diff --git a/pipit/tests/trace.py b/pipit/tests/trace.py
index 7731fe61..34607e1f 100644
--- a/pipit/tests/trace.py
+++ b/pipit/tests/trace.py
@@ -216,3 +216,50 @@ def test_time_profile(data_dir, ping_pong_otf2_trace):
     assert np.isclose(norm.loc[61]["MPI_Comm_size"], 0.0)
     assert np.isclose(norm.loc[61]["MPI_Comm_rank"], 0.0)
     assert np.isclose(norm.loc[61]["MPI_Finalize"], 0.01614835)
+
+
+def generic_test_message_histogram(trace):
+    message_histogram, bin_ranges = trace.message_histogram(bins=40)
+    print(message_histogram)
+    # check the length
+    assert len(message_histogram) == 40
+
+    # comm_matrix was already subject to test routines earlier
+    comm_matrix_count = trace.comm_matrix(output="count")
+    total_messages = comm_matrix_count.sum()
+
+    # ensure that all messages are included
+    assert message_histogram.sum() == total_messages
+
+    # ensure that the bin endpoints increase monotonically
+    assert np.all(bin_ranges[1:] > bin_ranges[:-1])
+
+    comm_matrix = trace.comm_matrix()
+    total_volume = comm_matrix.sum()
+
+    # multiply each count by the right endpoint of the bin to estimate total volume
+    # this should always be >= actual total volume
+    # when done with left endpoint, always <= actual total volume
+
+    upper_total_volume = np.dot(message_histogram, bin_ranges[1:])
+    lower_total_volume = np.dot(message_histogram, bin_ranges[:-1])
+    assert upper_total_volume >= total_volume >= lower_total_volume
+
+
+def test_message_histogram(ping_pong_otf2_trace):
+    trace = Trace.from_otf2(str(ping_pong_otf2_trace))
+    trace.calc_exc_metrics(["Timestamp (ns)"])
+    generic_test_message_histogram(trace)
+
+    # smallest message in ping-pong was 16384 B
+    # largest message was 2097152 B
+    message_histogram, bin_ranges = trace.message_histogram(bins=40)
+    assert bin_ranges[0] == 16384
+    assert bin_ranges[-1] == 2097152
+
+    # all communications occur in a pair
+    assert np.all(message_histogram % 2 == 0)
+
+    # only the first bin can have more than one pair in it
+    # all the others are either 0 or 2 in ping-pong
+    assert np.max(message_histogram[1:]) == 2