diff --git a/public/app/plugins/panel/gauge/module.tsx b/public/app/plugins/panel/gauge/module.tsx
index 245a17abe52..dccd424b416 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/panel/gauge/module.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/panel/gauge/module.tsx
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ export const defaultProps = {
     showThresholdLabels: false,
     suffix: '',
     decimals: 0,
-    stat: '',
-    unit: '',
+    stat: 'avg',
+    unit: 'none',
     mappings: [],
     thresholds: [],
   },