diff --git a/ultraplot/axes/base.py b/ultraplot/axes/base.py
index dc61d8cc5..31e185ab3 100644
--- a/ultraplot/axes/base.py
+++ b/ultraplot/axes/base.py
@@ -3824,7 +3824,7 @@ def text(
         bordercolor="w",
         borderwidth=2,
         borderinvert=False,
-        borderstyle="miter",
+        borderstyle=None,
         bboxcolor="w",
         bboxstyle="round",
         bboxalpha=0.5,
@@ -3854,7 +3854,7 @@ def text(
             The color of the text border.
         borderinvert : bool, optional
             If ``True``, the text and border colors are swapped.
-        borderstyle : {'miter', 'round', 'bevel'}, optional
+        borderstyle : {'miter', 'round', 'bevel'}, default: :rc:`text.borderstyle`
             The `line join style \\
 <https://matplotlib.org/stable/gallery/lines_bars_and_markers/joinstyle.html>`__
             used for the border.
@@ -3901,6 +3901,7 @@ def text(
             kwargs.update(_pop_props(kwargs, "text"))
 
         # Update the text object using a monkey patch
+        borderstyle = _not_none(borderstyle, rc["text.borderstyle"])
         obj = func(*args, transform=transform, **kwargs)
         obj.update = labels._update_label.__get__(obj)
         obj.update(
diff --git a/ultraplot/internals/labels.py b/ultraplot/internals/labels.py
index a6d05e4df..c7af81452 100644
--- a/ultraplot/internals/labels.py
+++ b/ultraplot/internals/labels.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import matplotlib.text as mtext
 from matplotlib.font_manager import FontProperties
 
+from ..config import rc
 
 from . import ic  # noqa: F401
 
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ def _update_label(text, props=None, **kwargs):
     bordercolor = props.pop("bordercolor", "w")
     borderinvert = props.pop("borderinvert", False)
     borderwidth = props.pop("borderwidth", 2)
-    borderstyle = props.pop("borderstyle", "miter")
+    borderstyle = props.pop("borderstyle", rc["text.borderstyle"])
 
     if border:
         facecolor, bgcolor = text.get_color(), bordercolor
diff --git a/ultraplot/internals/rcsetup.py b/ultraplot/internals/rcsetup.py
index dcb79037b..9c1889a36 100644
--- a/ultraplot/internals/rcsetup.py
+++ b/ultraplot/internals/rcsetup.py
@@ -707,6 +707,7 @@ def copy(self):
     "sawtooth",
     "roundtooth",
 )
+_validate_joinstyle = _validate_belongs("miter", "round", "bevel")
 if hasattr(msetup, "_validate_linestyle"):  # fancy validation including dashes
     _validate_linestyle = msetup._validate_linestyle
 else:  # no dashes allowed then but no big deal
@@ -1044,6 +1045,12 @@ def copy(self):
         _validate_pt,
         "Width of the white border around a-b-c labels.",
     ),
+    "text.borderstyle": (
+        "bevel",
+        _validate_joinstyle,
+        "Join style for text border strokes. Must be one of "
+        "``'miter'``, ``'round'``, or ``'bevel'``.",
+    ),
     "abc.bbox": (
         False,
         _validate_bool,
diff --git a/ultraplot/tests/test_axes.py b/ultraplot/tests/test_axes.py
index 27ed331c2..5e0e0e9d6 100644
--- a/ultraplot/tests/test_axes.py
+++ b/ultraplot/tests/test_axes.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+import matplotlib.patheffects as mpatheffects
 
 import ultraplot as uplt
 from ultraplot.internals.warnings import UltraPlotWarning
@@ -132,6 +133,31 @@ def test_cartesian_format_all_units_types():
     ax.format(**kwargs)
 
 
+def _get_text_stroke_joinstyle(text):
+    for effect in text.get_path_effects():
+        if isinstance(effect, mpatheffects.Stroke):
+            for attr in ("joinstyle", "_joinstyle"):
+                if hasattr(effect, attr):
+                    return getattr(effect, attr)
+            if hasattr(effect, "_gc"):
+                return effect._gc.get("joinstyle")
+    return None
+
+
+def test_text_borderstyle_rc_default():
+    fig, ax = uplt.subplots()
+    with uplt.rc.context({"text.borderstyle": "round"}):
+        txt = ax.text(0.5, 0.5, "A", border=True)
+    assert _get_text_stroke_joinstyle(txt) == "round"
+
+
+def test_text_borderstyle_overrides_rc():
+    fig, ax = uplt.subplots()
+    with uplt.rc.context({"text.borderstyle": "round"}):
+        txt = ax.text(0.5, 0.5, "A", border=True, borderstyle="bevel")
+    assert _get_text_stroke_joinstyle(txt) == "bevel"
+
+
 def test_dualx_log_transform_is_finite():
     """
     Ensure dualx transforms remain finite on log axes.