diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index  87aed2f28f9c..498472ec2a60 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ option(USE_SHARED_TINYXML "Use your installed copy of tinyxml" off)
 option(USE_SHARED_PIXMAN  "Use your installed copy of pixman" off)
 option(USE_SHARED_FREETYPE "Use shared FreeType library" off)
 option(USE_SHARED_HARFBUZZ "Use shared HarfBuzz library" off)
+option(USE_SHARED_WEBP    "Use your installed copy of webp" off)
 option(ENABLE_ASEPRITE_EXE "Compile main Aseprite executable" on)
 option(ENABLE_MEMLEAK      "Enable memory-leaks detector (only for developers)" off)
 option(ENABLE_NEWS         "Enable the news in Home tab" on)
@@ -380,7 +381,20 @@ add_subdirectory(laf)
 # libwebp
 if(ENABLE_WEBP)
   # Use libwebp from Skia
-  if(LAF_BACKEND STREQUAL "skia")
+  if(USE_SHARED_WEBP)
+    find_library(WEBP_LIBRARY NAMES webp)
+    find_library(WEBPDEMUX_LIBRARY NAMES webpdemux)
+    find_library(WEBPMUX_LIBRARY NAMES webpmux)
+    set(WEBP_LIBRARIES ${WEBP_LIBRARY} ${WEBPDEMUX_LIBRARY} ${WEBPMUX_LIBRARY})
+    find_path(WEBP_INCLUDE_DIRS NAMES decode.h PATH_SUFFIXES webp)
+    find_path(WEBP_INCLUDE_DIRS NAMES decode.h PATH_SUFFIXES webp)
+    find_path(WEBP_INCLUDE_DIRS NAMES decode.h PATH_SUFFIXES webp)
+    if(WEBP_LIBRARIES)
+      set(WEBP_FOUND ON)
+    else()
+      set(WEBP_FOUND OFF)
+    endif()
+  elseif(LAF_BACKEND STREQUAL "skia")
     find_library(WEBP_LIBRARIES webp
       NAMES libwebp # required for Windows
       PATHS "${SKIA_LIBRARY_DIR}" NO_DEFAULT_PATH)
diff --git a/third_party/CMakeLists.txt b/third_party/CMakeLists.txt
index 1973b134b9f8..f15dba5a7968 100644
--- a/third_party/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/third_party/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ if(NOT USE_SHARED_GIFLIB)
   add_subdirectory(giflib)
 endif()

-if(ENABLE_WEBP AND NOT LAF_BACKEND STREQUAL "skia")
+if(ENABLE_WEBP AND NOT LAF_BACKEND STREQUAL "skia" AND NOT USE_SHARED_WEBP)
   set(WEBP_BUILD_EXTRAS OFF CACHE BOOL "Build extras.")
   set(WEBP_BUILD_ANIM_UTILS OFF CACHE BOOL "Build animation utilities.")
   set(WEBP_BUILD_CWEBP OFF CACHE BOOL "Build the cwebp command line tool.")