diff --git a/.changeset/stale-ligers-impress.md b/.changeset/stale-ligers-impress.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4a3def4a2c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/stale-ligers-impress.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@apollo/server': patch
+---
+
+startStandaloneServer: Restore body-parser request limit to 50mb (as it was in the `apollo-server` package in Apollo Server 3)
diff --git a/docs/source/api/standalone.mdx b/docs/source/api/standalone.mdx
index dfb9d1b84fb..ec81e57e019 100644
--- a/docs/source/api/standalone.mdx
+++ b/docs/source/api/standalone.mdx
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ This API reference documents the `startStandaloneServer` function.
 
 ## Overview
 
-This `startStandaloneServer` function helps you get started with Apollo Server quickly. This function is recommended for all projects that don't require serverless support or a particular Node.js framework (such as Fastify). Under the hood, the `startStandaloneServer` function uses Apollo Server 4's Express integration (i.e., [`expressMiddleware`](./express-middleware)). 
+This `startStandaloneServer` function helps you get started with Apollo Server quickly. This function is recommended for all projects that don't require serverless support or a particular Node.js framework (such as Fastify). Under the hood, the `startStandaloneServer` function uses Apollo Server 4's Express integration (i.e., [`expressMiddleware`](./express-middleware)).
 
 Because it sets helpful defaults, this function is less configurable than other Apollo Server integrations. Complex projects might eventually need to [swap to using `expressMiddleware`](#swapping-to-expressmiddleware) (this process is straightforward).
 
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const server = new ApolloServer({ typeDefs, resolvers });
 // `startStandaloneServer` returns a `Promise` with the
 // the URL that the server is listening on.
 const { url } = await startStandaloneServer(server); //highlight-line
-``` 
+```
 
 </MultiCodeBlock>
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ The `startStandaloneServer` function's second optional argument is an object for
 
 <td>
 
-An optional asynchronous [`context` initialization function](../data/resolvers#the-context-argument). 
+An optional asynchronous [`context` initialization function](../data/resolvers#the-context-argument).
 
 The `context` function should return an object that all your server's resolvers share during an operation's execution. This enables resolvers to share helpful context values, such as a database connection.
 
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ If no `port` is specified, this defaults to using `{port: 4000}`.
 </tbody>
 </table>
 
-### Example 
+### Example
 
 Below is a full example of setting up `startStandaloneServer`:
 
@@ -196,7 +196,8 @@ await server.start();
 // and our expressMiddleware function.
 app.use('/',
   cors<cors.CorsRequest>(),
-  bodyParser.json(),
+  // 50mb is the limit that `startStandaloneServer` uses, but you may configure this to suit your needs
+  bodyParser.json({ limit: '50mb' }),
   // expressMiddleware accepts the same arguments:
   // an Apollo Server instance and optional configuration options
   expressMiddleware(server, {
@@ -208,4 +209,4 @@ app.use('/',
 await new Promise<void>(resolve => httpServer.listen({ port: 4000 }, resolve));
 console.log(`🚀 Server ready at http://localhost:4000/`);
 ```
-</MultiCodeBlock>
\ No newline at end of file
+</MultiCodeBlock>
diff --git a/packages/server/src/__tests__/standalone/standaloneSpecific.test.ts b/packages/server/src/__tests__/standalone/standaloneSpecific.test.ts
index cb4b639ee5e..1f3231c376a 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/__tests__/standalone/standaloneSpecific.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/__tests__/standalone/standaloneSpecific.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from '@jest/globals';
+import fetch from 'node-fetch';
 import { ApolloServer } from '../..';
 import { startStandaloneServer } from '../../standalone';
-import { describe, it } from '@jest/globals';
 
 describe('Typings: TContext inference', () => {
   it('correctly infers BaseContext when no `context` function is provided', async () => {
@@ -103,3 +104,41 @@ describe('Typings: TContext inference', () => {
     await server.stop();
   });
 });
+
+describe('Configuration', () => {
+  it('allows > 100KiB bodies to be sent (body-parser default)', async () => {
+    const server = new ApolloServer({
+      typeDefs: `type Query { hello: String }`,
+      resolvers: {
+        Query: {
+          hello: () => 'hello world!',
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    const { url } = await startStandaloneServer(server, {
+      listen: { port: 0 },
+    });
+
+    const excessivelyLargeBody = JSON.stringify({
+      query: `{hello}`,
+      variables: { foo: 'a'.repeat(102400) },
+    });
+
+    // 100kib limit = 102400 bytes
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(excessivelyLargeBody)).toBeGreaterThan(102400);
+
+    const result = await fetch(url, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+      },
+      body: excessivelyLargeBody,
+    });
+    const { data } = await result.json();
+
+    expect(data.hello).toEqual('hello world!');
+
+    await server.stop();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/server/src/standalone/index.ts b/packages/server/src/standalone/index.ts
index 7f50f4f95c0..b2525933340 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/standalone/index.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/standalone/index.ts
@@ -56,7 +56,11 @@ export async function startStandaloneServer<TContext extends BaseContext>(
   await server.start();
 
   const context = options?.context ?? (async () => ({} as TContext));
-  app.use(cors(), bodyParser.json(), expressMiddleware(server, { context }));
+  app.use(
+    cors(),
+    bodyParser.json({ limit: '50mb' }),
+    expressMiddleware(server, { context }),
+  );
 
   const listenOptions = options?.listen ?? { port: 4000 };
   // Wait for server to start listening