diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 0c9972423..e2ff36217 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -299,14 +299,10 @@ if have_pango_ft2
   pangoft2_dep = dependency('pangoft2')
 endif
 
-have_startup_notification = get_option('startup_notification')
+have_startup_notification = get_option('startup_notification') and have_x11_client
 if have_startup_notification
-  if have_x11_client
-    libstartup_notification_dep = dependency('libstartup-notification-1.0',
-                                             version: libstartup_notification_req)
-  else
-    error('startup_notification requires X11 or Xwayland to be enabled')
-  endif
+  libstartup_notification_dep = dependency('libstartup-notification-1.0',
+                                           version: libstartup_notification_req)
 endif
 
 have_remote_desktop = get_option('remote_desktop')