diff --git a/cmd/buildkitd/config/config.go b/cmd/buildkitd/config/config.go
index 65447eda0cc4..4709c555bb2c 100644
--- a/cmd/buildkitd/config/config.go
+++ b/cmd/buildkitd/config/config.go
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ type SystemConfig struct {
 
 type LogConfig struct {
 	Format string `toml:"format"`
+	Level  string `toml:"level"`
 }
 
 type GRPCConfig struct {
diff --git a/cmd/buildkitd/main.go b/cmd/buildkitd/main.go
index 808feaa00aaa..bc6ab4c79ddd 100644
--- a/cmd/buildkitd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/buildkitd/main.go
@@ -186,6 +186,12 @@ func main() {
 			Usage: "log formatter: json or text",
 			Value: "text",
 		},
+		cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:   "log-level",
+			Usage:  "set the log level",
+			Value:  "info",
+			EnvVar: "BUILDKITD_LOG_LEVEL",
+		},
 		cli.StringFlag{
 			Name:  "group",
 			Usage: groupUsageStr,
@@ -273,6 +279,14 @@ func main() {
 			logrus.SetLevel(logrus.TraceLevel)
 		}
 
+		if cfg.Log.Level != "" {
+			level, err := logrus.ParseLevel(cfg.Log.Level)
+			if err != nil {
+				return errors.Wrap(err, "unsupported log level")
+			}
+			logrus.SetLevel(level)
+		}
+
 		if sc := cfg.System; sc != nil {
 			if v := sc.PlatformsCacheMaxAge; v != nil {
 				archutil.CacheMaxAge = v.Duration
@@ -598,6 +612,9 @@ func applyMainFlags(c *cli.Context, cfg *config.Config) error {
 	if c.IsSet("log-format") {
 		cfg.Log.Format = c.String("log-format")
 	}
+	if c.IsSet("log-level") {
+		cfg.Log.Level = c.String("log-level")
+	}
 	if c.IsSet("addr") || len(cfg.GRPC.Address) == 0 {
 		cfg.GRPC.Address = c.StringSlice("addr")
 	}