diff --git a/CTFd/config.ini b/CTFd/config.ini
index 39862542..1c22bd3d 100644
--- a/CTFd/config.ini
+++ b/CTFd/config.ini
@@ -26,10 +26,38 @@ SECRET_KEY =
 # The URI that specifies the username, password, hostname, port, and database of the server
 # used to hold the CTFd database.
 #
-# If a database URL is not specified, CTFd will automatically create a SQLite database for you to use
+# If neither this setting nor `DATABASE_HOST` is specified, CTFd will automatically create a SQLite database for you to use
 # e.g. mysql+pymysql://root:<YOUR_PASSWORD_HERE>@localhost/ctfd
 DATABASE_URL =
 
+# DATABASE_HOST
+# The hostname of the database server used to hold the CTFd database.
+# If `DATABASE_URL` is set, this setting will have no effect.
+#
+# This option, along with the other `DATABASE_*` options, are an alternative to specifying all connection details in the single `DATABASE_URL`.
+# If neither this setting nor `DATABASE_URL` is specified, CTFd will automatically create a SQLite database for you to use.
+DATABASE_HOST =
+
+# DATABASE_PROTOCOL
+# The protocol used to access the database server, if `DATABASE_HOST` is set. Defaults to `mysql+pymysql`.
+DATABASE_PROTOCOL =
+
+# DATABASE_USER
+# The username used to access the database server, if `DATABASE_HOST` is set. Defaults to `ctfd`.
+DATABASE_USER =
+
+# DATABASE_PASSWORD
+# The password used to access the database server, if `DATABASE_HOST` is set.
+DATABASE_PASSWORD =
+
+# DATABASE_PORT
+# The port used to access the database server, if `DATABASE_HOST` is set.
+DATABASE_PORT =
+
+# DATABASE_NAME
+# The name of the database to access on the database server, if `DATABASE_HOST` is set. Defaults to `ctfd`.
+DATABASE_NAME =
+
 # REDIS_URL
 # The URL to connect to a Redis server. If not specified, CTFd will use the .data folder as a filesystem cache
 #
diff --git a/CTFd/config.py b/CTFd/config.py
index 9a31ac13..584ec71a 100644
--- a/CTFd/config.py
+++ b/CTFd/config.py
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import os
 from distutils.util import strtobool
 from typing import Union
 
+from sqlalchemy.engine.url import URL
+
 
 class EnvInterpolation(configparser.BasicInterpolation):
     """Interpolation which expands environment variables in values."""
@@ -83,8 +85,21 @@ class ServerConfig(object):
     SECRET_KEY: str = empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["SECRET_KEY"]) \
         or gen_secret_key()
 
-    DATABASE_URL: str = empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_URL"]) \
-        or f"sqlite:///{os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))}/ctfd.db"
+    DATABASE_URL: str = empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_URL"])
+    if not DATABASE_URL:
+        if empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_HOST"]) is not None:
+            # construct URL from individual variables
+            DATABASE_URL = str(URL(
+                drivername=empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_PROTOCOL"]) or "mysql+pymysql",
+                username=empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_USER"]) or "ctfd",
+                password=empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_PASSWORD"]),
+                host=empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_HOST"]),
+                port=empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_PORT"]),
+                database=empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["DATABASE_NAME"]) or "ctfd",
+            ))
+        else:
+            # default to local SQLite DB
+            DATABASE_URL = f"sqlite:///{os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))}/ctfd.db"
 
     REDIS_URL: str = empty_str_cast(config_ini["server"]["REDIS_URL"])