diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js
index d5e70323830b6..45ef93985358b 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/lib/arborist/reify.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ const pacote = require('pacote')
 const AuditReport = require('../audit-report.js')
 const { subset, intersects } = require('semver')
 const npa = require('npm-package-arg')
+const semver = require('semver')
 const debug = require('../debug.js')
 const walkUp = require('walk-up-path')
 
@@ -1273,6 +1274,21 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       }
     }
 
+    // Returns true if any of the edges from this node has a semver
+    // range definition that is an exact match to the version installed
+    // e.g: should return true if for a given an installed version 1.0.0,
+    // range is either =1.0.0 or 1.0.0
+    const exactVersion = node => {
+      for (const edge of node.edgesIn) {
+        try {
+          if (semver.subset(edge.spec, node.version)) {
+            return false
+          }
+        } catch {}
+      }
+      return true
+    }
+
     // helper that retrieves an array of nodes that were
     // potentially updated during the reify process, in order
     // to limit the number of nodes to check and update, only
@@ -1284,6 +1300,8 @@ module.exports = cls => class Reifier extends cls {
       const filterDirectDependencies = node =>
         !node.isRoot && node.resolveParent.isRoot
         && (!names || names.includes(node.name))
+        && exactVersion(node) // skip update for exact ranges
+
       const directDeps = this.idealTree.inventory
         .filter(filterDirectDependencies)
 
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js b/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js
index d5fc166a5636d..caa15f59f2476 100644
--- a/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/arborist/reify.js
@@ -2572,5 +2572,34 @@ t.test('save package.json on update', t => {
     )
   })
 
+  t.test('should preserve exact ranges', async t => {
+    const path = fixture(t, 'update-exact-version')
+
+    await reify(path, { update: true, save: true })
+
+    t.equal(
+      require(resolve(path, 'package.json')).dependencies.abbrev,
+      '1.0.4',
+      'should save no top level dep update to root package.json'
+    )
+  })
+
+  t.test('should preserve exact ranges, missing actual tree', async t => {
+    const path = t.testdir({
+      'package.json': JSON.stringify({
+        dependencies: {
+          abbrev: '1.0.4',
+        },
+      }),
+    })
+
+    await reify(path, { update: true, save: true })
+
+    t.equal(
+      require(resolve(path, 'package.json')).dependencies.abbrev,
+      '1.0.4',
+      'should save no top level dep update to root package.json'
+    )
+  })
   t.end()
 })
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/reify-cases/update-exact-version.js b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/reify-cases/update-exact-version.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d766d3bc915ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/reify-cases/update-exact-version.js
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+// generated from test/fixtures/update-exact-version
+module.exports = t => {
+  const path = t.testdir({
+  "node_modules": {
+    "abbrev": {
+      "package.json": JSON.stringify({
+        "name": "abbrev",
+        "version": "1.0.4",
+        "description": "Like ruby's abbrev module, but in js",
+        "author": "Isaac Z. Schlueter <i@izs.me>",
+        "main": "./lib/abbrev.js",
+        "scripts": {
+          "test": "node lib/abbrev.js"
+        },
+        "repository": "http://github.com/isaacs/abbrev-js",
+        "license": {
+          "type": "MIT",
+          "url": "https://github.com/isaacs/abbrev-js/raw/master/LICENSE"
+        }
+      })
+    }
+  },
+  "package-lock.json": JSON.stringify({
+    "name": "update-exact-version",
+    "lockfileVersion": 2,
+    "requires": true,
+    "packages": {
+      "": {
+        "dependencies": {
+          "abbrev": "1.0.4"
+        }
+      },
+      "node_modules/abbrev": {
+        "version": "1.0.4",
+        "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/abbrev/-/abbrev-1.0.4.tgz",
+        "integrity": "sha1-vVWuXkE7oXIu5Mq6H26hBBSlns0="
+      }
+    },
+    "dependencies": {
+      "abbrev": {
+        "version": "1.0.4",
+        "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/abbrev/-/abbrev-1.0.4.tgz",
+        "integrity": "sha1-vVWuXkE7oXIu5Mq6H26hBBSlns0="
+      }
+    }
+  }),
+  "package.json": JSON.stringify({
+    "dependencies": {
+      "abbrev": "1.0.4"
+    }
+  })
+})
+  return path
+}
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/node_modules/abbrev/package.json b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/node_modules/abbrev/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..72042a5b907f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/node_modules/abbrev/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "name": "abbrev",
+  "version": "1.0.4",
+  "description": "Like ruby's abbrev module, but in js",
+  "author": "Isaac Z. Schlueter <i@izs.me>",
+  "main": "./lib/abbrev.js",
+  "scripts": {
+    "test": "node lib/abbrev.js"
+  },
+  "repository": "http://github.com/isaacs/abbrev-js",
+  "license": {
+    "type": "MIT",
+    "url": "https://github.com/isaacs/abbrev-js/raw/master/LICENSE"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/package-lock.json b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/package-lock.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..0d7b5f6472ebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/package-lock.json
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+{
+  "name": "update-exact-version",
+  "lockfileVersion": 2,
+  "requires": true,
+  "packages": {
+    "": {
+      "dependencies": {
+        "abbrev": "1.0.4"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/abbrev": {
+      "version": "1.0.4",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/abbrev/-/abbrev-1.0.4.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-vVWuXkE7oXIu5Mq6H26hBBSlns0="
+    }
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "abbrev": {
+      "version": "1.0.4",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/abbrev/-/abbrev-1.0.4.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-vVWuXkE7oXIu5Mq6H26hBBSlns0="
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/package.json b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..4fa41479389d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/workspaces/arborist/test/fixtures/update-exact-version/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "dependencies": {
+    "abbrev": "1.0.4"
+  }
+}