diff --git a/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume.go b/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume.go
index 305397ff6d6e0..b12fbd48d2459 100644
--- a/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume.go
+++ b/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume.go
@@ -34,14 +34,10 @@ func NewVolumeMiddleware() queryrangebase.Middleware {
 			interval := time.Duration(volReq.Step * 1e6)
 
 			util.ForInterval(interval, startTS, endTS, true, func(start, end time.Time) {
-				// Range query buckets are aligned to the starting timestamp
-				// Instant queries are for "this instant", which aligns to the end of the requested range
-				bucket := start
-				if interval == 0 {
-					bucket = end
-				}
-
-				reqs[bucket] = &logproto.VolumeRequest{
+				// Always align to the end of the requested range
+				// For range queries, this aligns to the end of the period we're returning a bytes aggregation for
+				// For instant queries, which are for "this instant", this aligns to the end of the requested range
+				reqs[end] = &logproto.VolumeRequest{
 					From:         model.TimeFromUnix(start.Unix()),
 					Through:      model.TimeFromUnix(end.Unix()),
 					Matchers:     volReq.Matchers,
diff --git a/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume_test.go b/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume_test.go
index 5cbce28ac9e95..8d8b8d48a3f23 100644
--- a/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume_test.go
+++ b/pkg/querier/queryrange/volume_test.go
@@ -328,4 +328,24 @@ func Test_VolumeMiddleware(t *testing.T) {
 		require.Equal(t, 1, len(promResp.Data.Result))
 		require.Equal(t, 2, len(promResp.Data.Result[0].Samples))
 	})
+
+	t.Run("timestamps are aligned with the end of steps", func(t *testing.T) {
+		volumeReq := &logproto.VolumeRequest{
+			From:        1000000000000,
+			Through:     1000000005000, // 5s range
+			Matchers:    `{foo="bar"}`,
+			Limit:       seriesvolume.DefaultLimit,
+			Step:        1000, // 1s
+			AggregateBy: seriesvolume.Series,
+		}
+		promResp := makeVolumeRequest(volumeReq)
+
+		require.Equal(t, int64(1000000000999),
+			promResp.Data.Result[0].Samples[0].TimestampMs,
+			"first timestamp should be one millisecond before the end of the first step")
+		require.Equal(t,
+			int64(1000000005000),
+			promResp.Data.Result[0].Samples[4].TimestampMs,
+			"last timestamp should be equal to the end of the requested query range")
+	})
 }