diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/x11/xserver.nix b/nixos/modules/services/x11/xserver.nix
index ec2f3a4f8bb1..e34f0c216639 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/x11/xserver.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/x11/xserver.nix
@@ -539,6 +539,10 @@ in
           Restart = "always";
           RestartSec = "200ms";
           SyslogIdentifier = "display-manager";
+          # Stop restarting if the display manager stops (crashes) 2 times
+          # in one minute. Starting X typically takes 3-4s.
+          StartLimitInterval = "30s";
+          StartLimitBurst = "3";
         };
       };