diff --git a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 1c030e2..cc97360 100644
--- a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ kamon.akka-http {
   # cardinality explosion caused by variable sections in the Path.
   name-generator = default
 
+  # Add http status codes as metric tags. The default value is false
+  add-http-status-code-as-metric-tag = false
+
   modules {
     kamon-akka-http {
       requires-aspectj = yes
diff --git a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/AkkaHttp.scala b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/AkkaHttp.scala
index 638f222..d36d284 100644
--- a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/AkkaHttp.scala
+++ b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/AkkaHttp.scala
@@ -61,9 +61,15 @@ object AkkaHttp {
     }
   }
 
+  @volatile var addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTag: Boolean = addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTagFromConfig(Kamon.config())
+
+  private def addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTagFromConfig(config: Config): Boolean =
+    Kamon.config.getBoolean("kamon.akka-http.add-http-status-code-as-metric-tag")
+
   Kamon.onReconfigure(new OnReconfigureHook {
     override def onReconfigure(newConfig: Config): Unit = {
       nameGenerator = nameGeneratorFromConfig(newConfig)
+      addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTag = addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTagFromConfig(newConfig)
     }
   })
 }
diff --git a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ClientRequestInstrumentation.scala b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ClientRequestInstrumentation.scala
index 763459e..6161ffd 100644
--- a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ClientRequestInstrumentation.scala
+++ b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ClientRequestInstrumentation.scala
@@ -55,9 +55,13 @@ class ClientRequestInstrumentation {
         if(status.isFailure())
           span.addError(status.reason())
 
-        span
-          .tag("http.status_code", response.status.intValue())
-          .finish()
+        val spanWithStatusTag = if (AkkaHttp.addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTag) {
+          span.tagMetric("http.status_code", status.intValue.toString())
+        } else {
+          span.tag("http.status_code", status.intValue())
+        }
+
+        spanWithStatusTag.finish()
       }
       case Failure(t) ⇒ {
         span.addError(t.getMessage, t).finish()
diff --git a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ServerFlowWrapper.scala b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ServerFlowWrapper.scala
index cf07ef3..d250dc3 100644
--- a/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ServerFlowWrapper.scala
+++ b/kamon-akka-http/src/main/scala/kamon/akka/http/instrumentation/ServerFlowWrapper.scala
@@ -82,8 +82,11 @@ object ServerFlowWrapper {
           val response = grab(responseIn)
           val status = response.status.intValue()
 
-          val span = Kamon.currentSpan()
-            .tag("http.status_code", status)
+          val span = if (addHttpStatusCodeAsMetricTag) {
+            Kamon.currentSpan().tagMetric("http.status_code", status.toString())
+          } else {
+            Kamon.currentSpan().tag("http.status_code", status)
+          }
 
           if(status == 404)
             span.setOperationName("unhandled")