diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClient.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClient.java
index 0e00703e..ff5e9d2d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClient.java
@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ public Logger getLogger() {
         return this.logger;
     }
 
-    public Optional<StatsCollector> getStatsCollector() {
-        return Optional.ofNullable(this.statsCollector);
+    public StatsCollector getStatsCollector() {
+        return this.statsCollector;
     }
 
     public Optional<Long> getLastTransactionTs() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfig.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfig.java
index 51eb8339..e8f008e2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfig.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfig.java
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ public Handler getLogHandler() {
 
     /**
      * Gets the stats collector for the client.
-     * @return A log handler instance.
+     * @return A StatsCollector instance.
      */
     public StatsCollector getStatsCollector() {
         return statsCollector;
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ public static class Builder {
         private int maxContentionRetries = 3;
         private Duration clientTimeoutBuffer = Duration.ofSeconds(5);
         private Handler logHandler = defaultLogHandler();
-        private StatsCollector statsCollector;
+        private StatsCollector statsCollector = new StatsCollectorImpl();
 
         static Level getLogLevel(String debug) {
             if (debug == null || debug.isBlank()) {
@@ -191,15 +191,6 @@ public Builder statsCollector(StatsCollector statsCollector) {
             return this;
         }
 
-        /**
-         * Set a default StatsCollector.
-         * @return  The current Builder instance.
-         */
-        public Builder defaultStatsCollector() {
-            this.statsCollector = new StatsCollectorImpl();
-            return this;
-        }
-
         /**
          * Builds and returns a new FaunaConfig instance.
          *
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaStream.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaStream.java
index fd1f4c7b..f516ac22 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaStream.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaStream.java
@@ -64,9 +64,7 @@ public void onNext(List<ByteBuffer> buffers) {
                     JsonParser parser = JSON_FACTORY.createParser(buffer);
                     StreamEvent<E> event = StreamEvent.parse(parser, dataCodec);
 
-                    if (statsCollector != null) {
-                        statsCollector.add(event.getStats());
-                    }
+                    statsCollector.add(event.getStats());
 
                     if (event.getType() == StreamEvent.EventType.ERROR) {
                         ErrorInfo error = event.getError();
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/ScopedFaunaClient.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/ScopedFaunaClient.java
index 27049c88..71b92dbb 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/ScopedFaunaClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/ScopedFaunaClient.java
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ public class ScopedFaunaClient extends FaunaClient {
 
 
     public ScopedFaunaClient(FaunaClient client, FaunaScope scope) {
-        super(client.getFaunaSecret(), client.getLogger(), client.getStatsCollector().orElse(null));
+        super(client.getFaunaSecret(), client.getLogger(), client.getStatsCollector().clone());
         this.client = client;
         this.requestBuilder = client.getRequestBuilder().scopedRequestBuilder(scope.getToken(client.getFaunaSecret()));
         this.streamRequestBuilder = client.getStreamRequestBuilder().scopedRequestBuilder(scope.getToken(client.getFaunaSecret()));
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollector.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollector.java
index 07321c9e..92fdb38a 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollector.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollector.java
@@ -21,4 +21,10 @@ public interface StatsCollector {
      * @return Stats object
      */
     QueryStatsSummary readAndReset();
+
+    /**
+     * Clone the stats collector instance.
+     * @return A clone of the stats collector instance.
+     */
+    StatsCollector clone();
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollectorImpl.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollectorImpl.java
index 2c8da78d..2f969723 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollectorImpl.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/client/StatsCollectorImpl.java
@@ -89,5 +89,10 @@ public QueryStatsSummary readAndReset() {
                 rateLimitedWriteQueryCount.getAndSet(0)
         );
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public StatsCollector clone() {
+        return new StatsCollectorImpl();
+    }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponse.java b/src/main/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponse.java
index 9758409e..f3d82052 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponse.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponse.java
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ public static <T>  QuerySuccess<T> parseResponse(HttpResponse<InputStream> respo
                 builder = handleField(builder, parser);
             }
 
