diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d85e1a64dc6..e7ffde30491 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,20 @@ Changes by Version
 ### Backend Changes
 
 #### Breaking Changes
+* Configurable ES doc count ([#2453](https://github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/pull/2453), [@albertteoh](https://github.com/albertteoh))
+
+    The `--es.max-num-spans` flag has been deprecated in favour of `--es.max-doc-count`.
+    `--es.max-num-spans` is marked for removal in v1.21.0 as indicated in the flag description.
+
+    If both `--es.max-num-spans` and `--es.max-doc-count` are set, the lesser of the two will be used.
+
+    The use of `--es.max-doc-count` (which defaults to 10,000) will limit the results from all Elasticsearch
+    queries by the configured value, limiting counts for Jaeger UI:
+
+    * Services
+    * Operations
+    * Dependencies (edges in a dependency graph)
+    * Span fetch size for a trace
 
 #### New Features
 
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/integration_test.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/integration_test.go
index 5819806152b..18274db2222 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/integration_test.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/integration_test.go
@@ -40,15 +40,16 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	host            = "0.0.0.0"
-	esPort          = "9200"
-	esHostPort      = host + ":" + esPort
-	esURL           = "http://" + esHostPort
-	indexPrefix     = "integration-test"
-	tagKeyDeDotChar = "@"
-	maxSpanAge      = time.Hour * 72
-	numShards       = 5
-	numReplicas     = 0
+	host               = "0.0.0.0"
+	esPort             = "9200"
+	esHostPort         = host + ":" + esPort
+	esURL              = "http://" + esHostPort
+	indexPrefix        = "integration-test"
+	tagKeyDeDotChar    = "@"
+	maxSpanAge         = time.Hour * 72
+	numShards          = 5
+	numReplicas        = 0
+	defaultMaxDocCount = 10_000
 )
 
 type IntegrationTest struct {
@@ -119,12 +120,12 @@ func (s *IntegrationTest) initSpanstore(allTagsAsFields bool) error {
 		IndexPrefix:       indexPrefix,
 		TagDotReplacement: tagKeyDeDotChar,
 		MaxSpanAge:        maxSpanAge,
-		MaxNumSpans:       10_000,
+		MaxDocCount:       defaultMaxDocCount,
 	})
 	s.SpanReader = reader
 
 	depMapping := es.GetDependenciesMappings(numShards, numReplicas, esVersion)
-	depStore := esdependencyreader.NewDependencyStore(elasticsearchClient, s.logger, indexPrefix)
+	depStore := esdependencyreader.NewDependencyStore(elasticsearchClient, s.logger, indexPrefix, defaultMaxDocCount)
 	if err := depStore.CreateTemplates(depMapping); err != nil {
 		return nil
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/storagefactory.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/storagefactory.go
index b821c81270d..c631314e70f 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/storagefactory.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/exporter/elasticsearchexporter/storagefactory.go
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ func (s *StorageFactory) CreateSpanReader() (spanstore.Reader, error) {
 		UseReadWriteAliases: cfg.GetUseReadWriteAliases(),
 		IndexPrefix:         cfg.GetIndexPrefix(),
 		MaxSpanAge:          cfg.GetMaxSpanAge(),
-		MaxNumSpans:         cfg.GetMaxNumSpans(),
+		MaxDocCount:         cfg.GetMaxDocCount(),
 		TagDotReplacement:   cfg.GetTagDotReplacement(),
 	}), nil
 }
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ func (s *StorageFactory) CreateDependencyReader() (dependencystore.Reader, error
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return esdependencyreader.NewDependencyStore(client, s.logger, cfg.GetIndexPrefix()), nil
+	return esdependencyreader.NewDependencyStore(client, s.logger, cfg.GetIndexPrefix(), cfg.GetMaxDocCount()), nil
 }
 
 // CreateArchiveSpanReader creates archive spanstore.Reader
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func (s *StorageFactory) CreateArchiveSpanReader() (spanstore.Reader, error) {
 		UseReadWriteAliases: cfg.GetUseReadWriteAliases(),
 		IndexPrefix:         cfg.GetIndexPrefix(),
 		MaxSpanAge:          cfg.GetMaxSpanAge(),
-		MaxNumSpans:         cfg.GetMaxNumSpans(),
+		MaxDocCount:         cfg.GetMaxDocCount(),
 		TagDotReplacement:   cfg.GetTagDotReplacement(),
 	}), nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store.go
index 40ff973953e..174a54b2780 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store.go
@@ -36,9 +36,6 @@ const (
 
 	timestampField = "timestamp"
 
-	// default number of documents to fetch in a query
-	// see search.max_buckets and index.max_result_window
-	defaultDocCount = 10_000
 	indexDateFormat = "2006-01-02" // date format for index e.g. 2020-01-20
 )
 
@@ -47,13 +44,14 @@ type DependencyStore struct {
 	client      esclient.ElasticsearchClient
 	logger      *zap.Logger
 	indexPrefix string
+	maxDocCount int
 }
 
 var _ dependencystore.Reader = (*DependencyStore)(nil)
 var _ dependencystore.Writer = (*DependencyStore)(nil)
 
