diff --git a/src/mixins/itext_behavior.mixin.js b/src/mixins/itext_behavior.mixin.js
index d6fd2334299..1ced81ce140 100644
--- a/src/mixins/itext_behavior.mixin.js
+++ b/src/mixins/itext_behavior.mixin.js
@@ -398,7 +398,9 @@
         return;
       }
 
-      var newSelectionStart = this.getSelectionStartFromPointer(options.e);
+      var newSelectionStart = this.getSelectionStartFromPointer(options.e),
+          currentStart = this.selectionStart,
+          currentEnd = this.selectionEnd;
       if (newSelectionStart === this.__selectionStartOnMouseDown) {
         return;
       }
@@ -410,9 +412,11 @@
         this.selectionStart = newSelectionStart;
         this.selectionEnd = this.__selectionStartOnMouseDown;
       }
-      this._fireSelectionChanged();
-      this._updateTextarea();
-      this.renderCursorOrSelection();
+      if (this.selectionStart !== currentStart || this.selectionEnd !== currentEnd) {
+        this._fireSelectionChanged();
+        this._updateTextarea();
+        this.renderCursorOrSelection();
+      }
     },
 
     /**
@@ -438,6 +442,7 @@
       if (!this.hiddenTextarea || this.inCompositionMode) {
         return;
       }
+      this.cursorOffsetCache = { };
       this.hiddenTextarea.value = this.text;
       this.hiddenTextarea.selectionStart = this.selectionStart;
       this.hiddenTextarea.selectionEnd = this.selectionEnd;
diff --git a/src/shapes/itext.class.js b/src/shapes/itext.class.js
index 472ed44e763..7f15fc7f51f 100644
--- a/src/shapes/itext.class.js
+++ b/src/shapes/itext.class.js
@@ -315,7 +315,10 @@
       this.oldHeight = this.height;
       this.callSuper('_render', ctx);
       this.ctx = ctx;
-      this.isEditing && this.renderCursorOrSelection();
+      // clear the cursorOffsetCache, so we ensure to calculate once per renderCursor
+      // the correct position but not at every cursor animation.
+      this.cursorOffsetCache = { };
+      this.renderCursorOrSelection();
     },
 
     /**
@@ -327,7 +330,6 @@
       }
       var chars = this.text.split(''),
           boundaries, ctx;
-
       if (this.canvas.contextTop) {
         ctx = this.canvas.contextTop;
         ctx.save();
@@ -454,13 +456,15 @@
      * @private
      */
     _getCursorBoundariesOffsets: function(chars, typeOfBoundaries) {
-
+      if (this.cursorOffsetCache && 'top' in this.cursorOffsetCache) {
+        return this.cursorOffsetCache;
+      }
       var lineLeftOffset = 0,
-
           lineIndex = 0,
           charIndex = 0,
           topOffset = 0,
-          leftOffset = 0;
+          leftOffset = 0,
+          boundaries;
 
       for (var i = 0; i < this.selectionStart; i++) {
         if (chars[i] === '\n') {
@@ -481,12 +485,16 @@
         topOffset += (1 - this._fontSizeFraction) * this._getHeightOfLine(this.ctx, lineIndex) / this.lineHeight
           - this.getCurrentCharFontSize(lineIndex, charIndex) * (1 - this._fontSizeFraction);
       }
-
-      return {
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0 && charIndex === this._textLines[lineIndex].length) {
+        leftOffset -= this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+      }
+      boundaries = {
         top: topOffset,
         left: leftOffset,
         lineLeft: lineLeftOffset
       };
+      this.cursorOffsetCache = boundaries;
+      return this.cursorOffsetCache;
     },
 
     /**
@@ -544,6 +552,9 @@
               lineOffset += this._getWidthOfChar(ctx, line[j], i, j);
             }
           }
+          if (j === line.length) {
+            boxWidth -= this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+          }
         }
         else if (i > startLine && i < endLine) {
           boxWidth += this._getLineWidth(ctx, i) || 5;
@@ -552,6 +563,9 @@
           for (var j2 = 0, j2len = end.charIndex; j2 < j2len; j2++) {
             boxWidth += this._getWidthOfChar(ctx, line[j2], i, j2);
           }
+          if (end.charIndex === line.length) {
+            boxWidth -= this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+          }
         }
         realLineHeight = lineHeight;
         if (this.lineHeight < 1 || (i === endLine && this.lineHeight > 1)) {
@@ -579,24 +593,13 @@
       }
 
       charOffset = charOffset || 0;
-      this.skipTextAlign = true;
-
-      // set proper box offset
-      left -= this.textAlign === 'center'
-        ? (this.width / 2)
-        : (this.textAlign === 'right')
-          ? this.width
-          : 0;
 
