diff --git a/python/core/auto_generated/qgspallabeling.sip.in b/python/core/auto_generated/qgspallabeling.sip.in
index a6d7380e928..d739432f61f 100644
--- a/python/core/auto_generated/qgspallabeling.sip.in
+++ b/python/core/auto_generated/qgspallabeling.sip.in
@@ -159,6 +159,7 @@ class QgsPalLayerSettings
 
       // text formatting
       MultiLineWrapChar,
+      AutoWrapLength,
       MultiLineHeight,
       MultiLineAlignment,
       DirSymbDraw,
@@ -283,6 +284,10 @@ Returns the QgsExpression for this label settings. May be None if isExpression i
 
     QString wrapChar;
 
+    int autoWrapLength;
+
+    bool useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap;
+
     MultiLineAlign multilineAlign;
 
     bool addDirectionSymbol;
@@ -559,15 +564,16 @@ Checks whether a geometry requires preparation before registration with PAL
 .. versionadded:: 2.9
 %End
 
-    static QStringList splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wrapCharacter );
+    static QStringList splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wrapCharacter, int autoWrapLength = 0, bool useMaxLineLengthWhenAutoWrapping = true );
 %Docstring
-Splits a text string to a list of separate lines, using a specified wrap character.
+Splits a ``text`` string to a list of separate lines, using a specified wrap character (``wrapCharacter``).
 The text string will be split on either newline characters or the wrap character.
 
-:param text: text string to split
-:param wrapCharacter: additional character to wrap on
-
-:return: list of text split to lines
+Since QGIS 3.4 the ``autoWrapLength`` argument can be used to specify an ideal length of line to automatically
+wrap text to (automatic wrapping is disabled if ``autoWrapLength`` is 0). This automatic wrapping is performed
+after processing wrapping using ``wrapCharacter``. When auto wrapping is enabled, the ``useMaxLineLengthWhenAutoWrapping``
+argument controls whether the lines should be wrapped to an ideal maximum of ``autoWrapLength`` characters, or
+if false then the lines are wrapped to an ideal minimum length of ``autoWrapLength`` characters.
 
 .. versionadded:: 2.9
 %End
diff --git a/python/core/auto_generated/qgsstringutils.sip.in b/python/core/auto_generated/qgsstringutils.sip.in
index a84c916e6f5..69f1b480e3f 100644
--- a/python/core/auto_generated/qgsstringutils.sip.in
+++ b/python/core/auto_generated/qgsstringutils.sip.in
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ links.
 
     static QString wordWrap( const QString &string, int length, bool useMaxLineLength = true, const QString &customDelimiter = QString() );
 %Docstring
-Automatically wraps a \string by inserting new line characters at appropriate locations in the string.
+Automatically wraps a ``string`` by inserting new line characters at appropriate locations in the string.
 
 The ``length`` argument specifies either the minimum or maximum length of lines desired, depending
 on whether ``useMaxLineLength`` is true. If ``useMaxLineLength`` is true, then the string will be wrapped
diff --git a/src/app/qgslabelinggui.cpp b/src/app/qgslabelinggui.cpp
index 85a1e87ee41..54aabcd73a0 100644
--- a/src/app/qgslabelinggui.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgslabelinggui.cpp
@@ -247,6 +247,8 @@ void QgsLabelingGui::setLayer( QgsMapLayer *mapLayer )
   mMaxCharAngleOutDSpinBox->setValue( std::fabs( lyr.maxCurvedCharAngleOut ) );
 
   wrapCharacterEdit->setText( lyr.wrapChar );
+  mAutoWrapLengthSpinBox->setValue( lyr.autoWrapLength );
+  mAutoWrapTypeComboBox->setCurrentIndex( lyr.useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap ? 0 : 1 );
   mFontMultiLineAlignComboBox->setCurrentIndex( ( unsigned int ) lyr.multilineAlign );
   chkPreserveRotation->setChecked( lyr.preserveRotation );
 
