diff --git a/config/constants.go b/config/constants.go
index 6008aeed1..09f0b9954 100644
--- a/config/constants.go
+++ b/config/constants.go
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ const (
 	PrivateHLSStoragePath = "hls"
 	// FfmpegSuggestedVersion is the version of ffmpeg we suggest.
 	FfmpegSuggestedVersion = "v4.1.5" // Requires the v
-	// BackupDirectory is the directory we write backup files to.
-	BackupDirectory = "backup"
 	// DataDirectory is the directory we save data to.
 	DataDirectory = "data"
 )
@@ -20,4 +18,6 @@ const (
 var (
 	// PublicHLSStoragePath is the directory we write public HLS files to for distribution.
 	PublicHLSStoragePath = filepath.Join(WebRoot, "hls")
+	// BackupDirectory is the directory we write backup files to.
+	BackupDirectory = filepath.Join(DataDirectory, "backup")
 )
diff --git a/core/data/data.go b/core/data/data.go
index 74321dbd2..b2484c30c 100644
--- a/core/data/data.go
+++ b/core/data/data.go
@@ -8,15 +8,16 @@ import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/owncast/owncast/config"
 	"github.com/owncast/owncast/utils"
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
 const (
 	schemaVersion = 0
-	backupFile    = "backup/owncastdb.bak"
 )
 
 var _db *sql.DB
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ func SetupPersistence(file string) error {
 
 	dbBackupTicker := time.NewTicker(1 * time.Hour)
 	go func() {
+		backupFile := filepath.Join(config.BackupDirectory, "owncastdb.bak")
 		for range dbBackupTicker.C {
 			utils.Backup(_db, backupFile)
 		}
@@ -105,7 +107,8 @@ func SetupPersistence(file string) error {
 
 func migrateDatabase(db *sql.DB, from, to int) error {
 	log.Printf("Migrating database from version %d to %d\n", from, to)
-	utils.Backup(db, fmt.Sprintf("backup/owncast-v%d.bak", from))
+	dbBackupFile := filepath.Join(config.BackupDirectory, fmt.Sprintf("owncast-v%d.bak", from))
+	utils.Backup(db, dbBackupFile)
 	for v := from; v < to; v++ {
 		switch v {
 		case 0:
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 1568be5e9..40078bd1c 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	dbFile := flag.String("database", "", "Path to the database file.")
 	logDirectory := flag.String("logdir", "", "Directory where logs will be written to")
+	backupDirectory := flag.String("backupdir", "", "Directory where backups will be written to")
 	enableDebugOptions := flag.Bool("enableDebugFeatures", false, "Enable additional debugging options.")
 	enableVerboseLogging := flag.Bool("enableVerboseLogging", false, "Enable additional logging.")
 	restoreDatabaseFile := flag.String("restoreDatabase", "", "Restore an Owncast database backup")
@@ -62,6 +63,10 @@ func main() {
 	configureLogging(*enableDebugOptions, *enableVerboseLogging)
 	log.Infoln(config.GetReleaseString())
 
+	if *backupDirectory != "" {
+		config.BackupDirectory = *backupDirectory
+	}
+
 	// Create the data directory if needed
 	if !utils.DoesFileExists("data") {
 		os.Mkdir("./data", 0700)
diff --git a/utils/backup.go b/utils/backup.go
index b030e3952..19edde1ae 100644
--- a/utils/backup.go
+++ b/utils/backup.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 
 	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
 	"github.com/schollz/sqlite3dump"
@@ -59,6 +60,15 @@ func Restore(backupFile string, databaseFile string) error {
 func Backup(db *sql.DB, backupFile string) {
 	log.Traceln("Backing up database to", backupFile)
 
+	BackupDirectory := filepath.Dir(backupFile)
+
+	if !DoesFileExists(BackupDirectory) {
+		err := os.MkdirAll(BackupDirectory, 0700)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatalln(err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Dump the entire database as plain text sql
 	var b bytes.Buffer
 	out := bufio.NewWriter(&b)