 // NewDependencyStore creates dependency store.
-func NewDependencyStore(client esclient.ElasticsearchClient, logger *zap.Logger, indexPrefix string) *DependencyStore {
+func NewDependencyStore(client esclient.ElasticsearchClient, logger *zap.Logger, indexPrefix string, maxDocCount int) *DependencyStore {
 	if indexPrefix != "" {
 		indexPrefix += "-"
 	}
@@ -61,6 +59,7 @@ func NewDependencyStore(client esclient.ElasticsearchClient, logger *zap.Logger,
 		client:      client,
 		logger:      logger,
 		indexPrefix: indexPrefix + dependencyIndexBaseName + "-",
+		maxDocCount: maxDocCount,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -84,10 +83,10 @@ func (r *DependencyStore) WriteDependencies(ts time.Time, dependencies []model.D
 
 // GetDependencies implements dependencystore.Reader
 func (r *DependencyStore) GetDependencies(ctx context.Context, endTs time.Time, lookback time.Duration) ([]model.DependencyLink, error) {
-	searchBody := getSearchBody(endTs, lookback)
+	searchBody := getSearchBody(endTs, lookback, r.maxDocCount)
 
 	indices := dailyIndices(r.indexPrefix, endTs, lookback)
-	response, err := r.client.Search(ctx, searchBody, defaultDocCount, indices...)
+	response, err := r.client.Search(ctx, searchBody, r.maxDocCount, indices...)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -106,12 +105,12 @@ func (r *DependencyStore) GetDependencies(ctx context.Context, endTs time.Time,
 	return dbmodel.ToDomainDependencies(dependencies), nil
 }
 
-func getSearchBody(endTs time.Time, lookback time.Duration) esclient.SearchBody {
+func getSearchBody(endTs time.Time, lookback time.Duration, maxDocCount int) esclient.SearchBody {
 	return esclient.SearchBody{
 		Query: &esclient.Query{
 			RangeQueries: map[string]esclient.RangeQuery{timestampField: {GTE: endTs.Add(-lookback), LTE: endTs}},
 		},
-		Size: defaultDocCount,
+		Size: maxDocCount,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store_test.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store_test.go
index c7d05a342ed..ac19e02b5c0 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store_test.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esdependencyreader/dependency_store_test.go
@@ -33,9 +33,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/dbmodel"
 )
 
+const defaultMaxDocCount = 10_000
+
 func TestCreateTemplates(t *testing.T) {
 	client := &mockClient{}
-	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo")
+	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo", defaultMaxDocCount)
 	template := "template"
 	err := store.CreateTemplates(template)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -46,7 +48,7 @@ func TestCreateTemplates(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestWriteDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 	client := &mockClient{}
-	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo")
+	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo", defaultMaxDocCount)
 	dependencies := []model.DependencyLink{{Parent: "foo", Child: "bar", CallCount: 1}}
 	tsNow := time.Now()
 	err := store.WriteDependencies(tsNow, dependencies)
@@ -85,7 +87,7 @@ func TestGetDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 	}
-	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo")
+	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo", defaultMaxDocCount)
 	dependencies, err := store.GetDependencies(context.Background(), tsNow, time.Hour)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, timeDependencies, dbmodel.TimeDependencies{
@@ -107,7 +109,7 @@ func TestGetDependencies_err_unmarshall(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 	}
-	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo")
+	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo", defaultMaxDocCount)
 	dependencies, err := store.GetDependencies(context.Background(), tsNow, time.Hour)
 	require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "invalid character")
 	assert.Nil(t, dependencies)
@@ -118,7 +120,7 @@ func TestGetDependencies_err_client(t *testing.T) {
 	client := &mockClient{
 		searchErr: searchErr,
 	}
-	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo")
+	store := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), "foo", defaultMaxDocCount)
 	tsNow := time.Now()
 	dependencies, err := store.GetDependencies(context.Background(), tsNow, time.Hour)
 	require.Error(t, err)
@@ -141,7 +143,7 @@ const query = `{
 
 func TestSearchBody(t *testing.T) {
 	date := time.Date(2020, 8, 30, 15, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
-	sb := getSearchBody(date, time.Hour)
+	sb := getSearchBody(date, time.Hour, defaultMaxDocCount)
 	jsonQuery, err := json.MarshalIndent(sb, "", "  ")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, query, string(jsonQuery))
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query.go
index fd94be96683..f015320beb9 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query.go
@@ -187,15 +187,15 @@ func findTraceIDsSearchBody(converter dbmodel.ToDomain, query *spanstore.TraceQu
 	}
 }
 
-func getServicesSearchBody() esclient.SearchBody {
-	aggs := fmt.Sprintf(getServicesAggregation, defaultDocCount)
+func getServicesSearchBody(maxDocCount int) esclient.SearchBody {
+	aggs := fmt.Sprintf(getServicesAggregation, maxDocCount)
 	return esclient.SearchBody{
 		Aggregations: json.RawMessage(aggs),
 	}
 }
 
