diff --git a/doc/ale.txt b/doc/ale.txt
index 90686444..fa5e30de 100644
--- a/doc/ale.txt
+++ b/doc/ale.txt
@@ -1350,7 +1350,8 @@ g:ale_set_balloons                                         *g:ale_set_balloons*
                                                            *b:ale_set_balloons*
 
   Type: |Number|
-  Default: `has('balloon_eval')`
+  Default: `has('balloon_eval') && has('gui_running') ||`
+           `has('balloon_eval_term') && !has('gui_running')`
 
   When this option is set to `1`, balloon messages will be displayed for
   problems. Problems nearest to the cursor on the line the cursor is over will
diff --git a/plugin/ale.vim b/plugin/ale.vim
index d59ffd6b..a49bf68c 100644
--- a/plugin/ale.vim
+++ b/plugin/ale.vim
@@ -174,7 +174,10 @@ let g:ale_echo_cursor = get(g:, 'ale_echo_cursor', 1)
 let g:ale_echo_delay = get(g:, 'ale_echo_delay', 10)
 
 " This flag can be set to 0 to disable balloon support.
-call ale#Set('set_balloons', has('balloon_eval'))
+call ale#Set('set_balloons',
+\   has('balloon_eval') && has('gui_running') ||
+\   has('balloon_eval_term') && !has('gui_running')
+\)
 
 " A deprecated setting for ale#statusline#Status()
 " See :help ale#statusline#Count() for getting status reports.