@@ -435,6 +437,8 @@ QgsPalLayerSettings QgsLabelingGui::layerSettings()
   lyr.fontMinPixelSize = mFontMinPixelSpinBox->value();
   lyr.fontMaxPixelSize = mFontMaxPixelSpinBox->value();
   lyr.wrapChar = wrapCharacterEdit->text();
+  lyr.autoWrapLength = mAutoWrapLengthSpinBox->value();
+  lyr.useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap = mAutoWrapTypeComboBox->currentIndex() == 0;
   lyr.multilineAlign = ( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineAlign ) mFontMultiLineAlignComboBox->currentIndex();
   lyr.preserveRotation = chkPreserveRotation->isChecked();
 
@@ -465,6 +469,7 @@ void QgsLabelingGui::populateDataDefinedButtons()
 
   // text formatting
   registerDataDefinedButton( mWrapCharDDBtn, QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineWrapChar );
+  registerDataDefinedButton( mAutoWrapLengthDDBtn, QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength );
   registerDataDefinedButton( mFontLineHeightDDBtn, QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight );
   registerDataDefinedButton( mFontMultiLineAlignDDBtn, QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineAlignment );
 
diff --git a/src/core/qgspallabeling.cpp b/src/core/qgspallabeling.cpp
index 9d46e61f6e6..49f1037bed5 100644
--- a/src/core/qgspallabeling.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgspallabeling.cpp
@@ -124,6 +124,7 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::initPropertyDefinitions()
     { QgsPalLayerSettings::FontWordSpacing, QgsPropertyDefinition( "FontWordSpacing", QObject::tr( "Word spacing" ), QgsPropertyDefinition::Double, origin ) },
     { QgsPalLayerSettings::FontBlendMode, QgsPropertyDefinition( "FontBlendMode", QObject::tr( "Text blend mode" ), QgsPropertyDefinition::BlendMode, origin ) },
     { QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineWrapChar, QgsPropertyDefinition( "MultiLineWrapChar", QObject::tr( "Wrap character" ), QgsPropertyDefinition::String, origin ) },
+    { QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength, QgsPropertyDefinition( "AutoWrapLength", QObject::tr( "Automatic word wrap line length" ), QgsPropertyDefinition::IntegerPositive, origin ) },
     { QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight, QgsPropertyDefinition( "MultiLineHeight", QObject::tr( "Line height" ), QgsPropertyDefinition::DoublePositive, origin ) },
     { QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineAlignment, QgsPropertyDefinition( "MultiLineAlignment", QgsPropertyDefinition::DataTypeString, QObject::tr( "Line alignment" ), QObject::tr( "string " ) + "[<b>Left</b>|<b>Center</b>|<b>Right</b>|<b>Follow</b>]", origin ) },
     { QgsPalLayerSettings::DirSymbDraw, QgsPropertyDefinition( "DirSymbDraw", QObject::tr( "Draw direction symbol" ), QgsPropertyDefinition::Boolean, origin ) },
@@ -321,6 +322,8 @@ QgsPalLayerSettings &QgsPalLayerSettings::operator=( const QgsPalLayerSettings &
 
   // text formatting
   wrapChar = s.wrapChar;
+  autoWrapLength = s.autoWrapLength;
+  useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap = s.useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap;
   multilineAlign = s.multilineAlign;
   addDirectionSymbol = s.addDirectionSymbol;
   leftDirectionSymbol = s.leftDirectionSymbol;
@@ -532,6 +535,9 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::readFromLayerCustomProperties( QgsVectorLayer *layer )
 