       // set proper line offset
       var lineHeight = this._getHeightOfLine(ctx, lineIndex),
-          lineLeftOffset = this._getLineLeftOffset(this._getLineWidth(ctx, lineIndex)),
           prevStyle,
           thisStyle,
           charsToRender = '';
 
-      left += lineLeftOffset || 0;
-
       ctx.save();
       top -= lineHeight / this.lineHeight * this._fontSizeFraction;
       for (var i = charOffset, len = line.length + charOffset; i <= len; i++) {
@@ -622,7 +625,6 @@
      * @param {Number} top Top coordinate
      */
     _renderCharsFast: function(method, ctx, line, left, top) {
-      this.skipTextAlign = false;
 
       if (method === 'fillText' && this.fill) {
         this.callSuper('_renderChars', method, ctx, line, left, top);
@@ -646,7 +648,7 @@
     _renderChar: function(method, ctx, lineIndex, i, _char, left, top, lineHeight) {
       var charWidth, charHeight, shouldFill, shouldStroke,
           decl = this._getStyleDeclaration(lineIndex, i),
-          offset, textDecoration;
+          offset, textDecoration, chars;
 
       if (decl) {
         charHeight = this._getHeightOfChar(ctx, _char, lineIndex, i);
@@ -663,14 +665,26 @@
 
       decl && ctx.save();
 
-      charWidth = this._applyCharStylesGetWidth(ctx, _char, lineIndex, i, decl || {});
+      charWidth = this._applyCharStylesGetWidth(ctx, _char, lineIndex, i, decl || null);
       textDecoration = textDecoration || this.textDecoration;
 
       if (decl && decl.textBackgroundColor) {
         this._removeShadow(ctx);
       }
-      shouldFill && ctx.fillText(_char, left, top);
-      shouldStroke && ctx.strokeText(_char, left, top);
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        chars = _char.split('');
+        charWidth = 0;
+        for (var j = 0, len = chars.length, char; j < len; j++) {
+          char = chars[j];
+          shouldFill && ctx.fillText(char, left + charWidth, top);
+          shouldStroke && ctx.strokeText(char, left + charWidth, top);
+          charWidth += ctx.measureText(char).width + this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+        }
+      }
+      else {
+        shouldFill && ctx.fillText(_char, left, top);
+        shouldStroke && ctx.strokeText(_char, left, top);
+      }
 
       if (textDecoration || textDecoration !== '') {
         offset = this._fontSizeFraction * lineHeight / this.lineHeight;
@@ -826,8 +840,8 @@
      * @param {Object} [decl]
      */
     _applyCharStylesGetWidth: function(ctx, _char, lineIndex, charIndex, decl) {
-      var charDecl = this._getStyleDeclaration(lineIndex, charIndex),
-          styleDeclaration = (decl && clone(decl)) || clone(charDecl),
+      var charDecl = decl || this._getStyleDeclaration(lineIndex, charIndex),
+          styleDeclaration = clone(charDecl),
           width, cacheProp, charWidthsCache;
 
       this._applyFontStyles(styleDeclaration);
@@ -964,21 +978,13 @@
       if (!this._isMeasuring && this.textAlign === 'justify' && this._reSpacesAndTabs.test(_char)) {
         return this._getWidthOfSpace(ctx, lineIndex);
       }
-      var charWidthsCache, cacheProp,
-          styleDeclaration = this._getStyleDeclaration(lineIndex, charIndex, true);
-      this._applyFontStyles(styleDeclaration);
-      charWidthsCache = this._getFontCache(styleDeclaration.fontFamily);
-      cacheProp = this._getCacheProp(_char, styleDeclaration);
-
-      if (charWidthsCache[cacheProp] && this.caching) {
-        return charWidthsCache[cacheProp];
-      }
-      else if (ctx) {
-        ctx.save();
-        var width = this._applyCharStylesGetWidth(ctx, _char, lineIndex, charIndex);
-        ctx.restore();
-        return width;
+      ctx.save();
+      var width = this._applyCharStylesGetWidth(ctx, _char, lineIndex, charIndex);
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        width += this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
       }
+      ctx.restore();
+      return width;
     },
 
