diff --git a/src/app/pluginmanager/qgspluginmanager.cpp b/src/app/pluginmanager/qgspluginmanager.cpp
index c7168e6139f..0af145181fa 100644
--- a/src/app/pluginmanager/qgspluginmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/app/pluginmanager/qgspluginmanager.cpp
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ void QgsPluginManager::loadPlugin( const QString &id )
     pRegistry->loadCppPlugin( library );
   }
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin loaded: " + library );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin loaded: " + library, 2 );
   QApplication::restoreOverrideCursor();
 }
 
@@ -310,12 +310,12 @@ void QgsPluginManager::unloadPlugin( const QString &id )
   if ( plugin->value( QStringLiteral( "pythonic" ) ) == QLatin1String( "true" ) )
   {
     library = plugin->value( QStringLiteral( "id" ) );
-    QgsDebugMsg( "Unloading Python plugin: " + library );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Unloading Python plugin: " + library, 2 );
     pRegistry->unloadPythonPlugin( library );
   }
   else // C++ plugin
   {
-    QgsDebugMsg( "Unloading C++ plugin: " + library );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Unloading C++ plugin: " + library, 2 );
     pRegistry->unloadCppPlugin( library );
   }
 }
@@ -408,17 +408,17 @@ void QgsPluginManager::getCppPluginsMetadata()
 #endif //#ifndef Q_OS_WIN && Q_OS_MACX
 #endif //#ifdef TESTLIB
 
-      QgsDebugMsg( "Examining: " + lib );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Examining: " + lib, 2 );
       QLibrary *myLib = new QLibrary( lib );
       bool loaded = myLib->load();
       if ( !loaded )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Failed to load: %1 (%2)" ).arg( myLib->fileName(), myLib->errorString() ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Failed to load: %1 (%2)" ).arg( myLib->fileName(), myLib->errorString() ), 2 );
         delete myLib;
         continue;
       }
 
-      QgsDebugMsg( "Loaded library: " + myLib->fileName() );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Loaded library: " + myLib->fileName(), 2 );
       //Type is only used in non-provider plugins, so data providers are not picked
       if ( !myLib->resolve( "type" ) )
       {
@@ -439,64 +439,64 @@ void QgsPluginManager::getCppPluginsMetadata()
       // show the values (or lack of) for each function
       if ( pName )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin name: " + pName() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin name: " + pName(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin name not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin name not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
       if ( pDesc )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin description: " + pDesc() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin description: " + pDesc(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin description not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin description not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
       if ( pCat )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin category: " + pCat() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin category: " + pCat(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin category not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin category not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
       if ( pVersion )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin version: " + pVersion() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin version: " + pVersion(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin version not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin version not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
       if ( pIcon )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin icon: " + pIcon() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin icon: " + pIcon(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin icon not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin icon not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
       if ( pCreateDate )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin create date: " + pCreateDate() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin create date: " + pCreateDate(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin create date not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin create date not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
       if ( pUpdateDate )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Plugin update date: " + pUpdateDate() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Plugin update date: " + pUpdateDate(), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin update date not returned when queried" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin update date not returned when queried" ), 2 );
       }
 
       if ( !pName || !pDesc || !pVersion )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( "Failed to get name, description, or type for " + myLib->fileName() );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Failed to get name, description, or type for " + myLib->fileName(), 2 );
         delete myLib;
         continue;
       }
diff --git a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
index e711ba831dd..bc7399b8f8b 100644
--- a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
@@ -11735,7 +11735,7 @@ void QgisApp::loadPythonSupport()
   pythonlibName.prepend( "lib" );
 #endif
   QString version = QStringLiteral( "%1.%2.%3" ).arg( Qgis::versionInt() / 10000 ).arg( Qgis::versionInt() / 100 % 100 ).arg( Qgis::versionInt() % 100 );
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "load library %1 (%2)" ).arg( pythonlibName, version ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "load library %1 (%2)" ).arg( pythonlibName, version ), 2 );
   QLibrary pythonlib( pythonlibName, version );
   // It's necessary to set these two load hints, otherwise Python library won't work correctly
   // see http://lists.kde.org/?l=pykde&m=117190116820758&w=2
@@ -12321,9 +12321,9 @@ QgsVectorLayer *QgisApp::addVectorLayerPrivate( const QString &vectorLayerPath,
      The caller is responsible for cobbling together the needed information to
      open the layer
      */
-  QgsDebugMsg( "Creating new vector layer using " + vectorLayerPath
-               + " with baseName of " + baseName
-               + " and providerKey of " + providerKey );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Creating new vector layer using " + vectorLayerPath
+                    + " with baseName of " + baseName
+                    + " and providerKey of " + providerKey, 2 );
 
