diff --git a/src/components/legend/attributes.js b/src/components/legend/attributes.js
index 2920f1ba6f4..8eb3d9557ce 100644
--- a/src/components/legend/attributes.js
+++ b/src/components/legend/attributes.js
@@ -42,6 +42,13 @@ module.exports = {
         role: 'info',
         description: 'Sets the orientation of the legend.'
     },
+    horizontalspacing: {
+        valType: 'enumerated',
+        values: ['column', 'wrapped'],
+        dflt: ['column'],
+        role: 'info',
+        description: 'Sets whether a horizontal legend is broken into columns or wrapped horizontally.'
+    },
     traceorder: {
         valType: 'flaglist',
         flags: ['reversed', 'grouped'],
diff --git a/src/components/legend/defaults.js b/src/components/legend/defaults.js
index 39e9bd80c70..280a0c1f35c 100644
--- a/src/components/legend/defaults.js
+++ b/src/components/legend/defaults.js
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ module.exports = function legendDefaults(layoutIn, layoutOut, fullData) {
 
     var visibleTraces = 0,
         defaultOrder = 'normal',
+        defaultHorizontalSpacing = 'column',
         defaultX,
         defaultY,
         defaultXAnchor,
@@ -87,5 +88,6 @@ module.exports = function legendDefaults(layoutIn, layoutOut, fullData) {
     coerce('xanchor', defaultXAnchor);
     coerce('y', defaultY);
     coerce('yanchor', defaultYAnchor);
+    coerce('horizontalspacing', defaultHorizontalSpacing);
     Lib.noneOrAll(containerIn, containerOut, ['x', 'y']);
 };
diff --git a/src/components/legend/draw.js b/src/components/legend/draw.js
index fd08a20baa5..eb1a38a8d6a 100644
--- a/src/components/legend/draw.js
+++ b/src/components/legend/draw.js
@@ -473,7 +473,8 @@ function computeLegendDimensions(gd, groups, traces) {
     var fullLayout = gd._fullLayout,
         opts = fullLayout.legend,
         borderwidth = opts.borderwidth,
-        isGrouped = helpers.isGrouped(opts);
+        isGrouped = helpers.isGrouped(opts),
+        isHorizontalColumn = helpers.isHorizontalColumn(opts);
 
     if(helpers.isVertical(opts)) {
         if(isGrouped) {
@@ -590,14 +591,14 @@ function computeLegendDimensions(gd, groups, traces) {
             maxTraceWidth = 0,
             offsetX = 0;
 
-        // calculate largest width for traces and use for width of all legend items
+        // calculate largest width for traces and use for width of all legend items (if horizontalspacing mode is 'column')
         traces.each(function(d) {
             maxTraceWidth = Math.max(40 + d[0].width, maxTraceWidth);
         });
 
         traces.each(function(d) {
             var legendItem = d[0],
-                traceWidth = maxTraceWidth,
+                traceWidth = isHorizontalColumn ? maxTraceWidth : 40 + d[0].width,
                 traceGap = opts.tracegroupgap || 5;
 
             if((borderwidth + offsetX + traceGap + traceWidth) > (fullLayout.width - (fullLayout.margin.r + fullLayout.margin.l))) {
diff --git a/src/components/legend/helpers.js b/src/components/legend/helpers.js
index 2c4813a05de..f4a052ce4ba 100644
--- a/src/components/legend/helpers.js
+++ b/src/components/legend/helpers.js
@@ -27,3 +27,7 @@ exports.isVertical = function isVertical(legendLayout) {
 exports.isReversed = function isReversed(legendLayout) {
     return (legendLayout.traceorder || '').indexOf('reversed') !== -1;
 };
+
+exports.isHorizontalColumn = function isHorizontalColumn(legendLayout) {
+    return legendLayout.horizontalspacing === 'column';
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/jasmine/tests/legend_test.js b/test/jasmine/tests/legend_test.js
index c832da02dcd..fd343d13b89 100644
--- a/test/jasmine/tests/legend_test.js
+++ b/test/jasmine/tests/legend_test.js
@@ -413,6 +413,15 @@ describe('legend helpers:', function() {
             expect(isReversed({ traceorder: 'reversed' })).toBe(true);
         });
     });
+
+    describe('isHorizontalColumn', function() {
+        var isHorizontalColumn = helpers.isHorizontalColumn;
+
+        it('should return true when option horizontalspacing is "column"', function() {
+            expect(isHorizontalColumn({ horizontalspacing: 'column'})).toBe(true);
+            expect(isHorizontalColumn({ horizontalspacing: 'wrapped'})).toBe(false);
+        });
+    });
 });
 
 describe('legend anchor utils:', function() {
@@ -628,3 +637,54 @@ describe('legend restyle update', function() {
         });
     });
 });
+
+describe('legend horizontal spacing', function() {
+    'use strict';
+
+    beforeAll(function() {
+        jasmine.addMatchers(customMatchers);
+    });
+
+    afterEach(destroyGraphDiv);
+
+    it('should not space the items equally if horizontalspacing is wrapped', function(done) {
+        var mock = require('@mocks/0.json'),
+            mockCopy = Lib.extendDeep({}, mock),
+            traceTransforms = [
+                'translate(1, 15.5)',
+                'translate(120, 15.5)',
+                'translate(231.68333435058594, 15.5)',
+            ],
+            gd = createGraphDiv();
+        mockCopy.layout.legend.horizontalspacing = 'wrapped';
+        mockCopy.layout.legend.orientation = 'h';
+        Plotly.plot(gd, mockCopy.data, mockCopy.layout);
+        var nodes = d3.select(gd).selectAll('g.traces');
+        nodes.each(function(n, i) {
+            var node = d3.select(this);
+            var transform = node.attr('transform');
+            expect(transform).toEqual(traceTransforms[i]);
+        });
+        done();
+    });
+
+    it('should space the items equally if horizontalspacing is column', function(done) {
+        var mock = require('@mocks/0.json'),
+            mockCopy = Lib.extendDeep({}, mock),
+            traceTransforms = [
+                'translate(1, 15.5)',
+                'translate(120, 15.5)',
+                'translate(239, 15.5)',
+            ],
+            gd = createGraphDiv();
+        mockCopy.layout.legend.orientation = 'h';
+        Plotly.plot(gd, mockCopy.data, mockCopy.layout);
+        var nodes = d3.select(gd).selectAll('g.traces');
+        nodes.each(function(n, i) {
+            var node = d3.select(this);
+            var transform = node.attr('transform');
+            expect(transform).toEqual(traceTransforms[i]);
+        });
+        done();
+    });
+});