-            if (statsCollector != null && builder.stats != null) {
+            if (builder.stats != null) {
                 statsCollector.add(builder.stats);
             }
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClientTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClientTest.java
index 3343d891..2501334c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClientTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaClientTest.java
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 import static com.fauna.query.builder.Query.fql;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNull;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ static HttpResponse<InputStream> mockResponse(String body) {
     void defaultClient() {
         FaunaClient client = Fauna.client();
         assertTrue(client.getHttpClient().connectTimeout().isEmpty());
-        assertTrue(client.getStatsCollector().isEmpty());
+        assertNotNull(client.getStatsCollector());
         assertEquals(URI.create("https://db.fauna.com/query/1"),
                 client.getRequestBuilder().buildRequest(
                         fql("hello"), QueryOptions.builder().build(), DefaultCodecProvider.SINGLETON, 1L).uri());
@@ -104,11 +105,10 @@ void customConfigBuilder() {
     void customConfigConstructor() {
         FaunaConfig cfg = FaunaConfig.builder()
                 .secret("foo")
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         FaunaClient client = Fauna.client(cfg);
         assertTrue(client.toString().startsWith("com.fauna.client.BaseFaunaClient"));
-        assertTrue(client.getStatsCollector().isPresent());
+        assertNotNull(client.getStatsCollector());
     }
 
     @Test
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfigTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfigTest.java
index a9e20e48..2a9c0e5e 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfigTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fauna/client/FaunaConfigTest.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ public void testDefaultFaunaConfig() {
         assertEquals(Level.WARNING, config.getLogHandler().getLevel());
         assertEquals("", config.getSecret());
         assertEquals(3, config.getMaxContentionRetries());
-        assertNull(config.getStatsCollector());
+        assertNotNull(config.getStatsCollector());
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ public void testOverridingDefaultFaunaConfig() {
                 .logHandler(handler)
                 .maxContentionRetries(1)
                 .clientTimeoutBuffer(Duration.ofSeconds(1))
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         assertEquals("endpoint", config.getEndpoint());
         assertEquals(Level.ALL, config.getLogHandler().getLevel());
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EPaginationTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EPaginationTest.java
index c545b130..c975dbc7 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EPaginationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EPaginationTest.java
@@ -118,13 +118,12 @@ public void query_statsAreTrackedForExplicitPagination() {
         var cfg = FaunaConfig.builder()
                 .secret("secret")
                 .endpoint("http://localhost:8443")
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         var client = Fauna.client(cfg);
         PageIterator<Product> iter = client.paginate(fql("Product.all()"), Product.class);
         iter.forEachRemaining(page -> {});
 
-        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().get().read();
+        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().read();
         assertEquals(82, stats.getReadOps());
         assertEquals(4, stats.getComputeOps());
     }
@@ -134,7 +133,6 @@ public void query_statsAreTrackedForFlattenedPagination() {
         var cfg = FaunaConfig.builder()
                 .secret("secret")
                 .endpoint("http://localhost:8443")
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         var client = Fauna.client(cfg);
         PageIterator<Product> iter = client.paginate(fql("Product.all()"), Product.class);
@@ -142,7 +140,7 @@ public void query_statsAreTrackedForFlattenedPagination() {
         for (Product p : (Iterable<Product>) () -> productIter) {
         }
 
-        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().get().read();
+        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().read();
         assertEquals(82, stats.getReadOps());
         assertEquals(4, stats.getComputeOps());
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EQueryTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EQueryTest.java
index ad43d026..50e37ba4 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EQueryTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EQueryTest.java
@@ -284,14 +284,13 @@ public void query_trackStatsOnSuccess() {
         var cfg = FaunaConfig.builder()
                 .secret("secret")
                 .endpoint("http://localhost:8443")
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         var client = Fauna.client(cfg);
 
         var q = fql("Author.all().toArray()");
 