   // if the layer needs authentication, ensure the master password is set
   bool authok = true;
@@ -12346,7 +12346,7 @@ QgsVectorLayer *QgisApp::addVectorLayerPrivate( const QString &vectorLayerPath,
   if ( authok && layer && layer->isValid() )
   {
     QStringList sublayers = layer->dataProvider()->subLayers();
-    QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "got valid layer with %1 sublayers" ).arg( sublayers.count() ) );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "got valid layer with %1 sublayers" ).arg( sublayers.count() ), 2 );
 
     // If the newly created layer has more than 1 layer of data available, we show the
     // sublayers selection dialog so the user can select the sublayers to actually load.
diff --git a/src/app/qgscustomization.cpp b/src/app/qgscustomization.cpp
index 0f012a3885f..86cfacb8e0d 100644
--- a/src/app/qgscustomization.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgscustomization.cpp
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ QTreeWidgetItem *QgsCustomizationDialog::item( const QString &path, QTreeWidgetI
       }
     }
   }
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "not found" ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "not found" ), 2 );
   return nullptr;
 }
 
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ bool QgsCustomizationDialog::filterItems( const QString &text )
 
 bool QgsCustomizationDialog::itemChecked( const QString &path )
 {
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "thePath = %1" ).arg( path ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "thePath = %1" ).arg( path ), 3 );
   QTreeWidgetItem *myItem = item( path );
   if ( !myItem )
     return true;
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ bool QgsCustomizationDialog::itemChecked( const QString &path )
 
 void QgsCustomizationDialog::setItemChecked( const QString &path, bool on )
 {
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "thePath = %1 on = %2" ).arg( path ).arg( on ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "thePath = %1 on = %2" ).arg( path ).arg( on ), 2 );
   QTreeWidgetItem *myItem = item( path );
   if ( !myItem )
     return;
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ void QgsCustomizationDialog::ok()
 }
 void QgsCustomizationDialog::apply()
 {
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "columnCount = %1" ).arg( treeWidget->columnCount() ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "columnCount = %1" ).arg( treeWidget->columnCount() ), 3 );
   treeToSettings( mSettings );
   mSettings->setValue( QgsCustomization::instance()->statusPath(), QgsCustomization::User );
   mSettings->sync();
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ QTreeWidgetItem *QgsCustomizationDialog::readWidgetsXmlNode( const QDomNode &nod
   // There are 47 png files, total 196K in qt/tools/designer/src/components/formeditor/images/
   QString iconName = myElement.attribute( QStringLiteral( "class" ), QString() ).toLower().mid( 1 ) + ".png";
   QString iconPath = QgsApplication::iconPath( "/customization/" + iconName );
-  QgsDebugMsg( "iconPath = " + iconPath );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "iconPath = " + iconPath, 3 );
   if ( QFile::exists( iconPath ) )
   {
     myItem->setIcon( 0, QIcon( iconPath ) );
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ bool QgsCustomizationDialog::switchWidget( QWidget *widget, QMouseEvent *e )
     return false;
 
