diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-help.c b/tools/perf/builtin-help.c
index 411ee56..178b88a 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-help.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-help.c
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@
 int cmd_help(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix __maybe_unused)
 {
 	bool show_all = false;
-	enum help_format help_format = HELP_FORMAT_NONE;
+	enum help_format help_format = HELP_FORMAT_MAN;
 	struct option builtin_help_options[] = {
 	OPT_BOOLEAN('a', "all", &show_all, "print all available commands"),
 	OPT_SET_UINT('m', "man", &help_format, "show man page", HELP_FORMAT_MAN),