diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9b9d24f..cf8d743 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ MANDIR?=$(PREFIX)/share/man
 GO?=go
 GOFLAGS?=
 LDFLAGS+=-X main.Version=$(VERSION)
+LDFLAGS+=-X git.sr.ht/~rjarry/aerc/config.shareDir=$(SHAREDIR)
 
 GOSRC!=find * -name '*.go'
 GOSRC+=go.mod go.sum
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e562c23..fabed0c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -64,6 +64,25 @@ To install aerc locally:
 
     # make install
 
+By default, aerc will install config files to directories under `/usr/local/aerc`,
+and will search for templates and stylesets in these locations in order:
+
+- `${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/aerc`
+- `${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/aerc`
+- `/usr/local/share/aerc`
+- `/usr/share/aerc`
+
+At build time it is possible to add an extra location to this list and to use
+that location as the default install location for config files by setting the
+`PREFIX` option like so:
+
+    # make PREFIX=/custom/location
+    # make install PREFIX=/custom/location
+
+This will install templates and other config files to `/custom/location/share/aerc`,
+and man pages to `/custom/location/share/man`. This extra location will have lower
+priority than the XDG locations but higher than the fixed paths.
+
 ## Contribution Quick Start
 
 Anyone can contribute to aerc. First you need to clone the repository and build
diff --git a/config/aerc.conf b/config/aerc.conf
index 631a566..a7628e3 100644
--- a/config/aerc.conf
+++ b/config/aerc.conf
@@ -105,8 +105,8 @@ next-message-on-delete=true
 # list of directories. If this is unset or if a styleset cannot be found, the
 # following paths will be used as a fallback in that order:
 #
-#   ~/.config/aerc/stylesets
-#   ~/.local/share/aerc/stylesets
+#   ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/aerc/stylesets
+#   ${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/aerc/stylesets
 #   /usr/local/share/aerc/stylesets
 #   /usr/share/aerc/stylesets
 #
@@ -251,8 +251,8 @@ new-email=
 # list of directories. If this is unset or if a template cannot be found, the
 # following paths will be used as a fallback in that order:
 #
-#   ~/.config/aerc/templates
-#   ~/.local/share/aerc/templates
+#   ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/aerc/templates
+#   ${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/aerc/templates
 #   /usr/local/share/aerc/templates
 #   /usr/share/aerc/templates
 #
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index d2512d2..f5d43ec 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -297,13 +297,38 @@ func parseCredential(cred, command string) (string, error) {
 	return u.String(), nil
 }
 
-var defaultDirs []string = []string{
-	path.Join(xdg.ConfigHome(), "aerc"),
-	path.Join(xdg.DataHome(), "aerc"),
-	"/usr/local/share/aerc",
-	"/usr/share/aerc",
+// Set at build time
+var shareDir string
+
+func buildDefaultDirs() []string {
+	var defaultDirs []string
+
+	prefixes := []string{
+		xdg.ConfigHome(),
+		xdg.DataHome(),
+	}
+
+	// Add XDG_CONFIG_HOME and XDG_DATA_HOME
+	for _, v := range prefixes {
+		if v != "" {
+			defaultDirs = append(defaultDirs, path.Join(v, "aerc"))
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Add custom buildtime shareDir
+	if shareDir != "" && shareDir != "/usr/local/share/aerc" {
+		defaultDirs = append(defaultDirs, shareDir)
+	}
+
+	// Add fixed fallback locations
+	defaultDirs = append(defaultDirs, "/usr/local/share/aerc")
+	defaultDirs = append(defaultDirs, "/usr/share/aerc")
+
+	return defaultDirs
 }
 
+var searchDirs = buildDefaultDirs()
+
 func installTemplate(root, name string) error {
 	var err error
 	if _, err = os.Stat(root); os.IsNotExist(err) {
@@ -313,7 +338,7 @@ func installTemplate(root, name string) error {
 		}
 	}
 	var data []byte
-	for _, dir := range defaultDirs {
+	for _, dir := range searchDirs {
 		data, err = ioutil.ReadFile(path.Join(dir, name))
 		if err == nil {
 			break
@@ -464,7 +489,7 @@ func (config *AercConfig) LoadConfig(file *ini.File) error {
 	}
 
 	// append default paths to template-dirs and styleset-dirs
-	for _, dir := range defaultDirs {
+	for _, dir := range searchDirs {
 		config.Ui.StyleSetDirs = append(
 			config.Ui.StyleSetDirs, path.Join(dir, "stylesets"),
 		)
diff --git a/doc/aerc-config.5.scd b/doc/aerc-config.5.scd
index ae8ce1b..9e8451f 100644
--- a/doc/aerc-config.5.scd
+++ b/doc/aerc-config.5.scd
@@ -219,8 +219,8 @@ These options are configured in the *[ui]* section of aerc.conf.
 	be found, the following paths will be used as a fallback in that order:
 
 	```
-	~/.config/aerc/stylesets
-	~/.local/share/aerc/stylesets
+	${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/aerc/stylesets
+	${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/aerc/stylesets
 	/usr/local/share/aerc/stylesets
 	/usr/share/aerc/stylesets
 	```
@@ -417,8 +417,8 @@ These options are configured in the *[templates]* section of aerc.conf.
 	be found, the following paths will be used as a fallback in that order:
 
 	```
-	~/.config/aerc/templates
-	~/.local/share/aerc/templates
+	${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/aerc/templates
+	${XDG_DATA_HOME:-~/.local/share}/aerc/templates
 	/usr/local/share/aerc/templates
 	/usr/share/aerc/templates
 	```