   QString path = widgetPath( widget );
-  QgsDebugMsg( "path = " + path );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "path = " + path, 3 );
 
   if ( path.contains( QLatin1String( "/QgsCustomizationDialogBase" ) ) )
   {
@@ -484,10 +484,10 @@ bool QgsCustomizationDialog::switchWidget( QWidget *widget, QMouseEvent *e )
     path = "/Widgets" + path;
   }
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( "path final = " + path );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "path final = " + path, 3 );
   bool on = !itemChecked( path );
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "on = %1" ).arg( on ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "on = %1" ).arg( on ), 3 );
 
   setItemChecked( path, on );
   QTreeWidgetItem *myItem = item( path );
@@ -937,9 +937,9 @@ void QgsCustomization::customizeWidget( QWidget *widget, QEvent *event, QSetting
   if ( !widget->inherits( "QDialog" ) )
     return;
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "objectName = %1 event type = %2" ).arg( widget->objectName() ).arg( event->type() ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "objectName = %1 event type = %2" ).arg( widget->objectName() ).arg( event->type() ), 3 );
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "%1 x %2" ).arg( widget->metaObject()->className(), QDialog::staticMetaObject.className() ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "%1 x %2" ).arg( widget->metaObject()->className(), QDialog::staticMetaObject.className() ), 3 );
   QString path = QStringLiteral( "/Customization/Widgets/" );
 
   QgsCustomization::customizeWidget( path, widget, settings );
@@ -980,13 +980,13 @@ void QgsCustomization::customizeWidget( const QString &path, QWidget *widget, QS
       QLayout *l = widget->layout();
       if ( l )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "remove" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "remove" ), 3 );
         QgsCustomization::removeFromLayout( l, w );
         w->hide();
       }
       else
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "hide" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "hide" ), 3 );
         w->hide();
       }
     }
@@ -1108,14 +1108,14 @@ void QgsCustomization::loadDefault()
   QString path = QgsApplication::pkgDataPath() +  "/resources/customization.ini";
   if ( ! QFile::exists( path ) )
   {
-    QgsDebugMsg( "Default customization not found in " + path );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Default customization not found in " + path, 2 );
     return;
   }
-  QgsDebugMsg( "Loading default customization from " + path );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Loading default customization from " + path, 2 );
 
   QSettings fileSettings( path );
   QStringList keys = fileSettings.allKeys();
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "size = %1" ).arg( keys.size() ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "size = %1" ).arg( keys.size() ), 2 );
   QStringList::const_iterator i;
   for ( i = keys.constBegin(); i != keys.constEnd(); ++i )
   {
diff --git a/src/app/qgspluginregistry.cpp b/src/app/qgspluginregistry.cpp
index 5a544276774..f700d353120 100644
--- a/src/app/qgspluginregistry.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgspluginregistry.cpp
@@ -375,25 +375,25 @@ void QgsPluginRegistry::loadCppPlugin( const QString &fullPathName )
           QObject *o = dynamic_cast<QObject *>( pl );
           if ( o )
           {
-            QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "plugin object name: %1" ).arg( o->objectName() ) );
+            QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "plugin object name: %1" ).arg( o->objectName() ), 2 );
             if ( o->objectName().isEmpty() )
             {
 #ifndef Q_OS_WIN
               baseName = baseName.mid( 3 );
 #endif
-              QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "object name to %1" ).arg( baseName ) );
+              QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "object name to %1" ).arg( baseName ), 2 );
               o->setObjectName( QStringLiteral( "qgis_plugin_%1" ).arg( baseName ) );
-              QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "plugin object name now: %1" ).arg( o->objectName() ) );
+              QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "plugin object name now: %1" ).arg( o->objectName() ), 2 );
             }
 
             if ( !o->parent() )
             {
-              QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "setting plugin parent" ) );
+              QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "setting plugin parent" ), 2 );
               o->setParent( QgisApp::instance() );
             }
             else
             {
-              QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "plugin parent already set" ) );
+              QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "plugin parent already set" ), 2 );
             }
           }
 
