diff --git a/Kconfig b/Kconfig
index bb80adacf45f00c4ee525e5239edf376a141b0e6..c1451bceda1bdd2f8e76c190a2c9c6fa84026c43 100644
--- a/Kconfig
+++ b/Kconfig
@@ -95,6 +95,16 @@ config SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
 	  particular needs this to operate, so that it can allocate the
 	  initial serial device and any others that are needed.
 
+config SPL_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+        hex "Size of malloc() pool in spl before relocation"
+        depends on SYS_MALLOC_F
+        default SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+        help
+          Before relocation, memory is very limited on many platforms. Still,
+          we can provide a small malloc() pool if needed. Driver model in
+          particular needs this to operate, so that it can allocate the
+          initial serial device and any others that are needed.
+
 menuconfig EXPERT
 	bool "Configure standard U-Boot features (expert users)"
 	default y
diff --git a/cmd/bdinfo.c b/cmd/bdinfo.c
index 8971697e60a65a85ab37b953fa54e4e6ae2b65c9..81ac78da940ce60726707f26e92dedc11c10f738 100644
--- a/cmd/bdinfo.c
+++ b/cmd/bdinfo.c
@@ -344,9 +344,9 @@ static int do_bdinfo(cmd_tbl_t *cmdtp, int flag, int argc,
 #ifdef CONFIG_BOARD_TYPES
 	printf("Board Type  = %ld\n", gd->board_type);
 #endif
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	printf("Early malloc usage: %lx / %x\n", gd->malloc_ptr,
-	       CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN);
+	       CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN));
 #endif
 	if (gd->fdt_blob)
 		printf("fdt_blob = %p\n", gd->fdt_blob);
diff --git a/common/Makefile b/common/Makefile
index 17a92ea2d7504262cebd2a15812994298186113d..60681c845cc205d870fcd3238c3853eb37e38389 100644
--- a/common/Makefile
+++ b/common/Makefile
@@ -139,9 +139,11 @@ obj-y += console.o
 endif
 obj-$(CONFIG_CROS_EC) += cros_ec.o
 obj-y += dlmalloc.o
-ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F
+ifneq ($(CONFIG_$(SPL_)SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN),0)
 obj-y += malloc_simple.o
 endif
+endif
 obj-y += image.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_ANDROID_BOOT_IMAGE) += image-android.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_$(SPL_)OF_LIBFDT) += image-fdt.o
diff --git a/common/board_f.c b/common/board_f.c
index 49c8bc89f3cd91cb7029701747eebc53a641d0cf..19b80556be05c26829159f54d39a0474a7de54f2 100644
--- a/common/board_f.c
+++ b/common/board_f.c
@@ -727,7 +727,7 @@ static int initf_bootstage(void)
 
 static int initf_console_record(void)
 {
-#if defined(CONFIG_CONSOLE_RECORD) && defined(CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
+#if defined(CONFIG_CONSOLE_RECORD) && CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	return console_record_init();
 #else
 	return 0;
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ static int initf_console_record(void)
 
 static int initf_dm(void)
 {
-#if defined(CONFIG_DM) && defined(CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
+#if defined(CONFIG_DM) && CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	int ret;
 
 	bootstage_start(BOOTSTATE_ID_ACCUM_DM_F, "dm_f");
diff --git a/common/board_r.c b/common/board_r.c
index ecca1edb04e0a4335bc4f5e6c5d2638b6d64ba45..985aa95c2aea2c664169d5acf453d0f557e663b1 100644
--- a/common/board_r.c
+++ b/common/board_r.c
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ static int initr_malloc(void)
 {
 	ulong malloc_start;
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	debug("Pre-reloc malloc() used %#lx bytes (%ld KB)\n", gd->malloc_ptr,
 	      gd->malloc_ptr / 1024);
 #endif
diff --git a/common/dlmalloc.c b/common/dlmalloc.c
index fc1e8b391c3cc22a93c1be371252f5c4cafd3171..c37979b43f39930a1c264d944be3bc3337c24aba 100644
--- a/common/dlmalloc.c
+++ b/common/dlmalloc.c
@@ -1254,7 +1254,7 @@ Void_t* mALLOc(bytes) size_t bytes;
 
