diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 1e7e22c2..70067eed 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ is_openbsd = host_machine.system() == 'openbsd'
 
 thread_dep = dependency('threads')
 fmt = dependency('fmt', version : ['>=5.3.0'], fallback : ['fmt', 'fmt_dep'])
-spdlog = dependency('spdlog', version : ['>=1.3.1'], fallback : ['spdlog', 'spdlog_dep'])
+spdlog = dependency('spdlog', version : ['>=1.3.1'], fallback : ['spdlog', 'spdlog_dep'], default_options : ['external_fmt=true'])
 wayland_client = dependency('wayland-client')
 wayland_cursor = dependency('wayland-cursor')
 wayland_protos = dependency('wayland-protocols')