-func getOperationsSearchBody(serviceName string) esclient.SearchBody {
-	aggs := fmt.Sprintf(getOperationsAggregation, defaultDocCount)
+func getOperationsSearchBody(serviceName string, maxDocCount int) esclient.SearchBody {
+	aggs := fmt.Sprintf(getOperationsAggregation, maxDocCount)
 	return esclient.SearchBody{
 		Aggregations: json.RawMessage(aggs),
 		Query: &esclient.Query{
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query_test.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query_test.go
index b127113af2b..33ea5b45994 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query_test.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/query_test.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
+	defaultMaxDocCount        = 10_000
 	servicesSearchBodyFixture = `{
   "aggs": {
     "serviceName": {
@@ -231,14 +232,14 @@ const (
 )
 
 func TestGetServicesSearchBody(t *testing.T) {
-	sb := getServicesSearchBody()
+	sb := getServicesSearchBody(defaultMaxDocCount)
 	jsonQuery, err := json.MarshalIndent(sb, "", "  ")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, servicesSearchBodyFixture, string(jsonQuery))
 }
 
 func TestGetOperationsSearchBody(t *testing.T) {
-	sb := getOperationsSearchBody("foo")
+	sb := getOperationsSearchBody("foo", defaultMaxDocCount)
 	jsonQuery, err := json.MarshalIndent(sb, "", "  ")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, operationsSearchBodyFixture, string(jsonQuery))
diff --git a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/span_reader.go b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/span_reader.go
index d10aa60fb3b..42587ab26a8 100644
--- a/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/span_reader.go
+++ b/cmd/opentelemetry/app/internal/reader/es/esspanreader/span_reader.go
@@ -32,9 +32,6 @@ import (
 const (
 	// by default UI fetches 20 results
 	defaultNumTraces = 20
-	// default number of documents to fetch in a query
-	// see search.max_buckets and index.max_result_window
-	defaultDocCount = 10_000
 
 	spanIndexBaseName    = "jaeger-span"
 	serviceIndexBaseName = "jaeger-service"
@@ -62,8 +59,7 @@ type Reader struct {
 	serviceIndexName indexNameProvider
 	spanIndexName    indexNameProvider
 	maxSpanAge       time.Duration
-	// maximum number of spans to fetch per query in multi search
-	maxNumberOfSpans int
+	maxDocCount      int
 	archive          bool
 }
 
@@ -75,7 +71,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	UseReadWriteAliases bool
 	IndexPrefix         string
 	MaxSpanAge          time.Duration
-	MaxNumSpans         int
+	MaxDocCount         int
 	TagDotReplacement   string
 }
 
@@ -86,7 +82,7 @@ func NewEsSpanReader(client esclient.ElasticsearchClient, logger *zap.Logger, co
 		logger:           logger,
 		archive:          config.Archive,
 		maxSpanAge:       config.MaxSpanAge,
-		maxNumberOfSpans: config.MaxNumSpans,
+		maxDocCount:      config.MaxDocCount,
 		converter:        dbmodel.NewToDomain(config.TagDotReplacement),
 		spanIndexName:    newIndexNameProvider(spanIndexBaseName, config.IndexPrefix, config.UseReadWriteAliases, config.Archive),
 		serviceIndexName: newIndexNameProvider(serviceIndexBaseName, config.IndexPrefix, config.UseReadWriteAliases, config.Archive),
@@ -162,7 +158,7 @@ func (r *Reader) findTraceIDs(ctx context.Context, query *spanstore.TraceQueryPa
 
 // GetServices implements spanstore.Reader
 func (r *Reader) GetServices(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
-	searchBody := getServicesSearchBody()
+	searchBody := getServicesSearchBody(r.maxDocCount)
 	currentTime := time.Now()
 	indices := r.serviceIndexName.get(currentTime.Add(-r.maxSpanAge), currentTime)
 	response, err := r.client.Search(ctx, searchBody, 0, indices...)
@@ -182,7 +178,7 @@ func (r *Reader) GetServices(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
 
 // GetOperations implements spanstore.Reader
 func (r *Reader) GetOperations(ctx context.Context, query spanstore.OperationQueryParameters) ([]spanstore.Operation, error) {
-	searchBody := getOperationsSearchBody(query.ServiceName)
+	searchBody := getOperationsSearchBody(query.ServiceName, r.maxDocCount)
 	currentTime := time.Now()
 	indices := r.serviceIndexName.get(currentTime.Add(-r.maxSpanAge), currentTime)
 	response, err := r.client.Search(ctx, searchBody, 0, indices...)
@@ -290,8 +286,8 @@ func (r *Reader) multiSearchRequests(indices []string, traceIDs []model.TraceID,
 		s := esclient.SearchBody{
 			Indices:        indices,
 			Query:          traceIDQuery(traceID),
-			Size:           defaultDocCount,
-			TerminateAfter: r.maxNumberOfSpans,
+			Size:           r.maxDocCount,
+			TerminateAfter: r.maxDocCount,
 		}
 		if !r.archive {
 			s.SearchAfter = []interface{}{nextTime}
diff --git a/pkg/es/config/config.go b/pkg/es/config/config.go
index 0a0562fffd4..861f7033356 100644
--- a/pkg/es/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/es/config/config.go
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ type Configuration struct {
 	AllowTokenFromContext bool           `mapstructure:"-"`
 	Sniffer               bool           `mapstructure:"sniffer"` // https://github.com/olivere/elastic/wiki/Sniffing
 	SnifferTLSEnabled     bool           `mapstructure:"sniffer_tls_enabled"`
-	MaxNumSpans           int            `mapstructure:"-"`                     // defines maximum number of spans to fetch from storage per query
+	MaxDocCount           int            `mapstructure:"-"`                     // Defines maximum number of results to fetch from storage per query
 	MaxSpanAge            time.Duration  `yaml:"max_span_age" mapstructure:"-"` // configures the maximum lookback on span reads
 	NumShards             int64          `yaml:"shards" mapstructure:"num_shards"`
 	NumReplicas           int64          `yaml:"replicas" mapstructure:"num_replicas"`
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ type ClientBuilder interface {
 	GetNumShards() int64
 	GetNumReplicas() int64
 	GetMaxSpanAge() time.Duration
-	GetMaxNumSpans() int
+	GetMaxDocCount() int
 	GetIndexPrefix() string
 	GetTagsFilePath() string
 	GetAllTagsAsFields() bool
@@ -197,9 +197,6 @@ func (c *Configuration) ApplyDefaults(source *Configuration) {
 	if c.MaxSpanAge == 0 {
 		c.MaxSpanAge = source.MaxSpanAge
 	}
-	if c.MaxNumSpans == 0 {
-		c.MaxNumSpans = source.MaxNumSpans
-	}
 	if c.NumShards == 0 {
 		c.NumShards = source.NumShards
 	}
@@ -233,6 +230,9 @@ func (c *Configuration) ApplyDefaults(source *Configuration) {
 	if c.Tags.File == "" {
 		c.Tags.File = source.Tags.File
 	}
+	if c.MaxDocCount == 0 {
+		c.MaxDocCount = source.MaxDocCount
+	}
 }
 