     /**
@@ -1014,6 +1020,9 @@
     _measureLine: function(ctx, lineIndex) {
       this._isMeasuring = true;
       var width = this._getWidthOfCharsAt(ctx, lineIndex, this._textLines[lineIndex].length);
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        width -= this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+      }
       this._isMeasuring = false;
       return width;
     },
@@ -1039,8 +1048,9 @@
     /**
      * @private
      * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
-     * @param {Number} line
+     * @param {String} line
      * @param {Number} lineIndex
+     * @param {Number} charOffset
      */
     _getWidthOfWords: function (ctx, line, lineIndex, charOffset) {
       var width = 0;
diff --git a/src/shapes/text.class.js b/src/shapes/text.class.js
index 514244f0700..cc6a2f0fcda 100644
--- a/src/shapes/text.class.js
+++ b/src/shapes/text.class.js
@@ -48,10 +48,11 @@
       fontFamily: true,
       fontStyle: true,
       lineHeight: true,
-      stroke: true,
-      strokeWidth: true,
       text: true,
-      textAlign: true
+      charSpacing: true,
+      textAlign: true,
+      stroke: false,
+      strokeWidth: false,
     },
 
     /**
@@ -319,6 +320,14 @@
      */
     _fontSizeMult:             1.13,
 
+    /**
+     * additional space between characters
+     * expressed in thousands of em unit
+     * @type Number
+     * @default
+     */
+    charSpacing:             0,
+
     /**
      * Constructor
      * @param {String} text Text string
@@ -387,23 +396,8 @@
      * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
      */
     _renderText: function(ctx) {
-
-      this._translateForTextAlign(ctx);
       this._renderTextFill(ctx);
       this._renderTextStroke(ctx);
-      this._translateForTextAlign(ctx, true);
-    },
-
-    /**
-     * @private
-     * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
-     * @param {Boolean} back Indicates if translate back or forward
-     */
-    _translateForTextAlign: function(ctx, back) {
-      if (this.textAlign !== 'left' && this.textAlign !== 'justify') {
-        var sign = back ? -1 : 1;
-        ctx.translate(this.textAlign === 'center' ? (sign * this.width / 2) : sign * this.width, 0);
-      }
     },
 
     /**
@@ -412,9 +406,6 @@
      */
     _setTextStyles: function(ctx) {
       ctx.textBaseline = 'alphabetic';
-      if (!this.skipTextAlign) {
-        ctx.textAlign = this.textAlign;
-      }
       ctx.font = this._getFontDeclaration();
     },
 
@@ -463,7 +454,7 @@
      */
     _renderChars: function(method, ctx, chars, left, top) {
       // remove Text word from method var
-      var shortM = method.slice(0, -4);
+      var shortM = method.slice(0, -4), char, width;
       if (this[shortM].toLive) {
         var offsetX = -this.width / 2 + this[shortM].offsetX || 0,
             offsetY = -this.height / 2 + this[shortM].offsetY || 0;
@@ -472,7 +463,19 @@
         left -= offsetX;
         top -= offsetY;
       }
-      ctx[method](chars, left, top);
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        var additionalSpace = this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+        chars = chars.split('');
+        for (var i = 0, len = chars.length; i < len; i++) {
+          char = chars[i];
+          width = ctx.measureText(char).width + additionalSpace;
+          ctx[method](char, left, top);
+          left += width;
+        }
+      }
+      else {
+        ctx[method](chars, left, top);
+      }
       this[shortM].toLive && ctx.restore();
     },
 
@@ -499,7 +502,7 @@
       // stretch the line
       var words = line.split(/\s+/),
           charOffset = 0,
-          wordsWidth = this._getWidthOfWords(ctx, line, lineIndex, 0),
+          wordsWidth = this._getWidthOfWords(ctx, words.join(''), lineIndex, 0),
           widthDiff = this.width - wordsWidth,
           numSpaces = words.length - 1,
           spaceWidth = numSpaces > 0 ? widthDiff / numSpaces : 0,
@@ -519,10 +522,16 @@
     /**
      * @private
      * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
-     * @param {Number} line
-     */
-    _getWidthOfWords: function (ctx, line) {
-      return ctx.measureText(line.replace(/\s+/g, '')).width;
+     * @param {String} word
+     */
+    _getWidthOfWords: function (ctx, word) {
+      var width = ctx.measureText(word).width, charCount, additionalSpace;
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        charCount = word.split('').length;
+        additionalSpace = charCount * this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+        width += additionalSpace;
+      }
+      return width;
     },
 