   INTERNAL_SIZE_T nb;
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	if (!(gd->flags & GD_FLG_FULL_MALLOC_INIT))
 		return malloc_simple(bytes);
 #endif
@@ -1522,7 +1522,7 @@ void fREe(mem) Void_t* mem;
   mchunkptr fwd;       /* misc temp for linking */
   int       islr;      /* track whether merging with last_remainder */
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	/* free() is a no-op - all the memory will be freed on relocation */
 	if (!(gd->flags & GD_FLG_FULL_MALLOC_INIT))
 		return;
@@ -1679,7 +1679,7 @@ Void_t* rEALLOc(oldmem, bytes) Void_t* oldmem; size_t bytes;
   /* realloc of null is supposed to be same as malloc */
   if (oldmem == NULL) return mALLOc(bytes);
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	if (!(gd->flags & GD_FLG_FULL_MALLOC_INIT)) {
 		/* This is harder to support and should not be needed */
 		panic("pre-reloc realloc() is not supported");
@@ -2074,7 +2074,7 @@ Void_t* cALLOc(n, elem_size) size_t n; size_t elem_size;
     return NULL;
   else
   {
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	if (!(gd->flags & GD_FLG_FULL_MALLOC_INIT)) {
 		MALLOC_ZERO(mem, sz);
 		return mem;
@@ -2375,9 +2375,9 @@ int mALLOPt(param_number, value) int param_number; int value;
 
 int initf_malloc(void)
 {
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	assert(gd->malloc_base);	/* Set up by crt0.S */
-	gd->malloc_limit = CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN;
+	gd->malloc_limit = CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN);
 	gd->malloc_ptr = 0;
 #endif
 
diff --git a/common/init/board_init.c b/common/init/board_init.c
index bf4255b4aebaf2382fddf3d59bd349d33f2584e2..4a391beba98092ab93715ca86973580170afcbe6 100644
--- a/common/init/board_init.c
+++ b/common/init/board_init.c
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ __weak void arch_setup_gd(struct global_data *gd_ptr)
 ulong board_init_f_alloc_reserve(ulong top)
 {
 	/* Reserve early malloc arena */
-#if defined(CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F)
-	top -= CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN;
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
+	top -= CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN);
 #endif
 	/* LAST : reserve GD (rounded up to a multiple of 16 bytes) */
 	top = rounddown(top-sizeof(struct global_data), 16);
@@ -121,11 +121,11 @@ void board_init_f_init_reserve(ulong base)
 	 * Use gd as it is now properly set for all architectures.
 	 */
 
-#if defined(CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F)
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	/* go down one 'early malloc arena' */
 	gd->malloc_base = base;
 	/* next alloc will be higher by one 'early malloc arena' size */
-	base += CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN;
+	base += CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN);
 #endif
 }
 
diff --git a/common/spl/spl.c b/common/spl/spl.c
index 7f3fd925ba1e205d470b7a5c685a9ef0226dcea8..c56cc6f0ec330ba444c604f6e148be2f8922c955 100644
--- a/common/spl/spl.c
+++ b/common/spl/spl.c
@@ -220,12 +220,12 @@ static int spl_common_init(bool setup_malloc)
 
 	debug("spl_early_init()\n");
 
-#if defined(CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	if (setup_malloc) {
 #ifdef CONFIG_MALLOC_F_ADDR
 		gd->malloc_base = CONFIG_MALLOC_F_ADDR;
 #endif
-		gd->malloc_limit = CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN;
+		gd->malloc_limit = CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN);
 		gd->malloc_ptr = 0;
 	}
 #endif
@@ -419,7 +419,7 @@ void board_init_r(gd_t *dummy1, ulong dummy2)
 	default:
 		debug("Unsupported OS image.. Jumping nevertheless..\n");
 	}
-#if defined(CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN) && !defined(CONFIG_SYS_SPL_MALLOC_SIZE)
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN) && !defined(CONFIG_SYS_SPL_MALLOC_SIZE)
 	debug("SPL malloc() used %#lx bytes (%ld KB)\n", gd->malloc_ptr,
 	      gd->malloc_ptr / 1024);
 #endif
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ ulong spl_relocate_stack_gd(void)
 	gd_t *new_gd;
 	ulong ptr = CONFIG_SPL_STACK_R_ADDR;
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_SIMPLE
+#if defined(CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_SIMPLE) && CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
 	if (CONFIG_SPL_STACK_R_MALLOC_SIMPLE_LEN) {
 		ptr -= CONFIG_SPL_STACK_R_MALLOC_SIMPLE_LEN;
 		gd->malloc_base = ptr;
diff --git a/drivers/core/Kconfig b/drivers/core/Kconfig
index fb5c4e834d668e9c12162c5f6aa67a042ccfe3fc..f8b19a48cc0aeea8f1393f9de38ee1b9b6a67e35 100644
--- a/drivers/core/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/core/Kconfig
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ config SPL_DM
 	  suitable malloc() implementation. If you are not using the
 	  full malloc() enabled by CONFIG_SYS_SPL_MALLOC_START,
 	  consider using CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_SIMPLE. In that case you
-	  must provide CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN to set the size.
+	  must provide CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN to set the size.
 	  In most cases driver model will only allocate a few uclasses
 	  and devices in SPL, so 1KB should be enable. See
-	  CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN for more details on how to enable it.
+	  CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN for more details on how to enable it.
 