 // GetNumShards returns number of shards from Configuration
@@ -250,9 +250,9 @@ func (c *Configuration) GetMaxSpanAge() time.Duration {
 	return c.MaxSpanAge
 }
 
-// GetMaxNumSpans returns max spans allowed per query from Configuration
-func (c *Configuration) GetMaxNumSpans() int {
-	return c.MaxNumSpans
+// GetMaxDocCount returns the maximum number of documents that a query should return
+func (c *Configuration) GetMaxDocCount() int {
+	return c.MaxDocCount
 }
 
 // GetIndexPrefix returns index prefix
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage.go b/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage.go
index fc983bbf109..46bfd6b5d30 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage.go
@@ -40,10 +40,11 @@ type DependencyStore struct {
 	client      es.Client
 	logger      *zap.Logger
 	indexPrefix string
+	maxDocCount int
 }
 
 // NewDependencyStore returns a DependencyStore
-func NewDependencyStore(client es.Client, logger *zap.Logger, indexPrefix string) *DependencyStore {
+func NewDependencyStore(client es.Client, logger *zap.Logger, indexPrefix string, maxDocCount int) *DependencyStore {
 	var prefix string
 	if indexPrefix != "" {
 		prefix = indexPrefix + "-"
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@ func NewDependencyStore(client es.Client, logger *zap.Logger, indexPrefix string
 		client:      client,
 		logger:      logger,
 		indexPrefix: prefix + dependencyIndex,
+		maxDocCount: maxDocCount,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -82,7 +84,7 @@ func (s *DependencyStore) writeDependencies(indexName string, ts time.Time, depe
 func (s *DependencyStore) GetDependencies(ctx context.Context, endTs time.Time, lookback time.Duration) ([]model.DependencyLink, error) {
 	indices := getIndices(s.indexPrefix, endTs, lookback)
 	searchResult, err := s.client.Search(indices...).
-		Size(10000). // the default elasticsearch allowed limit
+		Size(s.maxDocCount).
 		Query(buildTSQuery(endTs, lookback)).
 		IgnoreUnavailable(true).
 		Do(ctx)
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage_test.go b/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage_test.go
index 2b6f460fad4..a4558f80be0 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage_test.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/dependencystore/storage_test.go
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/storage/dependencystore"
 )
 
+const defaultMaxDocCount = 10_000
+
 type depStorageTest struct {
 	client    *mocks.Client
 	logger    *zap.Logger
@@ -41,14 +43,14 @@ type depStorageTest struct {
 	storage   *DependencyStore
 }
 