   // text formatting
   wrapChar = layer->customProperty( QStringLiteral( "labeling/wrapChar" ) ).toString();
+  autoWrapLength = layer->customProperty( QStringLiteral( "labeling/autoWrapLength" ) ).toInt();
+  useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap = layer->customProperty( QStringLiteral( "labeling/useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap" ), QStringLiteral( "1" ) ).toBool();
+
   multilineAlign = static_cast< MultiLineAlign >( layer->customProperty( QStringLiteral( "labeling/multilineAlign" ), QVariant( MultiFollowPlacement ) ).toUInt() );
   addDirectionSymbol = layer->customProperty( QStringLiteral( "labeling/addDirectionSymbol" ) ).toBool();
   leftDirectionSymbol = layer->customProperty( QStringLiteral( "labeling/leftDirectionSymbol" ), QVariant( "<" ) ).toString();
@@ -739,6 +745,8 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::readXml( QDomElement &elem, const QgsReadWriteContext
   // text formatting
   QDomElement textFormatElem = elem.firstChildElement( QStringLiteral( "text-format" ) );
   wrapChar = textFormatElem.attribute( QStringLiteral( "wrapChar" ) );
+  autoWrapLength = textFormatElem.attribute( QStringLiteral( "autoWrapLength" ), QStringLiteral( "0" ) ).toInt();
+  useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap = textFormatElem.attribute( QStringLiteral( "useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap" ), QStringLiteral( "1" ) ).toInt();
   multilineAlign = static_cast< MultiLineAlign >( textFormatElem.attribute( QStringLiteral( "multilineAlign" ), QString::number( MultiFollowPlacement ) ).toUInt() );
   addDirectionSymbol = textFormatElem.attribute( QStringLiteral( "addDirectionSymbol" ) ).toInt();
   leftDirectionSymbol = textFormatElem.attribute( QStringLiteral( "leftDirectionSymbol" ), QStringLiteral( "<" ) );
@@ -953,6 +961,8 @@ QDomElement QgsPalLayerSettings::writeXml( QDomDocument &doc, const QgsReadWrite
   // text formatting
   QDomElement textFormatElem = doc.createElement( QStringLiteral( "text-format" ) );
   textFormatElem.setAttribute( QStringLiteral( "wrapChar" ), wrapChar );
+  textFormatElem.setAttribute( QStringLiteral( "autoWrapLength" ), autoWrapLength );
+  textFormatElem.setAttribute( QStringLiteral( "useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap" ), useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap );
   textFormatElem.setAttribute( QStringLiteral( "multilineAlign" ), static_cast< unsigned int >( multilineAlign ) );
   textFormatElem.setAttribute( QStringLiteral( "addDirectionSymbol" ), addDirectionSymbol );
   textFormatElem.setAttribute( QStringLiteral( "leftDirectionSymbol" ), leftDirectionSymbol );
@@ -1046,6 +1056,7 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::calculateLabelSize( const QFontMetricsF *fm, QString t
   QgsRenderContext *rc = context ? context : scopedRc.get();
 
   QString wrapchr = wrapChar;
+  int evalAutoWrapLength = autoWrapLength;
   double multilineH = mFormat.lineHeight();
 
   bool addDirSymb = addDirectionSymbol;
@@ -1060,6 +1071,11 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::calculateLabelSize( const QFontMetricsF *fm, QString t
       wrapchr = dataDefinedValues.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineWrapChar ).toString();
     }
 
+    if ( dataDefinedValues.contains( QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength ) )
+    {
+      evalAutoWrapLength = dataDefinedValues.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength, evalAutoWrapLength ).toInt();
+    }
+
     if ( dataDefinedValues.contains( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight ) )
     {
       multilineH = dataDefinedValues.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight ).toDouble();
@@ -1095,6 +1111,9 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::calculateLabelSize( const QFontMetricsF *fm, QString t
     rc->expressionContext().setOriginalValueVariable( wrapChar );
     wrapchr = mDataDefinedProperties.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineWrapChar, rc->expressionContext(), wrapchr ).toString();
 
+    rc->expressionContext().setOriginalValueVariable( evalAutoWrapLength );
+    evalAutoWrapLength = mDataDefinedProperties.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength, rc->expressionContext(), evalAutoWrapLength ).toInt();
+
     rc->expressionContext().setOriginalValueVariable( multilineH );
     multilineH = mDataDefinedProperties.valueAsDouble( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight, rc->expressionContext(), multilineH );
 
@@ -1140,7 +1159,7 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::calculateLabelSize( const QFontMetricsF *fm, QString t
   }
 
   double w = 0.0, h = 0.0;
-  QStringList multiLineSplit = QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( text, wrapchr );
+  QStringList multiLineSplit = QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( text, wrapchr, evalAutoWrapLength, useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap );
   int lines = multiLineSplit.size();
 
   double labelHeight = fm->ascent() + fm->descent(); // ignore +1 for baseline
@@ -2422,6 +2441,12 @@ void QgsPalLayerSettings::parseTextFormatting( QgsRenderContext &context )
     wrapchr = exprVal.toString();
   }
 
