diff --git a/.changeset/modern-gorillas-walk.md b/.changeset/modern-gorillas-walk.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..12cc2f00f519d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/modern-gorillas-walk.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@eth-optimism/batch-submitter-service': patch
+---
+
+Default to JSON logs, add LOG_TERMINAL flag for debugging
diff --git a/go/batch-submitter/batch_submitter.go b/go/batch-submitter/batch_submitter.go
index d0b8c7992e2c6..a542ae312ff56 100644
--- a/go/batch-submitter/batch_submitter.go
+++ b/go/batch-submitter/batch_submitter.go
@@ -54,9 +54,11 @@ func Main(gitVersion string) func(ctx *cli.Context) error {
 				return err
 			}
 
-			logHandler = bsscore.SentryStreamHandler(os.Stdout, log.TerminalFormat(true))
-		} else {
+			logHandler = bsscore.SentryStreamHandler(os.Stdout, log.JSONFormat())
+		} else if cfg.LogTerminal {
 			logHandler = log.StreamHandler(os.Stdout, log.TerminalFormat(true))
+		} else {
+			logHandler = log.StreamHandler(os.Stdout, log.JSONFormat())
 		}
 
 		logLevel, err := log.LvlFromString(cfg.LogLevel)
diff --git a/go/batch-submitter/config.go b/go/batch-submitter/config.go
index ecb47e244c7c9..e4a10f6e37728 100644
--- a/go/batch-submitter/config.go
+++ b/go/batch-submitter/config.go
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@ type Config struct {
 	// LogLevel is the lowest log level that will be output.
 	LogLevel string
 
+	// LogTerminal if true, prints to stdout in terminal format, otherwise
+	// prints using JSON. If SentryEnable is true this flag is ignored, and logs
+	// are printed using JSON.
+	LogTerminal bool
+
 	// SentryEnable if true, logs any error messages to sentry. SentryDsn
 	// must also be set if SentryEnable is true.
 	SentryEnable bool
@@ -191,6 +196,7 @@ func NewConfig(ctx *cli.Context) (Config, error) {
 		ClearPendingTxs:         ctx.GlobalBool(flags.ClearPendingTxsFlag.Name),
 		/* Optional Flags */
 		LogLevel:            ctx.GlobalString(flags.LogLevelFlag.Name),
+		LogTerminal:         ctx.GlobalBool(flags.LogTerminalFlag.Name),
 		SentryEnable:        ctx.GlobalBool(flags.SentryEnableFlag.Name),
 		SentryDsn:           ctx.GlobalString(flags.SentryDsnFlag.Name),
 		SentryTraceRate:     ctx.GlobalDuration(flags.SentryTraceRateFlag.Name),
diff --git a/go/batch-submitter/flags/flags.go b/go/batch-submitter/flags/flags.go
index c3f97c4e86d17..d19f7fb092037 100644
--- a/go/batch-submitter/flags/flags.go
+++ b/go/batch-submitter/flags/flags.go
@@ -129,6 +129,13 @@ var (
 		Value:  "info",
 		EnvVar: prefixEnvVar("LOG_LEVEL"),
 	}
+	LogTerminalFlag = cli.BoolFlag{
+		Name: "log-terminal",
+		Usage: "If true, outputs logs in terminal format, otherwise prints " +
+			"in JSON format. If SENTRY_ENABLE is set to true, this flag is " +
+			"ignored and logs are printed using JSON",
+		EnvVar: prefixEnvVar("LOG_TERMINAL"),
+	}
 	SentryEnableFlag = cli.BoolFlag{
 		Name:   "sentry-enable",
 		Usage:  "Whether or not to enable Sentry. If true, sentry-dsn must also be set",
@@ -197,8 +204,8 @@ var (
 		EnvVar: prefixEnvVar("METRICS_PORT"),
 	}
 	HTTP2DisableFlag = cli.BoolFlag{
-		Name: "http2-disable",
-		Usage: "Whether or not to disable HTTP/2 support.",
+		Name:   "http2-disable",
+		Usage:  "Whether or not to disable HTTP/2 support.",
 		EnvVar: prefixEnvVar("HTTP2_DISABLE"),
 	}
 )
@@ -224,6 +231,7 @@ var requiredFlags = []cli.Flag{
 
 var optionalFlags = []cli.Flag{
 	LogLevelFlag,
+	LogTerminalFlag,
 	SentryEnableFlag,
 	SentryDsnFlag,
 	SentryTraceRateFlag,
diff --git a/ops/envs/batch-submitter.env b/ops/envs/batch-submitter.env
index a49a81e186899..7261255a8420e 100644
--- a/ops/envs/batch-submitter.env
+++ b/ops/envs/batch-submitter.env
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ ETH_NETWORK_NAME=clique
 
 LOG_LEVEL=debug
 BATCH_SUBMITTER_LOG_LEVEL=debug
+BATCH_SUBMITTER_LOG_TERMINAL=true
 BATCH_SUBMITTER_MAX_L1_TX_SIZE=90000
 BATCH_SUBMITTER_MAX_BATCH_SUBMISSION_TIME=0
 BATCH_SUBMITTER_POLL_INTERVAL=500ms