-func withDepStorage(indexPrefix string, fn func(r *depStorageTest)) {
+func withDepStorage(indexPrefix string, maxDocCount int, fn func(r *depStorageTest)) {
 	client := &mocks.Client{}
 	logger, logBuffer := testutils.NewLogger()
 	r := &depStorageTest{
 		client:    client,
 		logger:    logger,
 		logBuffer: logBuffer,
-		storage:   NewDependencyStore(client, logger, indexPrefix),
+		storage:   NewDependencyStore(client, logger, indexPrefix, maxDocCount),
 	}
 	fn(r)
 }
@@ -67,7 +69,7 @@ func TestNewSpanReaderIndexPrefix(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, testCase := range testCases {
 		client := &mocks.Client{}
-		r := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), testCase.prefix)
+		r := NewDependencyStore(client, zap.NewNop(), testCase.prefix, defaultMaxDocCount)
 		assert.Equal(t, testCase.expected+dependencyIndex, r.indexPrefix)
 	}
 }
@@ -88,7 +90,7 @@ func TestWriteDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 	for _, testCase := range testCases {
-		withDepStorage("", func(r *depStorageTest) {
+		withDepStorage("", defaultMaxDocCount, func(r *depStorageTest) {
 			fixedTime := time.Date(1995, time.April, 21, 4, 21, 19, 95, time.UTC)
 			indexName := indexWithDate("", fixedTime)
 			writeService := &mocks.IndexService{}
@@ -130,6 +132,7 @@ func TestGetDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 		expectedError  string
 		expectedOutput []model.DependencyLink
 		indexPrefix    string
+		maxDocCount    int
 		indices        []interface{}
 	}{
 		{
@@ -141,7 +144,8 @@ func TestGetDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 					CallCount: 12,
 				},
 			},
-			indices: []interface{}{"jaeger-dependencies-1995-04-21", "jaeger-dependencies-1995-04-20"},
+			indices:     []interface{}{"jaeger-dependencies-1995-04-21", "jaeger-dependencies-1995-04-20"},
+			maxDocCount: 1000, // can be anything, assertion will check this value is used in search query.
 		},
 		{
 			searchResult:  createSearchResult(badDependencies),
@@ -161,13 +165,15 @@ func TestGetDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 	for _, testCase := range testCases {
-		withDepStorage(testCase.indexPrefix, func(r *depStorageTest) {
+		withDepStorage(testCase.indexPrefix, testCase.maxDocCount, func(r *depStorageTest) {
 			fixedTime := time.Date(1995, time.April, 21, 4, 21, 19, 95, time.UTC)
 
 			searchService := &mocks.SearchService{}
 			r.client.On("Search", testCase.indices...).Return(searchService)
 
-			searchService.On("Size", mock.Anything).Return(searchService)
+			searchService.On("Size", mock.MatchedBy(func(size int) bool {
+				return size == testCase.maxDocCount
+			})).Return(searchService)
 			searchService.On("Query", mock.Anything).Return(searchService)
 			searchService.On("IgnoreUnavailable", mock.AnythingOfType("bool")).Return(searchService)
 			searchService.On("Do", mock.Anything).Return(testCase.searchResult, testCase.searchError)
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/factory.go b/plugin/storage/es/factory.go
index 53522305386..b41724db7b0 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/factory.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/factory.go
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ func (f *Factory) CreateSpanWriter() (spanstore.Writer, error) {
 
 // CreateDependencyReader implements storage.Factory
 func (f *Factory) CreateDependencyReader() (dependencystore.Reader, error) {
-	reader := esDepStore.NewDependencyStore(f.primaryClient, f.logger, f.primaryConfig.GetIndexPrefix())
+	reader := esDepStore.NewDependencyStore(f.primaryClient, f.logger, f.primaryConfig.GetIndexPrefix(), f.primaryConfig.GetMaxDocCount())
 	return reader, nil
 }
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ func createSpanReader(
 		Client:              client,
 		Logger:              logger,
 		MetricsFactory:      mFactory,
-		MaxNumSpans:         cfg.GetMaxNumSpans(),
+		MaxDocCount:         cfg.GetMaxDocCount(),
 		MaxSpanAge:          cfg.GetMaxSpanAge(),
 		IndexPrefix:         cfg.GetIndexPrefix(),
 		TagDotReplacement:   cfg.GetTagDotReplacement(),
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/options.go b/plugin/storage/es/options.go
index 7b751a93341..06da56a3d8f 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/options.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/options.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ package es
 
 import (
 	"flag"
+	"math"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ const (
 	suffixTokenPath           = ".token-file"
 	suffixServerURLs          = ".server-urls"
 	suffixMaxSpanAge          = ".max-span-age"
-	suffixMaxNumSpans         = ".max-num-spans"
+	suffixMaxNumSpans         = ".max-num-spans" // deprecated
 	suffixNumShards           = ".num-shards"
 	suffixNumReplicas         = ".num-replicas"
 	suffixBulkSize            = ".bulk.size"
@@ -53,8 +54,12 @@ const (
 	suffixCreateIndexTemplate = ".create-index-templates"
 	suffixEnabled             = ".enabled"
 	suffixVersion             = ".version"
+	suffixMaxDocCount         = ".max-doc-count"
 
-	defaultServerURL = "http://127.0.0.1:9200"
+	// default number of documents to return from a query (elasticsearch allowed limit)
+	// see search.max_buckets and index.max_result_window
+	defaultMaxDocCount = 10_000
+	defaultServerURL   = "http://127.0.0.1:9200"
 )
 