+  int evalAutoWrapLength = autoWrapLength;
+  if ( dataDefinedValEval( DDInt, QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength, exprVal, context.expressionContext(), evalAutoWrapLength ) )
+  {
+    evalAutoWrapLength = exprVal.toInt();
+  }
+
   // data defined multiline height?
   dataDefinedValEval( DDDouble, QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight, exprVal, context.expressionContext() );
 
@@ -2844,13 +2869,14 @@ bool QgsPalLabeling::geometryRequiresPreparation( const QgsGeometry &geometry, Q
   return false;
 }
 
-QStringList QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wrapCharacter )
+QStringList QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wrapCharacter, const int autoWrapLength, const bool useMaxLineLengthWhenAutoWrapping )
 {
   QStringList multiLineSplit;
   if ( !wrapCharacter.isEmpty() && wrapCharacter != QLatin1String( "\n" ) )
   {
     //wrap on both the wrapchr and new line characters
-    Q_FOREACH ( const QString &line, text.split( wrapCharacter ) )
+    const QStringList lines = text.split( wrapCharacter );
+    for ( const QString &line : lines )
     {
       multiLineSplit.append( line.split( '\n' ) );
     }
@@ -2860,6 +2886,17 @@ QStringList QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wr
     multiLineSplit = text.split( '\n' );
   }
 
+  // apply auto wrapping to each manually created line
+  if ( autoWrapLength != 0 )
+  {
+    QStringList autoWrappedLines;
+    autoWrappedLines.reserve( multiLineSplit.count() );
+    for ( const QString &line : qgis::as_const( multiLineSplit ) )
+    {
+      autoWrappedLines.append( QgsStringUtils::wordWrap( line, autoWrapLength, useMaxLineLengthWhenAutoWrapping ).split( '\n' ) );
+    }
+    multiLineSplit = autoWrappedLines;
+  }
   return multiLineSplit;
 }
 
@@ -3044,7 +3081,12 @@ void QgsPalLabeling::dataDefinedTextFormatting( QgsPalLayerSettings &tmpLyr,
     tmpLyr.wrapChar = ddValues.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineWrapChar ).toString();
   }
 
-  if ( !tmpLyr.wrapChar.isEmpty() || tmpLyr.getLabelExpression()->expression().contains( QLatin1String( "wordwrap" ) ) )
+  if ( ddValues.contains( QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength ) )
+  {
+    tmpLyr.autoWrapLength = ddValues.value( QgsPalLayerSettings::AutoWrapLength ).toInt();
+  }
+
+  if ( !tmpLyr.wrapChar.isEmpty() || tmpLyr.getLabelExpression()->expression().contains( QLatin1String( "wordwrap" ) ) || tmpLyr.autoWrapLength > 0 )
   {
 
     if ( ddValues.contains( QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiLineHeight ) )
diff --git a/src/core/qgspallabeling.h b/src/core/qgspallabeling.h
index d47e6812dd2..ac5e0e31e33 100644
--- a/src/core/qgspallabeling.h
+++ b/src/core/qgspallabeling.h
@@ -269,6 +269,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsPalLayerSettings
 
       // text formatting
       MultiLineWrapChar = 31,
+      AutoWrapLength = 101,
       MultiLineHeight = 32,
       MultiLineAlignment = 33,
       DirSymbDraw = 34,
@@ -417,6 +418,27 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsPalLayerSettings
      */
     QString wrapChar;
 
+    /**
+     * If non-zero, indicates that label text should be automatically wrapped to (ideally) the specified
+     * number of characters. If zero, auto wrapping is disabled.
+     *
+     * \see useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap
+     * \since QGIS 3.4
+     */
+    int autoWrapLength = 0;
+
+    /**
+     * If true, indicates that when auto wrapping label text the autoWrapLength length indicates the maximum
+     * ideal length of text lines. If false, then autoWrapLength indicates the ideal minimum length of text
+     * lines.
+     *
+     * If autoWrapLength is 0 then this value has no effect.
+     *
+     * \see autoWrapLength
+     * \since QGIS 3.4
+     */
+    bool useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap = true;
+
     //! Horizontal alignment of multi-line labels.
     MultiLineAlign multilineAlign;
 
