diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index 6a28c321add7..a51fd81db0f6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v6.0.0-beta2...master[Check the HEAD di
 - Add experimental module to collect metrics from munin nodes. {pull}6517[6517]
 - Add support for wildcards and explicit metrics grouping in jolokia/jmx. {pull}6462[6462]
 - Set `collector` as default metricset in Prometheus module. {pull}6636[6636]
+- Set default metricsets in vSphere module. {pull}6676[6676]
 
 *Packetbeat*
 
diff --git a/metricbeat/docs/modules/vsphere.asciidoc b/metricbeat/docs/modules/vsphere.asciidoc
index 689a19662fb1..824d8b583dd5 100644
--- a/metricbeat/docs/modules/vsphere.asciidoc
+++ b/metricbeat/docs/modules/vsphere.asciidoc
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ beta[]
 
 The vSphere module uses the https://github.com/vmware/govmomi[Govmomi] library to collect metrics from any Vmware SDK URL (ESXi/VCenter). This library is built for and tested against ESXi and vCenter 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5.
 
+By default it enables the metricsets `datastore`, `host` and `virtualmachine`.
 
 
 [float]
@@ -21,7 +22,6 @@ in <<configuration-metricbeat>>. Here is an example configuration:
 ----
 metricbeat.modules:
 - module: vsphere
-  metricsets: ["datastore", "host", "virtualmachine"]
   period: 10s
   hosts: ["https://localhost/sdk"]
 
diff --git a/metricbeat/metricbeat.reference.yml b/metricbeat/metricbeat.reference.yml
index c2d081c90cb4..73d26d2e3f3b 100644
--- a/metricbeat/metricbeat.reference.yml
+++ b/metricbeat/metricbeat.reference.yml
@@ -477,6 +477,7 @@ metricbeat.modules:
 
 #------------------------------- vSphere Module ------------------------------
 - module: vsphere
+  enabled: true
   metricsets: ["datastore", "host", "virtualmachine"]
   period: 10s
   hosts: ["https://localhost/sdk"]
@@ -487,7 +488,6 @@ metricbeat.modules:
   insecure: false
   # Get custom fields when using virtualmachine metric set. Default false.
   # get_custom_fields: false
-  
 
 #------------------------------- Windows Module ------------------------------
 - module: windows
diff --git a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.reference.yml b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.reference.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d4803d0c7753
--- /dev/null
+++ b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.reference.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+- module: vsphere
+  enabled: true
+  metricsets: ["datastore", "host", "virtualmachine"]
+  period: 10s
+  hosts: ["https://localhost/sdk"]
+
+  username: "user"
+  password: "password"
+  # If insecure is true, don't verify the server's certificate chain
+  insecure: false
+  # Get custom fields when using virtualmachine metric set. Default false.
+  # get_custom_fields: false
diff --git a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.yml b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.yml
index c53563791d0d..d2badbc4c0e0 100644
--- a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.yml
+++ b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/config.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 - module: vsphere
-  metricsets: ["datastore", "host", "virtualmachine"]
   period: 10s
   hosts: ["https://localhost/sdk"]
 
diff --git a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/docs.asciidoc b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/docs.asciidoc
index f11640801ef1..7a281ae4d18d 100644
--- a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/docs.asciidoc
+++ b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/_meta/docs.asciidoc
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 The vSphere module uses the https://github.com/vmware/govmomi[Govmomi] library to collect metrics from any Vmware SDK URL (ESXi/VCenter). This library is built for and tested against ESXi and vCenter 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5.
 
+By default it enables the metricsets `datastore`, `host` and `virtualmachine`.
diff --git a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/datastore/datastore.go b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/datastore/datastore.go
index 153ee028c53d..2069d36650c8 100644
--- a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/datastore/datastore.go
+++ b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/datastore/datastore.go
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	if err := mb.Registry.AddMetricSet("vsphere", "datastore", New); err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
+	mb.Registry.MustAddMetricSet("vsphere", "datastore", New,
+		mb.DefaultMetricSet(),
+	)
 }
 
 type MetricSet struct {
diff --git a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/host/host.go b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/host/host.go
index 8a129d5382b4..d76b80e0d5a0 100644
--- a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/host/host.go
+++ b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/host/host.go
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	if err := mb.Registry.AddMetricSet("vsphere", "host", New); err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
+	mb.Registry.MustAddMetricSet("vsphere", "host", New,
+		mb.DefaultMetricSet(),
+	)
 }
 
 type MetricSet struct {
diff --git a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/virtualmachine/virtualmachine.go b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/virtualmachine/virtualmachine.go
index a6f8792c9c53..3ca221c68e00 100644
--- a/metricbeat/module/vsphere/virtualmachine/virtualmachine.go
+++ b/metricbeat/module/vsphere/virtualmachine/virtualmachine.go
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	if err := mb.Registry.AddMetricSet("vsphere", "virtualmachine", New); err != nil {
-		panic(err)
-	}
+	mb.Registry.MustAddMetricSet("vsphere", "virtualmachine", New,
+		mb.DefaultMetricSet(),
+	)
 }
 
 type MetricSet struct {
diff --git a/metricbeat/modules.d/vsphere.yml.disabled b/metricbeat/modules.d/vsphere.yml.disabled
index c53563791d0d..d2badbc4c0e0 100644
--- a/metricbeat/modules.d/vsphere.yml.disabled
+++ b/metricbeat/modules.d/vsphere.yml.disabled
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 - module: vsphere
-  metricsets: ["datastore", "host", "virtualmachine"]
   period: 10s
   hosts: ["https://localhost/sdk"]