 // TODO this should be moved next to config.Configuration struct (maybe ./flags package)
@@ -83,7 +88,6 @@ func NewOptions(primaryNamespace string, otherNamespaces ...string) *Options {
 				Password:          "",
 				Sniffer:           false,
 				MaxSpanAge:        72 * time.Hour,
-				MaxNumSpans:       10000,
 				NumShards:         5,
 				NumReplicas:       1,
 				BulkSize:          5 * 1000 * 1000,
@@ -97,6 +101,7 @@ func NewOptions(primaryNamespace string, otherNamespaces ...string) *Options {
 				CreateIndexTemplates: true,
 				Version:              0,
 				Servers:              []string{defaultServerURL},
+				MaxDocCount:          defaultMaxDocCount,
 			},
 			namespace: primaryNamespace,
 		},
@@ -173,8 +178,10 @@ func addFlags(flagSet *flag.FlagSet, nsConfig *namespaceConfig) {
 		"The maximum lookback for spans in Elasticsearch")
 	flagSet.Int(
 		nsConfig.namespace+suffixMaxNumSpans,
-		nsConfig.MaxNumSpans,
-		"The maximum number of spans to fetch at a time per query in Elasticsearch")
+		nsConfig.MaxDocCount,
+		"(deprecated, will be removed in release v1.21.0. Please use es.max-doc-count). "+
+			"The maximum number of spans to fetch at a time per query in Elasticsearch. "+
+			"The lesser of es.max-num-spans and es.max-doc-count will be used if both are set.")
 	flagSet.Int64(
 		nsConfig.namespace+suffixNumShards,
 		nsConfig.NumShards,
@@ -237,6 +244,10 @@ func addFlags(flagSet *flag.FlagSet, nsConfig *namespaceConfig) {
 		nsConfig.namespace+suffixSnifferTLSEnabled,
 		nsConfig.SnifferTLSEnabled,
 		"Option to enable TLS when sniffing an Elasticsearch Cluster ; client uses sniffing process to find all nodes automatically, disabled by default")
+	flagSet.Int(
+		nsConfig.namespace+suffixMaxDocCount,
+		nsConfig.MaxDocCount,
+		"The maximum document count to return from an Elasticsearch query. This will also apply to aggregations.")
 	if nsConfig.namespace == archiveNamespace {
 		flagSet.Bool(
 			nsConfig.namespace+suffixEnabled,
@@ -262,7 +273,6 @@ func initFromViper(cfg *namespaceConfig, v *viper.Viper) {
 	cfg.SnifferTLSEnabled = v.GetBool(cfg.namespace + suffixSnifferTLSEnabled)
 	cfg.Servers = strings.Split(stripWhiteSpace(v.GetString(cfg.namespace+suffixServerURLs)), ",")
 	cfg.MaxSpanAge = v.GetDuration(cfg.namespace + suffixMaxSpanAge)
-	cfg.MaxNumSpans = v.GetInt(cfg.namespace + suffixMaxNumSpans)
 	cfg.NumShards = v.GetInt64(cfg.namespace + suffixNumShards)
 	cfg.NumReplicas = v.GetInt64(cfg.namespace + suffixNumReplicas)
 	cfg.BulkSize = v.GetInt(cfg.namespace + suffixBulkSize)
@@ -279,6 +289,14 @@ func initFromViper(cfg *namespaceConfig, v *viper.Viper) {
 	cfg.Enabled = v.GetBool(cfg.namespace + suffixEnabled)
 	cfg.CreateIndexTemplates = v.GetBool(cfg.namespace + suffixCreateIndexTemplate)
 	cfg.Version = uint(v.GetInt(cfg.namespace + suffixVersion))
+
+	cfg.MaxDocCount = v.GetInt(cfg.namespace + suffixMaxDocCount)
+
+	if v.IsSet(cfg.namespace + suffixMaxNumSpans) {
+		maxNumSpans := v.GetInt(cfg.namespace + suffixMaxNumSpans)
+		cfg.MaxDocCount = int(math.Min(float64(maxNumSpans), float64(cfg.MaxDocCount)))
+	}
+
 	// TODO: Need to figure out a better way for do this.
 	cfg.AllowTokenFromContext = v.GetBool(spanstore.StoragePropagationKey)
 	cfg.TLS = cfg.getTLSFlagsConfig().InitFromViper(v)
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/options_test.go b/plugin/storage/es/options_test.go
index 0e2daf5ecde..65ac35e405a 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/options_test.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/options_test.go
@@ -95,3 +95,29 @@ func TestOptionsWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, "./file.txt", aux.Tags.File)
 	assert.Equal(t, "test,tags", aux.Tags.Include)
 }
+
+func TestMaxDocCount(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name            string
+		flags           []string
+		wantMaxDocCount int
+	}{
+		{"neither defined", []string{}, 10_000},
+		{"max-num-spans only", []string{"--es.max-num-spans=1000"}, 1000},
+		{"max-doc-count only", []string{"--es.max-doc-count=1000"}, 1000},
+		{"max-num-spans == max-doc-count", []string{"--es.max-num-spans=1000", "--es.max-doc-count=1000"}, 1000},
+		{"max-num-spans < max-doc-count", []string{"--es.max-num-spans=999", "--es.max-doc-count=1000"}, 999},
+		{"max-num-spans > max-doc-count", []string{"--es.max-num-spans=1000", "--es.max-doc-count=999"}, 999},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			opts := NewOptions("es", "es.aux")
+			v, command := config.Viperize(opts.AddFlags)
+			command.ParseFlags(tc.flags)
+			opts.InitFromViper(v)
+
+			primary := opts.GetPrimary()
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.wantMaxDocCount, primary.MaxDocCount)
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader.go b/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader.go
index 038bbe5130b..5c7176d514e 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader.go
@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ const (
 	tagKeyField            = "key"
 	tagValueField          = "value"
 
-	defaultDocCount  = 10000 // the default elasticsearch allowed limit
 	defaultNumTraces = 100
 )
 
@@ -101,6 +100,7 @@ type SpanReader struct {
 	spanConverter           dbmodel.ToDomain
 	timeRangeIndices        timeRangeIndexFn
 	sourceFn                sourceFn
+	maxDocCount             int
 }
 