@@ -986,14 +1008,18 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsPalLabeling
     static bool geometryRequiresPreparation( const QgsGeometry &geometry, QgsRenderContext &context, const QgsCoordinateTransform &ct, const QgsGeometry &clipGeometry = QgsGeometry() );
 
     /**
-     * Splits a text string to a list of separate lines, using a specified wrap character.
+     * Splits a \a text string to a list of separate lines, using a specified wrap character (\a wrapCharacter).
      * The text string will be split on either newline characters or the wrap character.
-     * \param text text string to split
-     * \param wrapCharacter additional character to wrap on
-     * \returns list of text split to lines
+     *
+     * Since QGIS 3.4 the \a autoWrapLength argument can be used to specify an ideal length of line to automatically
+     * wrap text to (automatic wrapping is disabled if \a autoWrapLength is 0). This automatic wrapping is performed
+     * after processing wrapping using \a wrapCharacter. When auto wrapping is enabled, the \a useMaxLineLengthWhenAutoWrapping
+     * argument controls whether the lines should be wrapped to an ideal maximum of \a autoWrapLength characters, or
+     * if false then the lines are wrapped to an ideal minimum length of \a autoWrapLength characters.
+     *
      * \since QGIS 2.9
      */
-    static QStringList splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wrapCharacter );
+    static QStringList splitToLines( const QString &text, const QString &wrapCharacter, int autoWrapLength = 0, bool useMaxLineLengthWhenAutoWrapping = true );
 
     /**
      * Splits a text string to a list of graphemes, which are the smallest allowable character
diff --git a/src/core/qgsstringutils.h b/src/core/qgsstringutils.h
index 69c87e0346c..ad6964e15ea 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsstringutils.h
+++ b/src/core/qgsstringutils.h
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsStringUtils
     static QString insertLinks( const QString &string, bool *foundLinks = nullptr );
 
     /**
-     * Automatically wraps a \string by inserting new line characters at appropriate locations in the string.
+     * Automatically wraps a \a string by inserting new line characters at appropriate locations in the string.
      *
      * The \a length argument specifies either the minimum or maximum length of lines desired, depending
      * on whether \a useMaxLineLength is true. If \a useMaxLineLength is true, then the string will be wrapped
diff --git a/src/core/qgsvectorlayerlabelprovider.cpp b/src/core/qgsvectorlayerlabelprovider.cpp
index 63c3ac6d988..bd46488409c 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsvectorlayerlabelprovider.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsvectorlayerlabelprovider.cpp
@@ -612,7 +612,7 @@ void QgsVectorLayerLabelProvider::drawLabelPrivate( pal::LabelPosition *label, Q
     }
 
     //QgsDebugMsgLevel( "drawLabel " + txt, 4 );
-    QStringList multiLineList = QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( txt, tmpLyr.wrapChar );
+    QStringList multiLineList = QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( txt, tmpLyr.wrapChar, tmpLyr.autoWrapLength, tmpLyr.useMaxLineLengthForAutoWrap );
 
