diff --git a/vdirsyncer/cli.py b/vdirsyncer/cli.py
index 2847317..737f52d 100644
--- a/vdirsyncer/cli.py
+++ b/vdirsyncer/cli.py
@@ -273,6 +273,10 @@ def _create_app():
         if 'config' not in ctx.obj:
             fname = expand_path(os.environ.get('VDIRSYNCER_CONFIG',
                                                '~/.vdirsyncer/config'))
+            if not os.path.exists(fname):
+                xdg_config_dir = os.environ.get('XDG_CONFIG_HOME',
+                                                expand_path('~/.config/'))
+                fname = os.path.join(xdg_config_dir, 'vdirsyncer/config')
             try:
                 ctx.obj['config'] = load_config(fname)
             except Exception as e: