diff --git a/config.dev.toml b/config.dev.toml
index 187eeb37..16f11779 100755
--- a/config.dev.toml
+++ b/config.dev.toml
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ LogLevel = "debug"
 # LogFormat determines the format that logs are output in. Defaults to json.
 # It is only used when CloudRuntime is set to none. Values can be "plain" or "json".
 # Env override: ATHENS_LOG_FORMAT
-LogFormat = "json"
+LogFormat = "plain"
 
 # CloudRuntime is the Cloud Provider on which the Proxy/Registry is running.
 # Currently available options are "GCP", or "none". Defaults to "none"
diff --git a/pkg/config/config.go b/pkg/config/config.go
index 177a0b52..35aaccc1 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config.go
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ func defaultConfig() *Config {
 		GoGetWorkers:     10,
 		ProtocolWorkers:  30,
 		LogLevel:         "debug",
-		LogFormat:        "json",
+		LogFormat:        "plain",
 		CloudRuntime:     "none",
 		EnablePprof:      false,
 		PprofPort:        ":3001",
diff --git a/pkg/config/config_test.go b/pkg/config/config_test.go
index fe3a7425..e10a2afb 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config_test.go
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ func TestParseExampleConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	expConf := &Config{
 		GoEnv:           "development",
 		LogLevel:        "debug",
-		LogFormat:       "json",
+		LogFormat:       "plain",
 		GoBinary:        "go",
 		GoGetWorkers:    10,
 		ProtocolWorkers: 30,
diff --git a/pkg/log/format.go b/pkg/log/format.go
index bbddce44..4db34ae1 100644
--- a/pkg/log/format.go
+++ b/pkg/log/format.go
@@ -65,9 +65,9 @@ func sortFields(data logrus.Fields) []string {
 }
 
 func parseFormat(format string) logrus.Formatter {
-	if format == "plain" {
-		return &logrus.TextFormatter{}
+	if format == "json" {
+		return &logrus.JSONFormatter{}
 	}
 
-	return &logrus.JSONFormatter{}
+	return getDevFormatter()
 }
diff --git a/pkg/log/log.go b/pkg/log/log.go
index d70d4bfc..8013d4b7 100644
--- a/pkg/log/log.go
+++ b/pkg/log/log.go
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@ func New(cloudProvider string, level logrus.Level, format string) *Logger {
 	switch cloudProvider {
 	case "GCP":
 		l.Formatter = getGCPFormatter()
-	case "none":
-		l.Formatter = getDevFormatter()
 	default:
 		l.Formatter = parseFormat(format)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/log/log_test.go b/pkg/log/log_test.go
index 2fe57998..2639c7a1 100644
--- a/pkg/log/log_test.go
+++ b/pkg/log/log_test.go
@@ -83,10 +83,36 @@ var testCases = []input{
 		output: `{"message":"warn message","severity":"warning","timestamp":"%v"}` + "\n",
 	},
 	{
-		name:   "default json",
-		format: "json",
-		level:  logrus.DebugLevel,
-		fields: logrus.Fields{"xyz": "abc", "abc": "xyz"},
+		name:          "default plain",
+		format:        "plain",
+		cloudProvider: "none",
+		level:         logrus.DebugLevel,
+		fields:        logrus.Fields{"xyz": "abc", "abc": "xyz"},
+		logFunc: func(e Entry) time.Time {
+			t := time.Now()
+			e.Warnf("warn message")
+			return t
+		},
+		output: `WARNING[%v]: warn message` + "\t" + `abc=xyz xyz=abc` + " \n",
+	},
+	{
+		name:          "default",
+		cloudProvider: "none",
+		level:         logrus.DebugLevel,
+		fields:        logrus.Fields{"xyz": "abc", "abc": "xyz"},
+		logFunc: func(e Entry) time.Time {
+			t := time.Now()
+			e.Warnf("warn message")
+			return t
+		},
+		output: `WARNING[%v]: warn message` + "\t" + `abc=xyz xyz=abc` + " \n",
+	},
+	{
+		name:          "default json",
+		format:        "json",
+		cloudProvider: "none",
+		level:         logrus.DebugLevel,
+		fields:        logrus.Fields{"xyz": "abc", "abc": "xyz"},
 		logFunc: func(e Entry) time.Time {
 			t := time.Now()
 			e.Warnf("warn message")
@@ -99,7 +125,7 @@ var testCases = []input{
 func TestCloudLogger(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			lggr := New(tc.cloudProvider, tc.level, "")
+			lggr := New(tc.cloudProvider, tc.level, tc.format)
 			var buf bytes.Buffer
 			lggr.Out = &buf
 			e := lggr.WithFields(tc.fields)
@@ -107,7 +133,11 @@ func TestCloudLogger(t *testing.T) {
 			out := buf.String()
 			expected := tc.output
 			if strings.Contains(expected, "%v") {
-				expected = fmt.Sprintf(expected, entryTime.Format(time.RFC3339))
+				if tc.format == "plain" || (tc.format == "" && (tc.cloudProvider == "none" || tc.cloudProvider == "")) {
+					expected = fmt.Sprintf(expected, entryTime.Format(time.Kitchen))
+				} else {
+					expected = fmt.Sprintf(expected, entryTime.Format(time.RFC3339))
+				}
 			}
 
 			require.Equal(t, expected, out, "expected the logged entry to match the testCase output")