     QgsTextRenderer::HAlignment hAlign = QgsTextRenderer::AlignLeft;
     if ( tmpLyr.multilineAlign == QgsPalLayerSettings::MultiCenter )
diff --git a/src/gui/qgstextformatwidget.cpp b/src/gui/qgstextformatwidget.cpp
index 07adb9341d3..70ca5126ddc 100644
--- a/src/gui/qgstextformatwidget.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/qgstextformatwidget.cpp
@@ -456,10 +456,13 @@ void QgsTextFormatWidget::initWidget()
           << mShapeTypeDDBtn
           << mShowLabelDDBtn
           << mWrapCharDDBtn
+          << mAutoWrapLengthDDBtn
           << mZIndexDDBtn
           << mZIndexSpinBox
           << spinBufferSize
           << wrapCharacterEdit
+          << mAutoWrapLengthSpinBox
+          << mAutoWrapTypeComboBox
           << mCentroidRadioVisible
           << mCentroidRadioWhole
           << mDirectSymbRadioBtnAbove
diff --git a/src/ui/qgstextformatwidgetbase.ui b/src/ui/qgstextformatwidgetbase.ui
index ae1af6e92c4..c7bfd8fc52c 100644
--- a/src/ui/qgstextformatwidgetbase.ui
+++ b/src/ui/qgstextformatwidgetbase.ui
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@
               <rect>
                <x>0</x>
                <y>0</y>
-               <width>482</width>
+               <width>486</width>
                <height>300</height>
               </rect>
              </property>
@@ -651,7 +651,7 @@
               <item>
                <widget class="QStackedWidget" name="mLabelStackedWidget">
                 <property name="currentIndex">
-                 <number>6</number>
+                 <number>1</number>
                 </property>
                 <widget class="QWidget" name="mLabelPage_Text">
                  <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_6">
@@ -680,8 +680,8 @@
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>448</width>
-                       <height>444</height>
+                       <width>375</width>
+                       <height>470</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_2">
@@ -1460,8 +1460,8 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>448</width>
-                       <height>389</height>
+                       <width>452</width>
+                       <height>479</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_14">
@@ -1507,27 +1507,10 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                            <property name="bottomMargin">
                             <number>0</number>
                            </property>
-                           <item row="0" column="2">
-                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mWrapCharDDBtn">
+                           <item row="1" column="0">
+                            <widget class="QLabel" name="label_44">
                              <property name="text">
-                              <string>…</string>
-                             </property>
-                            </widget>
-                           </item>
-                           <item row="0" column="1">
-                            <widget class="QLineEdit" name="wrapCharacterEdit">
-                             <property name="minimumSize">
-                              <size>
-                               <width>0</width>
-                               <height>0</height>
-                              </size>
-                             </property>
-                            </widget>
-                           </item>
-                           <item row="1" column="2">
-                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mFontLineHeightDDBtn">
-                             <property name="text">
-                              <string>…</string>
+                              <string>Wrap lines to</string>
                              </property>
                             </widget>
                            </item>
@@ -1544,7 +1527,7 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                              </property>
                             </widget>
                            </item>
-                           <item row="1" column="0">
+                           <item row="3" column="0">
                             <widget class="QLabel" name="mFontLineHeightLabel">
                              <property name="sizePolicy">
                               <sizepolicy hsizetype="Maximum" vsizetype="Preferred">
@@ -1557,7 +1540,98 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                              </property>
                             </widget>
                            </item>
+                           <item row="1" column="2">
+                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mAutoWrapLengthDDBtn">
+                             <property name="text">
+                              <string>…</string>
+                             </property>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
+                           <item row="4" column="1">
+                            <widget class="QComboBox" name="mFontMultiLineAlignComboBox">
+                             <property name="enabled">
+                              <bool>true</bool>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="toolTip">
+                              <string>Paragraph style alignment of multi-line text</string>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="layoutDirection">
+                              <enum>Qt::LeftToRight</enum>
+                             </property>
+                             <item>
+                              <property name="text">
+                               <string>Left</string>
+                              </property>
+                             </item>
+                             <item>
+                              <property name="text">
+                               <string>Center</string>
+                              </property>
+                             </item>
+                             <item>
+                              <property name="text">
+                               <string>Right</string>
+                              </property>
+                             </item>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
+                           <item row="4" column="2">
