => app;
+
+    initSentry();
+
+    expect(consoleWarn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('`define` config of your bundler'));
+    expect(consoleWarn).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('nuxt.config.ts'));
+  });
+
+  // `createNuxtApp()` sets `$nuxt` on the Vue app before the `app:created` hook the Nuxt SDK uses.
+  it('points a Nuxt app at `nuxt.config.ts`', ({ app, initSentry }) => {
+    app.mixin = () => app;
+    Object.defineProperty(app, '$nuxt', { get: () => ({}) });
+
+    initSentry();
+
+    expect(consoleWarn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('`vue: { optionsApi: true }`'));
+  });
+
+  it('does not warn when the app accepted the tracing mixin', ({ initSentry }) => {
+    initSentry();
+
+    expect(consoleWarn).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(OPTIONS_API_WARNING);
+  });
+
+  it('does not warn when tracing is disabled, because no mixin is registered', ({ app, initSentry }) => {
+    app.mixin = () => app;
+
+    initSentry({ sdk: { tracesSampleRate: undefined } });
+
+    expect(consoleWarn).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(OPTIONS_API_WARNING);
+  });
+
+  // A Vue 2 constructor has no `_context`, so the guard has nothing to read back and must stay quiet.
+  it('does not warn for a Vue 2 constructor', ({ initSentry }) => {
+    const vue2Constructor = { config: {}, mixin: () => {} };
+
+    initSentry({ sdk: { app: undefined, Vue: vue2Constructor } });
+
+    expect(consoleWarn).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(OPTIONS_API_WARNING);
+  });
+});