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ void QgsPluginRegistry::restoreSessionPlugins( const QString &pluginDirString )
   {
     // check for python plugins system-wide
     QStringList pluginList = mPythonUtils->pluginList();
-    QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Loading python plugins" ) );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Loading python plugins" ), 2 );
 
     QStringList corePlugins = QStringList();
     corePlugins << QStringLiteral( "GdalTools" );
@@ -583,7 +583,7 @@ void QgsPluginRegistry::restoreSessionPlugins( const QString &pluginDirString )
   }
 #endif
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Plugin loading completed" ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Plugin loading completed" ), 2 );
 }
 
 
@@ -605,7 +605,7 @@ bool QgsPluginRegistry::checkCppPlugin( const QString &pluginFullPath )
   if ( myName && myDescription && myVersion  && myCategory )
     return true;
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( "Failed to get name, description, category or type for " + myLib.fileName() );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( "Failed to get name, description, category or type for " + myLib.fileName(), 2 );
   return false;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/app/qgsversionmigration.cpp b/src/app/qgsversionmigration.cpp
index 14d2b6891df..f25b60c2c31 100644
--- a/src/app/qgsversionmigration.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgsversionmigration.cpp
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ bool Qgs2To3Migration::requiresMigration()
     {
       QStringList parts = line.split( '=' );
       mMigrationFileVersion = parts.at( 1 ).toInt();
-      QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "File version is=%1" ).arg( mMigrationFileVersion ) );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "File version is=%1" ).arg( mMigrationFileVersion ), 2 );
     }
     migrationFile.close();
   }
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ QgsError Qgs2To3Migration::migrateStyles()
   QgsError error;
   QString oldHome = QStringLiteral( "%1/.qgis2" ).arg( QDir::homePath() );
   QString oldStyleFile = QStringLiteral( "%1/symbology-ng-style.db" ).arg( oldHome );
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "OLD STYLE FILE %1" ).arg( oldStyleFile ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "OLD STYLE FILE %1" ).arg( oldStyleFile ), 2 );
   QSqlDatabase db = QSqlDatabase::addDatabase( "QSQLITE", "migration" );
   db.setDatabaseName( oldStyleFile );
   if ( !db.open() )
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ QgsError Qgs2To3Migration::migrateStyles()
       }
 
       QDomElement symElement = doc.documentElement();
-      QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "MIGRATION: Importing %1" ).arg( name ) );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "MIGRATION: Importing %1" ).arg( name ), 2 );
       QgsSymbol *symbol = QgsSymbolLayerUtils::loadSymbol( symElement, QgsReadWriteContext() );
       tags << "QGIS 2";
       if ( style->symbolId( name ) == 0 )
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ QgsError Qgs2To3Migration::migrateStyles()
     }
   }
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( oldStyleFile );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( oldStyleFile, 2 );
   return error;
 }
 
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ QgsError Qgs2To3Migration::migrateSettings()
 
   if ( keys.count() > 0 )
   {
-    QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "MIGRATION: Translating settings keys" ) );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "MIGRATION: Translating settings keys" ), 2 );
     QList<QPair<QString, QString>>::iterator i;
     for ( i = keys.begin(); i != keys.end(); ++i )
     {
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ QgsError Qgs2To3Migration::migrateSettings()
 
       if ( oldKey.contains( oldKey ) )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( " -> %1 -> %2" ).arg( oldKey, newKey ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( " -> %1 -> %2" ).arg( oldKey, newKey ), 2 );
         newSettings.setValue( newKey, mOldSettings->value( oldKey ) );
       }
     }
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ QgsError Qgs2To3Migration::migrateAuthDb()
     {
       if ( oldDbFile.copy( newAuthDbFilePath ) )
       {
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Old auth DB successfully copied to %1" ).arg( newAuthDbFilePath ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Old auth DB successfully copied to %1" ).arg( newAuthDbFilePath ), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
diff --git a/src/core/auth/qgsauthmanager.cpp b/src/core/auth/qgsauthmanager.cpp
index 4b056cc3f43..36c73d6f171 100644
--- a/src/core/auth/qgsauthmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/core/auth/qgsauthmanager.cpp
@@ -957,7 +957,7 @@ void QgsAuthManager::updateConfigAuthMethods()
 