+                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mFontMultiLineAlignDDBtn">
+                             <property name="text">
+                              <string>…</string>
+                             </property>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
                            <item row="1" column="1">
+                            <widget class="QgsSpinBox" name="mAutoWrapLengthSpinBox">
+                             <property name="enabled">
+                              <bool>true</bool>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="toolTip">
+                              <string>If set, label text will automatically be wrapped to match the specified number of characters per line (if possible)</string>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="specialValueText">
+                              <string>No automatic wrapping</string>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="suffix">
+                              <string> characters</string>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="maximum">
+                              <number>999</number>
+                             </property>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
+                           <item row="0" column="1">
+                            <widget class="QLineEdit" name="wrapCharacterEdit">
+                             <property name="minimumSize">
+                              <size>
+                               <width>0</width>
+                               <height>0</height>
+                              </size>
+                             </property>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
+                           <item row="4" column="0">
+                            <widget class="QLabel" name="mFontMultiLineLabel">
+                             <property name="sizePolicy">
+                              <sizepolicy hsizetype="Maximum" vsizetype="Preferred">
+                               <horstretch>0</horstretch>
+                               <verstretch>0</verstretch>
+                              </sizepolicy>
+                             </property>
+                             <property name="text">
+                              <string>Alignment</string>
+                             </property>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
+                           <item row="3" column="2">
+                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mFontLineHeightDDBtn">
+                             <property name="text">
+                              <string>…</string>
+                             </property>
+                            </widget>
+                           </item>
+                           <item row="3" column="1">
                             <widget class="QgsDoubleSpinBox" name="mFontLineHeightSpinBox">
                              <property name="enabled">
                               <bool>true</bool>
@@ -1588,52 +1662,28 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                              </property>
                             </widget>
                            </item>
-                           <item row="2" column="0">
-                            <widget class="QLabel" name="mFontMultiLineLabel">
-                             <property name="sizePolicy">
-                              <sizepolicy hsizetype="Maximum" vsizetype="Preferred">
-                               <horstretch>0</horstretch>
-                               <verstretch>0</verstretch>
-                              </sizepolicy>
-                             </property>
+                           <item row="0" column="2">
+                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mWrapCharDDBtn">
                              <property name="text">
-                              <string>Alignment</string>
+                              <string>…</string>
                              </property>
                             </widget>
                            </item>
                            <item row="2" column="1">
-                            <widget class="QComboBox" name="mFontMultiLineAlignComboBox">
-                             <property name="enabled">
-                              <bool>true</bool>
-                             </property>
+                            <widget class="QComboBox" name="mAutoWrapTypeComboBox">
                              <property name="toolTip">
-                              <string>Paragraph style alignment of multi-line text</string>
-                             </property>
-                             <property name="layoutDirection">
-                              <enum>Qt::LeftToRight</enum>
+                              <string>Controls whether lines are automatically wrapped using the maximum number of characters in a line, or the minimum</string>
                              </property>
                              <item>
                               <property name="text">
-                               <string>Left</string>
+                               <string>Maximum line length</string>
                               </property>
                              </item>
                              <item>
                               <property name="text">
-                               <string>Center</string>
+                               <string>Minimum line length</string>
                               </property>
                              </item>
-                             <item>
-                              <property name="text">
-                               <string>Right</string>
-                              </property>
-                             </item>
-                            </widget>
-                           </item>
-                           <item row="2" column="2">
-                            <widget class="QgsPropertyOverrideButton" name="mFontMultiLineAlignDDBtn">
-                             <property name="text">
-                              <string>…</string>
-                             </property>
                             </widget>
                            </item>
                           </layout>
@@ -2095,8 +2145,8 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>464</width>
