diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index b324c599e86..13f67474c55 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v5.1.1...master[Check the HEAD diff]
 - Add support for passing list and dictionary settings via -E flag.
 - Support for parsing list and dictionary setting from environment variables.
 - Added new flags to import_dashboards (-cacert, -cert, -key, -insecure). {pull}3139[3139] {pull}3163[3163]
+- The limit for the number of fields is increased via the mapping template. {pull}3275[3275]
 
 *Metricbeat*
 - Kafka module broker matching enhancements. {pull}3129[3129]
diff --git a/filebeat/filebeat.template.json b/filebeat/filebeat.template.json
index 3fe0d0dcb52..7eccf0313df 100644
--- a/filebeat/filebeat.template.json
+++ b/filebeat/filebeat.template.json
@@ -320,6 +320,7 @@
   },
   "order": 0,
   "settings": {
+    "index.mapping.total_fields.limit": 10000,
     "index.refresh_interval": "5s"
   },
   "template": "filebeat-*"
diff --git a/heartbeat/heartbeat.template.json b/heartbeat/heartbeat.template.json
index a289c7e5d5f..d40a2d25ae6 100644
--- a/heartbeat/heartbeat.template.json
+++ b/heartbeat/heartbeat.template.json
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@
   },
   "order": 0,
   "settings": {
+    "index.mapping.total_fields.limit": 10000,
     "index.refresh_interval": "5s"
   },
   "template": "heartbeat-*"
diff --git a/libbeat/scripts/generate_template.py b/libbeat/scripts/generate_template.py
index 1f0bb207495..2b6fb53eb5f 100644
--- a/libbeat/scripts/generate_template.py
+++ b/libbeat/scripts/generate_template.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ def fields_to_es_template(args, input, output, index, version):
         "template": index,
         "order": 0,
         "settings": {
-            "index.refresh_interval": "5s"
+            "index.refresh_interval": "5s",
         },
         "mappings": {
             "_default_": {
@@ -66,6 +66,11 @@ def fields_to_es_template(args, input, output, index, version):
         template["mappings"]["_default_"]["_all"]["norms"] = {
             "enabled": False
         }
+    else:
+        # For ES 5.x, increase the limit on the max number of fields.
+        # In a typical scenario, most fields are not used, so increasing the
+        # limit shouldn't be that bad.
+        template["settings"]["index.mapping.total_fields.limit"] = 10000
 
     properties = {}
     dynamic_templates = []
diff --git a/metricbeat/metricbeat.template.json b/metricbeat/metricbeat.template.json
index 067adddb2ca..f259e88356a 100644
--- a/metricbeat/metricbeat.template.json
+++ b/metricbeat/metricbeat.template.json
@@ -3696,6 +3696,7 @@
   },
   "order": 0,
   "settings": {
+    "index.mapping.total_fields.limit": 10000,
     "index.refresh_interval": "5s"
   },
   "template": "metricbeat-*"
diff --git a/packetbeat/packetbeat.template.json b/packetbeat/packetbeat.template.json
index baee6c8e99c..9a8636be43a 100644
--- a/packetbeat/packetbeat.template.json
+++ b/packetbeat/packetbeat.template.json
@@ -1359,6 +1359,7 @@
   },
   "order": 0,
   "settings": {
+    "index.mapping.total_fields.limit": 10000,
     "index.refresh_interval": "5s"
   },
   "template": "packetbeat-*"
diff --git a/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.template.json b/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.template.json
index 8d747356797..bde2f1235cc 100644
--- a/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.template.json
+++ b/winlogbeat/winlogbeat.template.json
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@
   },
   "order": 0,
   "settings": {
+    "index.mapping.total_fields.limit": 10000,
     "index.refresh_interval": "5s"
   },
   "template": "winlogbeat-*"