diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 577de658d..9ce19a4e0 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ pathlib
 numpy>=1.7
 cymem>=1.30,<1.32
 preshed>=0.46.4,<0.47.0
-thinc>=6.1.0,<6.2.0
+thinc>=5.0.0,<5.1.0
 murmurhash>=0.26,<0.27
 plac<0.9.3
 six
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 929f27ff0..4ba997a0c 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ def setup_package():
                 'murmurhash>=0.26,<0.27',
                 'cymem>=1.30,<1.32',
                 'preshed>=0.46.0,<0.47.0',
-                'thinc>=6.1.0,<6.2.0',
+                'thinc>=5.0.0,<5.1.0',
                 'plac',
                 'six',
                 'cloudpickle',