   if ( query.isActive() )
   {
-    QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Syncing existing auth config and their auth methods" ) );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Syncing existing auth config and their auth methods" ), 2 );
     mConfigAuthMethods.clear();
     QStringList cfgmethods;
     while ( query.next() )
@@ -966,7 +966,7 @@ void QgsAuthManager::updateConfigAuthMethods()
                                  query.value( 1 ).toString() );
       cfgmethods << QStringLiteral( "%1=%2" ).arg( query.value( 0 ).toString(), query.value( 1 ).toString() );
     }
-    QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Stored auth config/methods:\n%1" ).arg( cfgmethods.join( ", " ) ) );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Stored auth config/methods:\n%1" ).arg( cfgmethods.join( ", " ) ), 2 );
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/core/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp b/src/core/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp
index 3a2fc3f8eb4..6deba929603 100644
--- a/src/core/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp
+++ b/src/core/providers/ogr/qgsogrdataitems.cpp
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ QList<QgsOgrDbLayerInfo *> QgsOgrLayerItem::subLayers( const QString &path, cons
 
     if ( ! hDS )
     {
-      QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "GDALOpen error # %1 : %2 " ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorNo() ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorMsg() ) );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "GDALOpen error # %1 : %2 " ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorNo() ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorMsg() ), 2 );
 
     }
     else
@@ -635,7 +635,7 @@ QgsDataItem *QgsOgrDataItemProvider::createDataItem( const QString &pathIn, QgsD
 
   if ( ! hDS )
   {
-    QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "GDALOpen error # %1 : %2 on %3" ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorNo() ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorMsg() ).arg( path ) );
+    QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "GDALOpen error # %1 : %2 on %3" ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorNo() ).arg( CPLGetLastErrorMsg() ).arg( path ), 2 );
     return nullptr;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/core/qgsapplication.cpp b/src/core/qgsapplication.cpp
index 752780faa6a..1a13be63d4a 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsapplication.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsapplication.cpp
@@ -2054,7 +2054,7 @@ bool QgsApplication::createDatabase( QString *errorMessage )
 
 void QgsApplication::setMaxThreads( int maxThreads )
 {
-  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "maxThreads: %1" ).arg( maxThreads ), 1 );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "maxThreads: %1" ).arg( maxThreads ), 2 );
 
   // make sure value is between 1 and #cores, if not set to -1 (use #cores)
   // 0 could be used to disable any parallel processing
@@ -2070,7 +2070,7 @@ void QgsApplication::setMaxThreads( int maxThreads )
 
   // set max thread count in QThreadPool
   QThreadPool::globalInstance()->setMaxThreadCount( maxThreads );
-  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "set QThreadPool max thread count to %1" ).arg( QThreadPool::globalInstance()->maxThreadCount() ), 1 );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "set QThreadPool max thread count to %1" ).arg( QThreadPool::globalInstance()->maxThreadCount() ), 2 );
 }
 
 QgsTaskManager *QgsApplication::taskManager()
diff --git a/src/core/qgsfontutils.cpp b/src/core/qgsfontutils.cpp
index 7947178b372..d42c3e3ea4c 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsfontutils.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsfontutils.cpp
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ bool QgsFontUtils::loadStandardTestFonts( const QStringList &loadstyles )
 
