diff --git a/client/src/app.c b/client/src/app.c
index 2c7e43a9..39c2e970 100644
--- a/client/src/app.c
+++ b/client/src/app.c
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ void app_handleRenderEvent(const uint64_t timeUs)
   }
   else
   {
-    if (!g_state.escapeHelp && timeUs - g_state.escapeTime > 200000)
+    if (!g_state.escapeHelp && timeUs - g_state.escapeTime > g_params.helpMenuDelayUs)
     {
       g_state.escapeHelp = true;
       app_showHelp(true);
diff --git a/client/src/config.c b/client/src/config.c
index b7f5ed45..7b7d7edc 100644
--- a/client/src/config.c
+++ b/client/src/config.c
@@ -352,6 +352,13 @@ static struct Option options[] =
     .type           = OPTION_TYPE_BOOL,
     .value.x_bool   = false
   },
+  {
+    .module         = "input",
+    .name           = "helpMenuDelay",
+    .description    = "Show help menu after holding down the escape key for this many milliseconds",
+    .type           = OPTION_TYPE_INT,
+    .value.x_int    = 200
+  },
 
   // spice options
   {
@@ -547,6 +554,8 @@ bool config_load(int argc, char * argv[])
   g_params.autoCapture            = option_get_bool("input", "autoCapture"           );
   g_params.captureInputOnly       = option_get_bool("input", "captureOnly"           );
 
+  g_params.helpMenuDelayUs = option_get_int("input", "helpMenuDelay") * (uint64_t) 1000;
+
   g_params.minimizeOnFocusLoss = option_get_bool("win", "minimizeOnFocusLoss");
 
   if (option_get_bool("spice", "enable"))
diff --git a/client/src/main.h b/client/src/main.h
index 951a03a2..30fb1215 100644
--- a/client/src/main.h
+++ b/client/src/main.h
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ struct AppParams
   bool              captureOnStart;
   bool              quickSplash;
   bool              alwaysShowCursor;
+  uint64_t          helpMenuDelayUs;
 
   unsigned int      cursorPollInterval;
   unsigned int      framePollInterval;