         client.query(q, listOf(Author.class));
-        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().get().read();
+        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().read();
         assertEquals(10, stats.getReadOps());
         assertEquals(1, stats.getComputeOps());
     }
@@ -301,13 +300,12 @@ public void query_trackStatsOnFailure() throws IOException {
         var cfg = FaunaConfig.builder()
                 .secret("secret")
                 .endpoint("http://localhost:8443")
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         var client = Fauna.client(cfg);
 
         var q = fql("Author.all().toArray()\nabort(null)");
         assertThrows(AbortException.class, () -> client.query(q));
-        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().get().read();
+        var stats = client.getStatsCollector().read();
         assertEquals(8, stats.getReadOps());
         assertEquals(1, stats.getComputeOps());
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EStreamingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EStreamingTest.java
index 37984215..0f16971f 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EStreamingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fauna/e2e/E2EStreamingTest.java
@@ -117,12 +117,11 @@ public void query_streamOfProduct() throws InterruptedException {
         var cfg = FaunaConfig.builder()
                 .secret("secret")
                 .endpoint("http://localhost:8443")
-                .defaultStatsCollector()
                 .build();
         var streamClient = Fauna.client(cfg);
 
-        FaunaStream stream = streamClient.stream(fql("Product.all().toStream()"), Product.class);
-        var stats = streamClient.getStatsCollector().get().readAndReset();
+        FaunaStream<Product> stream = streamClient.stream(fql("Product.all().toStream()"), Product.class);
+        var stats = streamClient.getStatsCollector().readAndReset();
         assertEquals(1, stats.getComputeOps());
 
         InventorySubscriber inventory = new InventorySubscriber();
@@ -153,7 +152,7 @@ public void query_streamOfProduct() throws InterruptedException {
         stream.close();
         assertTrue(stream.isClosed());
 
-        stats = streamClient.getStatsCollector().get().read();
+        stats = streamClient.getStatsCollector().read();
         assertEquals(11, stats.getReadOps());
         assertEquals(events, stats.getComputeOps());
     }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponseTest.java b/src/test/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponseTest.java
index 85c584fb..65b6ba46 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponseTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/fauna/response/QueryResponseTest.java
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
 
 import com.fauna.beans.ClassWithAttributes;
+import com.fauna.client.StatsCollectorImpl;
 import com.fauna.codec.Codec;
 import com.fauna.codec.CodecProvider;
 import com.fauna.codec.CodecRegistry;
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ public void getFromResponseBody_Success() throws IOException {
         HttpResponse resp = mockResponse(body);
         when(resp.statusCode()).thenReturn(200);
 
-        QuerySuccess<ClassWithAttributes> success = QueryResponse.parseResponse(resp, codec, null);
+        QuerySuccess<ClassWithAttributes> success = QueryResponse.parseResponse(resp, codec, new StatsCollectorImpl());
 
         assertEquals(baz.getFirstName(), success.getData().getFirstName());
         assertEquals("PersonWithAttributes", success.getStaticType().get());
@@ -68,14 +69,14 @@ public void handleResponseWithInvalidJsonThrowsClientResponseException() {
         HttpResponse resp = mockResponse("{\"not valid json\"");
         when(resp.statusCode()).thenReturn(400);
 
-        ClientResponseException exc = assertThrows(ClientResponseException.class, () -> QueryResponse.parseResponse(resp, codecProvider.get(Object.class), null));
+        ClientResponseException exc = assertThrows(ClientResponseException.class, () -> QueryResponse.parseResponse(resp, codecProvider.get(Object.class), new StatsCollectorImpl()));
         assertEquals("ClientResponseException HTTP 400: Failed to handle error response.", exc.getMessage());
     }
 
     @Test
     public void handleResponseWithEmptyFieldsDoesNotThrow() {
         HttpResponse resp = mockResponse("{}");
-        QuerySuccess<Object> response = QueryResponse.parseResponse(resp,  codecProvider.get(Object.class), null);
+        QuerySuccess<Object> response = QueryResponse.parseResponse(resp,  codecProvider.get(Object.class), new StatsCollectorImpl());
         assertEquals(QuerySuccess.class, response.getClass());
         assertNull(response.getSchemaVersion());
         assertNull(response.getSummary());