diff --git a/src/libstore/globals.cc b/src/libstore/globals.cc
index d5615d93c7d0db7a6241550e4e9a0cd1fee07ac5..50374f782deeeb7eec1db8fbab6dcd07ae6e1699 100644
--- a/src/libstore/globals.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/globals.cc
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Settings::Settings()
     buildTimeout = 0;
     useBuildHook = true;
     printBuildTrace = false;
-    reservedSize = 1024 * 1024;
+    reservedSize = 8 * 1024 * 1024;
     fsyncMetadata = true;
     useSQLiteWAL = true;
     syncBeforeRegistering = false;