diff --git a/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command.go b/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command.go
index df746a2289fa..f7eebb5fc4c1 100644
--- a/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command.go
+++ b/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command.go
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-
-	pb "go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3/etcdserverpb"
 	clientv3 "go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3"
 	"go.etcd.io/etcd/pkg/v3/cobrautl"
 )
@@ -222,7 +220,9 @@ func ParseCompare(line string) (*clientv3.Cmp, error) {
 	case "val", "value":
 		cmp = clientv3.Compare(clientv3.Value(key), op, val)
 	case "lease":
-		cmp = clientv3.Compare(clientv3.Cmp{Target: pb.Compare_LEASE}, op, val)
+		if v, err = strconv.ParseInt(val, 16, 64); err == nil {
+			cmp = clientv3.Compare(clientv3.LeaseValue(key), op, v)
+		}
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("malformed comparison: %s (unknown target %s)", line, target)
 	}
diff --git a/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command_test.go b/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b5cebb700611
--- /dev/null
+++ b/etcdctl/ctlv3/command/txn_command_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The etcd Authors
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package command
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	pb "go.etcd.io/etcd/api/v3/etcdserverpb"
+)
+
+func TestParseCompare(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		line       string
+		wantResult pb.Compare_CompareResult
+		wantLease  int64
+		wantErr    bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:       "issue 20773 regression",
+			line:       `lease("foo1") > "0"`,
+			wantResult: pb.Compare_GREATER,
+			wantLease:  0,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "hex lease lowercase",
+			line:       `lease("foo1") = "f"`,
+			wantResult: pb.Compare_EQUAL,
+			wantLease:  15,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "hex lease uppercase",
+			line:       `lease("foo1") = "AF"`,
+			wantResult: pb.Compare_EQUAL,
+			wantLease:  175,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "long lease id from etcdctl output",
+			line:       `lease("foo1") = "2d8257079fa1bc0c"`,
+			wantResult: pb.Compare_EQUAL,
+			wantLease:  3279279168933706764,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "invalid hex character",
+			line:    `lease("foo1") > "g"`,
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "overflow int64 range",
+			line:    `lease("foo1") > "ffffffffffffffff"`,
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "missing quoted lease value",
+			line:    `lease("foo1") > 10`,
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			cmp, err := ParseCompare(tt.line)
+			if tt.wantErr {
+				require.Error(t, err)
+				return
+			}
+
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.Equal(t, []byte("foo1"), cmp.Key)
+			require.Equal(t, pb.Compare_LEASE, cmp.Target)
+			require.Equal(t, tt.wantResult, cmp.Result)
+
+			leaseCmp, ok := cmp.TargetUnion.(*pb.Compare_Lease)
+			require.True(t, ok)
+			require.Equal(t, tt.wantLease, leaseCmp.Lease)
+		})
+	}
+}