-                       <height>366</height>
+                       <width>466</width>
+                       <height>365</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_12">
@@ -2441,8 +2491,8 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>462</width>
-                       <height>738</height>
+                       <width>464</width>
+                       <height>776</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_21">
@@ -3214,8 +3264,8 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>448</width>
-                       <height>441</height>
+                       <width>452</width>
+                       <height>470</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_22">
@@ -3675,8 +3725,8 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>448</width>
-                       <height>917</height>
+                       <width>452</width>
+                       <height>977</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_11">
@@ -5309,8 +5359,8 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>448</width>
-                       <height>795</height>
+                       <width>452</width>
+                       <height>877</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout_8">
@@ -6187,6 +6237,34 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
  </widget>
  <layoutdefault spacing="6" margin="11"/>
  <customwidgets>
+  <customwidget>
+   <class>QgsDoubleSpinBox</class>
+   <extends>QDoubleSpinBox</extends>
+   <header>qgsdoublespinbox.h</header>
+  </customwidget>
+  <customwidget>
+   <class>QgsColorButton</class>
+   <extends>QToolButton</extends>
+   <header>qgscolorbutton.h</header>
+   <container>1</container>
+  </customwidget>
+  <customwidget>
+   <class>QgsPropertyOverrideButton</class>
+   <extends>QToolButton</extends>
+   <header>qgspropertyoverridebutton.h</header>
+  </customwidget>
+  <customwidget>
+   <class>QgsUnitSelectionWidget</class>
+   <extends>QWidget</extends>
+   <header>qgsunitselectionwidget.h</header>
+   <container>1</container>
+  </customwidget>
+  <customwidget>
+   <class>QgsOpacityWidget</class>
+   <extends>QWidget</extends>
+   <header>qgsopacitywidget.h</header>
+   <container>1</container>
+  </customwidget>
   <customwidget>
    <class>QgsScrollArea</class>
    <extends>QScrollArea</extends>
@@ -6209,28 +6287,6 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
    <extends>QWidget</extends>
    <header>qgsscalewidget.h</header>
   </customwidget>
-  <customwidget>
-   <class>QgsDoubleSpinBox</class>
-   <extends>QDoubleSpinBox</extends>
-   <header>qgsdoublespinbox.h</header>
-  </customwidget>
-  <customwidget>
-   <class>QgsUnitSelectionWidget</class>
-   <extends>QWidget</extends>
-   <header>qgsunitselectionwidget.h</header>
-   <container>1</container>
-  </customwidget>
-  <customwidget>
-   <class>QgsColorButton</class>
-   <extends>QToolButton</extends>
-   <header>qgscolorbutton.h</header>
-   <container>1</container>
-  </customwidget>
-  <customwidget>
-   <class>QgsPropertyOverrideButton</class>
-   <extends>QToolButton</extends>
-   <header>qgspropertyoverridebutton.h</header>
-  </customwidget>
   <customwidget>
    <class>QgsBlendModeComboBox</class>
    <extends>QComboBox</extends>
@@ -6258,12 +6314,6 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
    <header>effects/qgseffectstackpropertieswidget.h</header>
    <container>1</container>
   </customwidget>
-  <customwidget>
-   <class>QgsOpacityWidget</class>
-   <extends>QWidget</extends>
-   <header>qgsopacitywidget.h</header>
-   <container>1</container>
-  </customwidget>
  </customwidgets>
  <tabstops>
   <tabstop>mFieldExpressionWidget</tabstop>
@@ -6307,6 +6357,9 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
   <tabstop>scrollArea_5</tabstop>
   <tabstop>wrapCharacterEdit</tabstop>
   <tabstop>mWrapCharDDBtn</tabstop>
+  <tabstop>mAutoWrapLengthSpinBox</tabstop>
+  <tabstop>mAutoWrapLengthDDBtn</tabstop>
+  <tabstop>mAutoWrapTypeComboBox</tabstop>
   <tabstop>mFontLineHeightSpinBox</tabstop>
   <tabstop>mFontLineHeightDDBtn</tabstop>
   <tabstop>mFontMultiLineAlignComboBox</tabstop>
@@ -6536,6 +6589,12 @@ font-style: italic;</string>
   <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
   <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
   <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
+  <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
+  <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
+  <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
+  <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
+  <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
+  <include location="../../images/images.qrc"/>
  </resources>
  <connections>
   <connection>
diff --git a/tests/src/core/testqgspallabeling.cpp b/tests/src/core/testqgspallabeling.cpp
index 92cea159353..081c3086532 100644
--- a/tests/src/core/testqgspallabeling.cpp
+++ b/tests/src/core/testqgspallabeling.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,14 @@ void TestQgsPalLabeling::wrapChar()
   QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( "mixed new line\nand char", QString( " " ) ), QStringList() << "mixed" << "new" << "line" << "and" << "char" );
   QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( "no matching chars", QString( "#" ) ), QStringList() << "no matching chars" );
   QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( "no\nmatching\nchars", QString( "#" ) ), QStringList() << "no" << "matching" << "chars" );
+
+  // with auto wrap
+  QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( "with auto wrap", QString(), 12, true ), QStringList() << "with auto" << "wrap" );
+  QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( "with auto wrap", QString(), 6, false ), QStringList() << "with auto" << "wrap" );
+
+  // manual wrap character should take precedence
+  QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( QStringLiteral( "with auto-wrap and manual-wrap" ), QStringLiteral( "-" ), 12, true ), QStringList() << "with auto" << "wrap and" << "manual" << "wrap" );
+  QCOMPARE( QgsPalLabeling::splitToLines( QStringLiteral( "with auto-wrap and manual-wrap" ), QStringLiteral( "-" ), 6, false ), QStringList() << "with auto" << "wrap and" << "manual" << "wrap" );
 }
 
 void TestQgsPalLabeling::graphemes()