diff --git a/dev_docs/tutorials/debugging.mdx b/dev_docs/tutorials/debugging.mdx
index 2f9818f57104..679945b24ea3 100644
--- a/dev_docs/tutorials/debugging.mdx
+++ b/dev_docs/tutorials/debugging.mdx
@@ -106,4 +106,4 @@ Set the following environment variables to enable APM:
 
  * ELASTIC_APM_ACTIVE
  * ELASTIC_APM_SERVER_URL
- * ELASTIC_APM_SECRET_TOKEN
+ * ELASTIC_APM_SECRET_TOKEN or ELASTIC_APM_API_KEY
diff --git a/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.test.ts b/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.test.ts
index 697e601d92fd..ff7afefa204c 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.test.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.test.ts
@@ -152,6 +152,7 @@ describe('ApmConfiguration', () => {
     beforeEach(() => {
       delete process.env.ELASTIC_APM_ENVIRONMENT;
       delete process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SECRET_TOKEN;
+      delete process.env.ELASTIC_APM_API_KEY;
       delete process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SERVER_URL;
       delete process.env.NODE_ENV;
     });
@@ -225,6 +226,15 @@ describe('ApmConfiguration', () => {
       expect(serverConfig).toHaveProperty('secretToken', process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SECRET_TOKEN);
       expect(serverConfig).toHaveProperty('serverUrl', process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SERVER_URL);
     });
+
+    it('uses apiKey instead of secret token if env var is set', () => {
+      process.env.ELASTIC_APM_API_KEY = 'banana';
+      process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SERVER_URL = 'http://banana.com/';
+      const config = new ApmConfiguration(mockedRootDir, {}, false);
+      const serverConfig = config.getConfig('serviceName');
+      expect(serverConfig).toHaveProperty('apiKey', process.env.ELASTIC_APM_API_KEY);
+      expect(serverConfig).toHaveProperty('serverUrl', process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SERVER_URL);
+    });
   });
 
   describe('contextPropagationOnly', () => {
diff --git a/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.ts b/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.ts
index 0552329acd20..718f3e76236c 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-apm-config-loader/src/config.ts
@@ -147,6 +147,10 @@ export class ApmConfiguration {
       config.secretToken = process.env.ELASTIC_APM_SECRET_TOKEN;
     }
 
+    if (process.env.ELASTIC_APM_API_KEY) {
+      config.apiKey = process.env.ELASTIC_APM_API_KEY;
+    }
+
     if (process.env.ELASTIC_APM_GLOBAL_LABELS) {
       config.globalLabels = Object.fromEntries(
         process.env.ELASTIC_APM_GLOBAL_LABELS.split(',').map((p) => {