     if ( fontFamilyHasStyle( fontFamily, fontstyle ) )
     {
-      QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Test font '%1 %2' already available" ).arg( fontFamily, fontstyle ) );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Test font '%1 %2' already available" ).arg( fontFamily, fontstyle ), 2 );
     }
     else
     {
@@ -261,10 +261,10 @@ bool QgsFontUtils::loadStandardTestFonts( const QStringList &loadstyles )
         int fontID = QFontDatabase::addApplicationFont( fontPath );
         loaded = ( fontID != -1 );
         fontsLoaded = ( fontsLoaded || loaded );
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Test font '%1 %2' %3 from filesystem [%4]" )
-                     .arg( fontFamily, fontstyle, loaded ? "loaded" : "FAILED to load", fontPath ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Test font '%1 %2' %3 from filesystem [%4]" )
+                          .arg( fontFamily, fontstyle, loaded ? "loaded" : "FAILED to load", fontPath ), 2 );
         QFontDatabase db;
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "font families in %1: %2" ).arg( fontID ).arg( db.applicationFontFamilies( fontID ).join( "," ) ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "font families in %1: %2" ).arg( fontID ).arg( db.applicationFontFamilies( fontID ).join( "," ) ), 2 );
       }
       else
       {
@@ -275,8 +275,8 @@ bool QgsFontUtils::loadStandardTestFonts( const QStringList &loadstyles )
           loaded = ( fontID != -1 );
           fontsLoaded = ( fontsLoaded || loaded );
         }
-        QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Test font '%1' (%2) %3 from testdata.qrc" )
-                     .arg( fontFamily, fontstyle, loaded ? "loaded" : "FAILED to load" ) );
+        QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Test font '%1' (%2) %3 from testdata.qrc" )
+                          .arg( fontFamily, fontstyle, loaded ? "loaded" : "FAILED to load" ), 2 );
       }
     }
   }
@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ QString QgsFontUtils::untranslateNamedStyle( const QString &namedStyle )
     }
     else
     {
-      QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Warning: style map does not contain %1" ).arg( words[i] ) );
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Warning: style map does not contain %1" ).arg( words[i] ), 2 );
     }
   }
   return words.join( QStringLiteral( " " ) );
diff --git a/src/core/qgsproviderregistry.cpp b/src/core/qgsproviderregistry.cpp
index 15d3a01bb3d..8526e5be86a 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsproviderregistry.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsproviderregistry.cpp
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ void QgsProviderRegistry::init()
   mLibraryDirectory.setNameFilters( QStringList( QStringLiteral( "*.so" ) ) );
 #endif
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Checking %1 for provider plugins" ).arg( mLibraryDirectory.path() ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Checking %1 for provider plugins" ).arg( mLibraryDirectory.path() ), 2 );
 
   if ( mLibraryDirectory.count() == 0 )
   {
diff --git a/src/core/qgsruntimeprofiler.cpp b/src/core/qgsruntimeprofiler.cpp
index 7e20f23c02e..edbb460344b 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsruntimeprofiler.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsruntimeprofiler.cpp
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ void QgsRuntimeProfiler::end()
   name.prepend( mGroupPrefix );
   double timing = mProfileTime.elapsed() / 1000.0;
   mProfileTimes.append( QPair<QString, double>( name, timing ) );
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "PROFILE: %1 - %2" ).arg( name ).arg( timing ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "PROFILE: %1 - %2" ).arg( name ).arg( timing ), 2 );
 }
 
 void QgsRuntimeProfiler::clear()
diff --git a/src/gui/qgsproviderguiregistry.cpp b/src/gui/qgsproviderguiregistry.cpp
index f927378f66a..fe6c96e6fe7 100644
--- a/src/gui/qgsproviderguiregistry.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/qgsproviderguiregistry.cpp
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ void QgsProviderGuiRegistry::loadDynamicProviders( const QString &pluginPath )
   mLibraryDirectory.setNameFilters( QStringList( QStringLiteral( "*.so" ) ) );
 #endif
 
-  QgsDebugMsg( QStringLiteral( "Checking %1 for GUI provider plugins" ).arg( mLibraryDirectory.path() ) );
+  QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Checking %1 for GUI provider plugins" ).arg( mLibraryDirectory.path() ), 2 );
 
   if ( mLibraryDirectory.count() == 0 )
   {