diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer.go b/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer.go
index 6d59cce28..cbb85e016 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer.go
@@ -28,12 +28,17 @@ type natsConsumer struct {
 	Servers    []string
 	Secure     bool
 
+	// Client pending limits:
+	PendingMessageLimit int
+	PendingBytesLimit   int
+
 	// Legacy metric buffer support
 	MetricBuffer int
 
 	parser parsers.Parser
 
 	sync.Mutex
+	wg   sync.WaitGroup
 	Conn *nats.Conn
 	Subs []*nats.Subscription
 
@@ -47,13 +52,18 @@ type natsConsumer struct {
 
 var sampleConfig = `
   ## urls of NATS servers
-  servers = ["nats://localhost:4222"]
+  # servers = ["nats://localhost:4222"]
   ## Use Transport Layer Security
-  secure = false
+  # secure = false
   ## subject(s) to consume
-  subjects = ["telegraf"]
+  # subjects = ["telegraf"]
   ## name a queue group
-  queue_group = "telegraf_consumers"
+  # queue_group = "telegraf_consumers"
+
+  ## Sets the limits for pending msgs and bytes for each subscription
+  ## These shouldn't need to be adjusted except in very high throughput scenarios
+  # pending_message_limit = 65536
+  # pending_bytes_limit = 67108864
 
   ## Data format to consume.
   ## Each data format has it's own unique set of configuration options, read
@@ -112,12 +122,22 @@ func (n *natsConsumer) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 		n.errs = make(chan error)
 		n.Conn.SetErrorHandler(n.natsErrHandler)
 
-		n.in = make(chan *nats.Msg)
+		n.in = make(chan *nats.Msg, 1000)
 		for _, subj := range n.Subjects {
-			sub, err := n.Conn.ChanQueueSubscribe(subj, n.QueueGroup, n.in)
+			sub, err := n.Conn.QueueSubscribe(subj, n.QueueGroup, func(m *nats.Msg) {
+				n.in <- m
+			})
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
+			// ensure that the subscription has been processed by the server
+			if err = n.Conn.Flush(); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			// set the subscription pending limits
+			if err = sub.SetPendingLimits(n.PendingMessageLimit, n.PendingBytesLimit); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
 			n.Subs = append(n.Subs, sub)
 		}
 	}
@@ -125,6 +145,7 @@ func (n *natsConsumer) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	n.done = make(chan struct{})
 
 	// Start the message reader
+	n.wg.Add(1)
 	go n.receiver()
 	log.Printf("I! Started the NATS consumer service, nats: %v, subjects: %v, queue: %v\n",
 		n.Conn.ConnectedUrl(), n.Subjects, n.QueueGroup)
@@ -135,7 +156,7 @@ func (n *natsConsumer) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 // receiver() reads all incoming messages from NATS, and parses them into
 // telegraf metrics.
 func (n *natsConsumer) receiver() {
-	defer n.clean()
+	defer n.wg.Done()
 	for {
 		select {
 		case <-n.done:
@@ -151,17 +172,11 @@ func (n *natsConsumer) receiver() {
 			for _, metric := range metrics {
 				n.acc.AddFields(metric.Name(), metric.Fields(), metric.Tags(), metric.Time())
 			}
-
 		}
 	}
 }
 
 func (n *natsConsumer) clean() {
-	n.Lock()
-	defer n.Unlock()
-	close(n.in)
-	close(n.errs)
-
 	for _, sub := range n.Subs {
 		if err := sub.Unsubscribe(); err != nil {
 			log.Printf("E! Error unsubscribing from subject %s in queue %s: %s\n",
@@ -177,6 +192,8 @@ func (n *natsConsumer) clean() {
 func (n *natsConsumer) Stop() {
 	n.Lock()
 	close(n.done)
+	n.wg.Wait()
+	n.clean()
 	n.Unlock()
 }
 
@@ -186,6 +203,13 @@ func (n *natsConsumer) Gather(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 
 func init() {
 	inputs.Add("nats_consumer", func() telegraf.Input {
-		return &natsConsumer{}
+		return &natsConsumer{
+			Servers:             []string{"nats://localhost:4222"},
+			Secure:              false,
+			Subjects:            []string{"telegraf"},
+			QueueGroup:          "telegraf_consumers",
+			PendingBytesLimit:   nats.DefaultSubPendingBytesLimit,
+			PendingMessageLimit: nats.DefaultSubPendingMsgsLimit,
+		}
 	})
 }
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer_test.go b/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer_test.go
index 75fde66a6..206714b1a 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nats_consumer/nats_consumer_test.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ func TestRunParser(t *testing.T) {
 	defer close(n.done)
 
 	n.parser, _ = parsers.NewInfluxParser()
+	n.wg.Add(1)
 	go n.receiver()
 	in <- natsMsg(testMsg)
 	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 25)
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ func TestRunParserInvalidMsg(t *testing.T) {
 	defer close(n.done)
 
 	n.parser, _ = parsers.NewInfluxParser()
+	n.wg.Add(1)
 	go n.receiver()
 	in <- natsMsg(invalidMsg)
 	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 25)
@@ -73,6 +75,7 @@ func TestRunParserAndGather(t *testing.T) {
 	defer close(n.done)
 
 	n.parser, _ = parsers.NewInfluxParser()
+	n.wg.Add(1)
 	go n.receiver()
 	in <- natsMsg(testMsg)
 	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 25)
@@ -91,6 +94,7 @@ func TestRunParserAndGatherGraphite(t *testing.T) {
 	defer close(n.done)
 
 	n.parser, _ = parsers.NewGraphiteParser("_", []string{}, nil)
+	n.wg.Add(1)
 	go n.receiver()
 	in <- natsMsg(testMsgGraphite)
 	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 25)
@@ -109,6 +113,7 @@ func TestRunParserAndGatherJSON(t *testing.T) {
 	defer close(n.done)
 
 	n.parser, _ = parsers.NewJSONParser("nats_json_test", []string{}, nil)
+	n.wg.Add(1)
 	go n.receiver()
 	in <- natsMsg(testMsgJSON)
 	time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 25)