 // SpanReaderParams holds constructor params for NewSpanReader
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ type SpanReaderParams struct {
 	Client              es.Client
 	Logger              *zap.Logger
 	MaxSpanAge          time.Duration
-	MaxNumSpans         int
+	MaxDocCount         int
 	MetricsFactory      metrics.Factory
 	IndexPrefix         string
 	TagDotReplacement   string
@@ -127,7 +127,8 @@ func NewSpanReader(p SpanReaderParams) *SpanReader {
 		serviceIndexPrefix:      indexNames(p.IndexPrefix, serviceIndex),
 		spanConverter:           dbmodel.NewToDomain(p.TagDotReplacement),
 		timeRangeIndices:        getTimeRangeIndexFn(p.Archive, p.UseReadWriteAliases),
-		sourceFn:                getSourceFn(p.Archive, p.MaxNumSpans),
+		sourceFn:                getSourceFn(p.Archive, p.MaxDocCount),
+		maxDocCount:             p.MaxDocCount,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -155,12 +156,12 @@ func getTimeRangeIndexFn(archive, useReadWriteAliases bool) timeRangeIndexFn {
 	return timeRangeIndices
 }
 
-func getSourceFn(archive bool, maxNumSpans int) sourceFn {
+func getSourceFn(archive bool, maxDocCount int) sourceFn {
 	return func(query elastic.Query, nextTime uint64) *elastic.SearchSource {
 		s := elastic.NewSearchSource().
 			Query(query).
-			Size(defaultDocCount).
-			TerminateAfter(maxNumSpans)
+			Size(maxDocCount).
+			TerminateAfter(maxDocCount)
 		if !archive {
 			s.Sort("startTime", true).
 				SearchAfter(nextTime)
@@ -241,7 +242,7 @@ func (s *SpanReader) GetServices(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
 	defer span.Finish()
 	currentTime := time.Now()
 	jaegerIndices := s.timeRangeIndices(s.serviceIndexPrefix, currentTime.Add(-s.maxSpanAge), currentTime)
-	return s.serviceOperationStorage.getServices(ctx, jaegerIndices)
+	return s.serviceOperationStorage.getServices(ctx, jaegerIndices, s.maxDocCount)
 }
 
 // GetOperations returns all operations for a specific service traced by Jaeger
@@ -253,7 +254,7 @@ func (s *SpanReader) GetOperations(
 	defer span.Finish()
 	currentTime := time.Now()
 	jaegerIndices := s.timeRangeIndices(s.serviceIndexPrefix, currentTime.Add(-s.maxSpanAge), currentTime)
-	operations, err := s.serviceOperationStorage.getOperations(ctx, jaegerIndices, query.ServiceName)
+	operations, err := s.serviceOperationStorage.getOperations(ctx, jaegerIndices, query.ServiceName, s.maxDocCount)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader_test.go b/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader_test.go
index 1901f3c7378..997579d19e4 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader_test.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/reader_test.go
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jaegertracing/jaeger/storage/spanstore"
 )
 
+const defaultMaxDocCount = 10_000
+
 var exampleESSpan = []byte(
 	`{
 	   "traceID": "1",
@@ -101,6 +103,7 @@ func withSpanReader(fn func(r *spanReaderTest)) {
 			MaxSpanAge:        0,
 			IndexPrefix:       "",
 			TagDotReplacement: "@",
+			MaxDocCount:       defaultMaxDocCount,
 		}),
 	}
 	fn(r)
@@ -804,7 +807,18 @@ func TestSpanReader_FindTracesSpanCollectionFailure(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFindTraceIDs(t *testing.T) {
-	testGet(traceIDAggregation, t)
+	testCases := []struct {
+		aggregrationID string
+	}{
+		{traceIDAggregation},
+		{servicesAggregation},
+		{operationsAggregation},
+	}
+	for _, testCase := range testCases {
+		t.Run(testCase.aggregrationID, func(t *testing.T) {
+			testGet(testCase.aggregrationID, t)
+		})
+	}
 }
 
 func TestTraceIDsStringsToModelsConversion(t *testing.T) {
@@ -835,15 +849,23 @@ func mockArchiveMultiSearchService(r *spanReaderTest, indexName string) *mock.Ca
 	return multiSearchService.On("Do", mock.AnythingOfType("*context.valueCtx"))
 }
 
