diff --git a/lib/builder/builder.js b/lib/builder/builder.js
index 20e690da37..0e8da6bf9a 100644
--- a/lib/builder/builder.js
+++ b/lib/builder/builder.js
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ export default class Builder extends Tapable {
       options: this.options,
       uniqBy: _.uniqBy,
       isDev: this.options.dev,
-      debug: this.options.render.debug,
+      debug: this.options.debug,
       router: this.options.router,
       env: this.options.env,
       head: this.options.head,
diff --git a/lib/common/options.js b/lib/common/options.js
index 3a33275a95..d0b7042c59 100755
--- a/lib/common/options.js
+++ b/lib/common/options.js
@@ -49,8 +49,8 @@ export default function Options (_options) {
   }
 
   // Debug errors
-  if (options.render.debug === undefined) {
-    options.render.debug = options.dev
+  if (options.debug === undefined) {
+    options.debug = options.dev
   }
 
   // Resolve mode
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ Options.modes = {
 Options.defaults = {
   mode: 'universal',
   dev: process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production',
+  debug: undefined, // Will be equal to dev if not provided
   buildDir: '.nuxt',
   nuxtAppDir: resolve(__dirname, '../lib/app/'), // Relative to dist
   build: {
@@ -188,7 +189,6 @@ Options.defaults = {
     bundleRenderer: {},
     resourceHints: true,
     ssr: undefined,
-    debug: undefined, // Will be set equal to dev
     http2: {
       push: false
     },
diff --git a/lib/core/renderer.js b/lib/core/renderer.js
index 9b40662f6a..afdef80f14 100644
--- a/lib/core/renderer.js
+++ b/lib/core/renderer.js
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ export default class Renderer extends Tapable {
     const sendResponse = (content, type = 'text/html') => {
       // Set Headers
       res.statusCode = err.statusCode
-      res.statusMessage = this.options.render.debug ? err.message : err.name
+      res.statusMessage = this.options.debug ? err.message : err.name
       res.setHeader('Content-Type', type + '; charset=utf-8')
       res.setHeader('Content-Length', Buffer.byteLength(content))
 
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ export default class Renderer extends Tapable {
     const isJson = hasReqHeader('accept', 'application/json') || hasReqHeader('user-agent', 'curl/')
 
     // Use basic errors when debug mode is disabled
-    if (!this.options.render.debug) {
+    if (!this.options.debug) {
       // Json format is compatible with Youch json responses
       const json = {
         status: err.statusCode,