 config TPL_DM
 	bool "Enable Driver Model for TPL"
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ config TPL_DM
 	  suitable malloc() implementation. If you are not using the
 	  full malloc() enabled by CONFIG_SYS_SPL_MALLOC_START,
 	  consider using CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_SIMPLE. In that case you
-	  must provide CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN to set the size.
+	  must provide CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN to set the size.
 	  In most cases driver model will only allocate a few uclasses
 	  and devices in SPL, so 1KB should be enough. See
-	  CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN for more details on how to enable it.
+	  CONFIG_SPL_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN for more details on how to enable it.
 	  Disable this for very small implementations.
 
 config DM_WARN
diff --git a/drivers/serial/serial-uclass.c b/drivers/serial/serial-uclass.c
index f360534683961c2e3391face53d5931b1b5bd984..9cae9fbd871a9a621e92851c27423b9e56f7bc80 100644
--- a/drivers/serial/serial-uclass.c
+++ b/drivers/serial/serial-uclass.c
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ DECLARE_GLOBAL_DATA_PTR;
  */
 static const unsigned long baudrate_table[] = CONFIG_SYS_BAUDRATE_TABLE;
 
-#ifndef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
-#error "Serial is required before relocation - define CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN to make this work"
+#if !CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
+#error "Serial is required before relocation - define CONFIG_$(SPL_)SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN to make this work"
 #endif
 
 static int serial_check_stdout(const void *blob, struct udevice **devp)
diff --git a/include/asm-generic/global_data.h b/include/asm-generic/global_data.h
index fb90be9d3ebac66d42ebdfb62eaa97b69d193b20..86bf6565f689ede5d33747769f3b45b8b4eb687a 100644
--- a/include/asm-generic/global_data.h
+++ b/include/asm-generic/global_data.h
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ typedef struct global_data {
 #endif
 	unsigned int timebase_h;
 	unsigned int timebase_l;
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	unsigned long malloc_base;	/* base address of early malloc() */
 	unsigned long malloc_limit;	/* limit address */
 	unsigned long malloc_ptr;	/* current address */
diff --git a/lib/asm-offsets.c b/lib/asm-offsets.c
index 221ebbf1771e06a9ae0b8f8e312b095e12348ffa..b04f7c6297598b51372eeb586a112b1db83cfae5 100644
--- a/lib/asm-offsets.c
+++ b/lib/asm-offsets.c
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ int main(void)
 	DEFINE(GD_SIZE, sizeof(struct global_data));
 
 	DEFINE(GD_BD, offsetof(struct global_data, bd));
-#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN
+#if CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN)
 	DEFINE(GD_MALLOC_BASE, offsetof(struct global_data, malloc_base));
 #endif
 
diff --git a/lib/efi/efi_app.c b/lib/efi/efi_app.c
index 452ab5d6cece88f036db733449dd1aa404787a62..f1afd9c8a53b4b77269ea2f8de8601c2999f5721 100644
--- a/lib/efi/efi_app.c
+++ b/lib/efi/efi_app.c
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ static efi_status_t setup_memory(struct efi_priv *priv)
 		return ret;
 	memset(gd, '\0', sizeof(*gd));
 
-	gd->malloc_base = (ulong)efi_malloc(priv, CONFIG_SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN,
+	gd->malloc_base = (ulong)efi_malloc(priv, CONFIG_VAL(SYS_MALLOC_F_LEN),
 					    &ret);
 	if (!gd->malloc_base)
 		return ret;