diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index b2853ae3..a39e7284 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -218,6 +218,13 @@ AC_ARG_WITH(
 	,
 	[with_pcsc_provider="detect"]
 )
+
+AC_ARG_WITH(
+	[pkcs11-provider],
+	[AS_HELP_STRING([--with-pkcs11-provider=PATH],[Path to the default PKCS11 provider @<:@default=OpenSC@:>@])],
+	,
+	[with_pkcs11_provider="detect"]
+)
 dnl ./configure check
 reader_count=""
 for rdriver in "${enable_pcsc}" "${enable_openct}" "${enable_ctapi}"; do
@@ -568,6 +575,24 @@ if test "${enable_pcsc}" = "yes"; then
 	AC_DEFINE([ENABLE_PCSC], [1], [Define if PC/SC is to be enabled])
 fi
 
+
+if test "${with_pkcs11_provider}" = "detect"; then
+	case "${host}" in
+		*-*-darwin*)
+			DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER="opensc-pkcs11.dylib"
+		;;
+		*-mingw*|*-winnt*|*-cygwin*)
+			DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER="opensc-pkcs11.dll"
+		;;
+		*)
+			DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER="opensc-pkcs11.so"
+		;;
+	esac
+else
+	DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER="${with_pkcs11_provider}"
+fi
+AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED([DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER], ["${DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER}"], [Default PKCS11 provider])
+
 if test "${enable_man}" = "detect"; then
 	if test "${WIN32}" = "yes"; then
 		enable_man="no"
@@ -643,6 +668,7 @@ AC_SUBST([OPENSC_LT_AGE])
 AC_SUBST([OPENSC_LT_OLDEST])
 AC_SUBST([WIN_LIBPREFIX])
 AC_SUBST([DEFAULT_PCSC_PROVIDER])
+AC_SUBST([DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER])
 AC_SUBST([OPTIONAL_ZLIB_CFLAGS])
 AC_SUBST([OPTIONAL_ZLIB_LIBS])
 AC_SUBST([OPTIONAL_READLINE_CFLAGS])
@@ -752,6 +778,7 @@ DNIe UI support:         ${enable_dnie_ui}
 Debug file:              ${DEBUG_FILE}
 
 PC/SC default provider:  ${DEFAULT_PCSC_PROVIDER}
+PKCS11 default provider: ${DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER}
 
 Host:                    ${host}
 Compiler:                ${CC}
diff --git a/src/tools/pkcs11-tool.c b/src/tools/pkcs11-tool.c
index dafd8181..846825f2 100644
--- a/src/tools/pkcs11-tool.c
+++ b/src/tools/pkcs11-tool.c
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ static const struct option options[] = {
 };
 
 static const char *option_help[] = {
-	"Specify the module to load (mandatory)",
+	"Specify the module to load (default:" DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER ")",
 	"Show global token information",
 	"List available slots",
 	"List slots with tokens",
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ static const char *	app_name = "pkcs11-tool"; /* for utils.c */
 static int		verbose = 0;
 static const char *	opt_input = NULL;
 static const char *	opt_output = NULL;
-static const char *	opt_module = NULL;
+static const char *	opt_module = DEFAULT_PKCS11_PROVIDER;
 static int		opt_slot_set = 0;
 static CK_SLOT_ID	opt_slot = 0;
 static const char *	opt_slot_description = NULL;
@@ -653,9 +653,6 @@ int main(int argc, char * argv[])
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (opt_module == NULL)
-		util_print_usage_and_die(app_name, options, option_help, NULL);
-
 	if (action_count == 0)
 		util_print_usage_and_die(app_name, options, option_help, NULL);