diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/base.go b/internal/plugin/installer/base.go
index 54d25287a..5f8e745cc 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/base.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/base.go
@@ -36,10 +36,22 @@ func newBase(source string) base {
 	}
 }
 
+// pluginsDir returns the directory where plugins should be installed. When
+// HELM_PLUGINS contains a list of directories (separated by the OS path list
+// separator), the first non-empty directory is the default install target.
+func (b *base) pluginsDir() string {
+	for _, dir := range filepath.SplitList(b.PluginsDirectory) {
+		if dir != "" {
+			return dir
+		}
+	}
+	return b.PluginsDirectory
+}
+
 // Path is where the plugin will be installed.
 func (b *base) Path() string {
 	if b.Source == "" {
 		return ""
 	}
-	return filepath.Join(b.PluginsDirectory, filepath.Base(b.Source))
+	return filepath.Join(b.pluginsDir(), filepath.Base(b.Source))
 }
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go b/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go
index 8ef7ff588..0f1b74160 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/base_test.go
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ limitations under the License.
 package installer
 
 import (
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -32,7 +34,15 @@ func TestPath(t *testing.T) {
 		}, {
 			source:         "https://github.com/jkroepke/helm-secrets",
 			helmPluginsDir: "/helm/data/plugins",
-			expectPath:     "/helm/data/plugins/helm-secrets",
+			expectPath:     filepath.Join("/helm/data/plugins", "helm-secrets"),
+		}, {
+			source:         "https://github.com/jkroepke/helm-secrets",
+			helmPluginsDir: strings.Join([]string{"/helm/data/plugins", "/helm/data/extra"}, string(filepath.ListSeparator)),
+			expectPath:     filepath.Join("/helm/data/plugins", "helm-secrets"),
+		}, {
+			source:         "https://github.com/jkroepke/helm-secrets",
+			helmPluginsDir: string(filepath.ListSeparator) + "/helm/data/plugins",
+			expectPath:     filepath.Join("/helm/data/plugins", "helm-secrets"),
 		},
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer.go b/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer.go
index 7be326de2..3fbe6a3e1 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/http_installer.go
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ func (i HTTPInstaller) Path() string {
 	if i.Source == "" {
 		return ""
 	}
-	return helmpath.DataPath("plugins", i.PluginName)
+	return filepath.Join(i.pluginsDir(), i.PluginName)
 }
 
 // SupportsVerification returns true if the HTTP installer can verify plugins
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/local_installer.go b/internal/plugin/installer/local_installer.go
index 59918401b..1505d0f57 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/local_installer.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/local_installer.go
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ func (i *LocalInstaller) Path() string {
 		pluginName = stripPluginName(pluginName)
 	}
 
-	return helmpath.DataPath("plugins", pluginName)
+	return filepath.Join(i.pluginsDir(), pluginName)
 }
 
 // SupportsVerification returns true if the local installer can verify plugins
diff --git a/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go b/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go
index 383ddb914..9b62dc980 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/installer/oci_installer.go
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ func (i OCIInstaller) Path() string {
 	if i.Source == "" {
 		return ""
 	}
-	return filepath.Join(i.settings.PluginsDirectory, i.PluginName)
+	return filepath.Join(i.pluginsDir(), i.PluginName)
 }
 
 // extractTarGz extracts a gzipped tar archive to a directory