diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/pango/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/pango/default.nix
index 45edbee1be4..eec30d16b8c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/pango/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/pango/default.nix
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   mesonFlags = [
     "-Dgtk_doc=${if stdenv.isDarwin then "false" else "true"}"
     "-Dlibthai=disabled" # Not packaged in Nixpkgs
+  ] ++ stdenv.lib.optionals stdenv.isDarwin [
+    "-Dxft=disabled"  # only works with x11
   ];
 
   enableParallelBuilding = true;