diff --git a/docs/source/config_file.rst b/docs/source/config_file.rst
index e9a195e2da77..50f0da62de98 100644
--- a/docs/source/config_file.rst
+++ b/docs/source/config_file.rst
@@ -979,7 +979,7 @@ These options may only be set in the global section (``[mypy]``).
 .. confval:: sqlite_cache
 
     :type: boolean
-    :default: True
+    :default: False
 
     Use an `SQLite`_ database to store the cache.
 
diff --git a/mypy/options.py b/mypy/options.py
index 79ca75c58be6..db70a1d5fc83 100644
--- a/mypy/options.py
+++ b/mypy/options.py
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ def __init__(self) -> None:
         # Caching and incremental checking options
         self.incremental = True
         self.cache_dir = defaults.CACHE_DIR
-        self.sqlite_cache = True
+        self.sqlite_cache = False
         self.fixed_format_cache = True
         self.debug_cache = False
         self.skip_version_check = False