+// matchTermsAggregation uses reflection to match the size attribute of the TermsAggregation; neither
+// attributes nor getters are exported by TermsAggregation.
+func matchTermsAggregation(termsAgg *elastic.TermsAggregation) bool {
+	val := reflect.ValueOf(termsAgg).Elem()
+	sizeVal := val.FieldByName("size").Elem().Int()
+	return sizeVal == defaultMaxDocCount
+}
+
 func mockSearchService(r *spanReaderTest) *mock.Call {
 	searchService := &mocks.SearchService{}
 	searchService.On("Query", mock.Anything).Return(searchService)
 	searchService.On("IgnoreUnavailable", mock.AnythingOfType("bool")).Return(searchService)
-	searchService.On("Size", mock.MatchedBy(func(i int) bool {
-		return i == 0 || i == defaultDocCount
+	searchService.On("Size", mock.MatchedBy(func(size int) bool {
+		return size == 0 // Aggregations apply size (bucket) limits in their own query objects, and do not apply at the parent query level.
 	})).Return(searchService)
-	searchService.On("Aggregation", stringMatcher(servicesAggregation), mock.AnythingOfType("*elastic.TermsAggregation")).Return(searchService)
-	searchService.On("Aggregation", stringMatcher(operationsAggregation), mock.AnythingOfType("*elastic.TermsAggregation")).Return(searchService)
+	searchService.On("Aggregation", stringMatcher(servicesAggregation), mock.MatchedBy(matchTermsAggregation)).Return(searchService)
+	searchService.On("Aggregation", stringMatcher(operationsAggregation), mock.MatchedBy(matchTermsAggregation)).Return(searchService)
 	searchService.On("Aggregation", stringMatcher(traceIDAggregation), mock.AnythingOfType("*elastic.TermsAggregation")).Return(searchService)
 	r.client.On("Search", mock.AnythingOfType("string"), mock.AnythingOfType("string"), mock.AnythingOfType("string"), mock.AnythingOfType("string"), mock.AnythingOfType("string")).Return(searchService)
 	return searchService.On("Do", mock.MatchedBy(func(ctx context.Context) bool {
diff --git a/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/service_operation.go b/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/service_operation.go
index 44f2acb8a24..71ad0c2ee39 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/service_operation.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/es/spanstore/service_operation.go
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) Write(indexName string, jsonSpan *dbmodel.Span
 	}
 }
 
-func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) getServices(context context.Context, indices []string) ([]string, error) {
-	serviceAggregation := getServicesAggregation()
+func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) getServices(context context.Context, indices []string, maxDocCount int) ([]string, error) {
+	serviceAggregation := getServicesAggregation(maxDocCount)
 
 	searchService := s.client.Search(indices...).
 		Size(0). // set to 0 because we don't want actual documents.
@@ -100,15 +100,15 @@ func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) getServices(context context.Context, indices [
 	return bucketToStringArray(serviceNamesBucket)
 }
 
-func getServicesAggregation() elastic.Query {
+func getServicesAggregation(maxDocCount int) elastic.Query {
 	return elastic.NewTermsAggregation().
 		Field(serviceName).
-		Size(defaultDocCount) // Must set to some large number. ES deprecated size omission for aggregating all. https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/18838
+		Size(maxDocCount) // ES deprecated size omission for aggregating all. https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/18838
 }
 
-func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) getOperations(context context.Context, indices []string, service string) ([]string, error) {
+func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) getOperations(context context.Context, indices []string, service string, maxDocCount int) ([]string, error) {
 	serviceQuery := elastic.NewTermQuery(serviceName, service)
-	serviceFilter := getOperationsAggregation()
+	serviceFilter := getOperationsAggregation(maxDocCount)
 
 	searchService := s.client.Search(indices...).
 		Size(0).
@@ -131,10 +131,10 @@ func (s *ServiceOperationStorage) getOperations(context context.Context, indices
 	return bucketToStringArray(operationNamesBucket)
 }
 
-func getOperationsAggregation() elastic.Query {
+func getOperationsAggregation(maxDocCount int) elastic.Query {
 	return elastic.NewTermsAggregation().
 		Field(operationNameField).
-		Size(defaultDocCount) // Must set to some large number. ES deprecated size omission for aggregating all. https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/18838
+		Size(maxDocCount) // ES deprecated size omission for aggregating all. https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/18838
 }
 
 func hashCode(s dbmodel.Service) string {
diff --git a/plugin/storage/integration/elasticsearch_test.go b/plugin/storage/integration/elasticsearch_test.go
index 6bd0de3f3f5..301f68a3a3c 100644
--- a/plugin/storage/integration/elasticsearch_test.go
+++ b/plugin/storage/integration/elasticsearch_test.go
@@ -39,13 +39,14 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	host            = "0.0.0.0"
-	queryPort       = "9200"
-	queryHostPort   = host + ":" + queryPort
-	queryURL        = "http://" + queryHostPort
-	indexPrefix     = "integration-test"
-	tagKeyDeDotChar = "@"
-	maxSpanAge      = time.Hour * 72
+	host               = "0.0.0.0"
+	queryPort          = "9200"
+	queryHostPort      = host + ":" + queryPort
+	queryURL           = "http://" + queryHostPort
+	indexPrefix        = "integration-test"
+	tagKeyDeDotChar    = "@"
+	maxSpanAge         = time.Hour * 72
+	defaultMaxDocCount = 10_000
 )
 
 type ESStorageIntegration struct {
@@ -129,8 +130,9 @@ func (s *ESStorageIntegration) initSpanstore(allTagsAsFields, archive bool) erro
 		MaxSpanAge:        maxSpanAge,
 		TagDotReplacement: tagKeyDeDotChar,
 		Archive:           archive,
+		MaxDocCount:       defaultMaxDocCount,
 	})
-	dependencyStore := dependencystore.NewDependencyStore(client, s.logger, indexPrefix)
+	dependencyStore := dependencystore.NewDependencyStore(client, s.logger, indexPrefix, defaultMaxDocCount)
 	depMapping := es.GetDependenciesMappings(5, 1, client.GetVersion())
 	err = dependencyStore.CreateTemplates(depMapping)
 	if err != nil {