     /**
@@ -552,29 +561,39 @@
      * @private
      * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
      */
-    _renderTextFill: function(ctx) {
-      if (!this.fill && this.isEmptyStyles()) {
-        return;
-      }
+    _renderTextCommon: function(ctx, method) {
 
-      var lineHeights = 0;
+      var lineHeights = 0, left = this._getLeftOffset(), top = this._getTopOffset();
 
       for (var i = 0, len = this._textLines.length; i < len; i++) {
         var heightOfLine = this._getHeightOfLine(ctx, i),
-            maxHeight = heightOfLine / this.lineHeight;
-
+            maxHeight = heightOfLine / this.lineHeight,
+            lineWidth = this._getLineWidth(ctx, i),
+            leftOffset = this._getLineLeftOffset(lineWidth);
         this._renderTextLine(
-          'fillText',
+          method,
           ctx,
           this._textLines[i],
-          this._getLeftOffset(),
-          this._getTopOffset() + lineHeights + maxHeight,
+          left + leftOffset,
+          top + lineHeights + maxHeight,
           i
         );
         lineHeights += heightOfLine;
       }
     },
 
+    /**
+     * @private
+     * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
+     */
+    _renderTextFill: function(ctx) {
+      if (!this.fill && this.isEmptyStyles()) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      this._renderTextCommon(ctx, 'fillText');
+    },
+
     /**
      * @private
      * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
@@ -584,8 +603,6 @@
         return;
       }
 
-      var lineHeights = 0;
-
       if (this.shadow && !this.shadow.affectStroke) {
         this._removeShadow(ctx);
       }
@@ -601,20 +618,7 @@
       }
 
       ctx.beginPath();
-      for (var i = 0, len = this._textLines.length; i < len; i++) {
-        var heightOfLine = this._getHeightOfLine(ctx, i),
-            maxHeight = heightOfLine / this.lineHeight;
-
-        this._renderTextLine(
-          'strokeText',
-          ctx,
-          this._textLines[i],
-          this._getLeftOffset(),
-          this._getTopOffset() + lineHeights + maxHeight,
-          i
-        );
-        lineHeights += heightOfLine;
-      }
+      this._renderTextCommon(ctx, 'strokeText');
       ctx.closePath();
       ctx.restore();
     },
@@ -769,6 +773,13 @@
       return width;
     },
 
+    _getWidthOfCharSpacing: function() {
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        return this.fontSize * this.charSpacing / 1000;
+      }
+      return 0;
+    },
+
     /**
      * @private
      * @param {CanvasRenderingContext2D} ctx Context to render on
@@ -776,7 +787,14 @@
      * @return {Number} Line width
      */
     _measureLine: function(ctx, lineIndex) {
-      return ctx.measureText(this._textLines[lineIndex]).width;
+      var line = this._textLines[lineIndex],
+          width = ctx.measureText(line).width,
+          additionalSpace = 0, charCount;
+      if (this.charSpacing !== 0) {
+        charCount = line.split('').length;
+        additionalSpace = (charCount - 1) * this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
+      }
+      return width + additionalSpace;
     },
 
     /**
@@ -787,7 +805,6 @@
       if (!this.textDecoration) {
         return;
       }
-
       var halfOfVerticalBox = this.height / 2,
           _this = this, offsets = [];
 
@@ -1012,7 +1029,7 @@
 
       var line = this._textLines[i],
           words = line.split(/\s+/),
-          wordsWidth = this._getWidthOfWords(ctx, line),
+          wordsWidth = this._getWidthOfWords(ctx, words.join('')),
           widthDiff = this.width - wordsWidth,
           numSpaces = words.length - 1,
           spaceWidth = numSpaces > 0 ? widthDiff / numSpaces : 0,
diff --git a/src/shapes/textbox.class.js b/src/shapes/textbox.class.js
index c4316d3c5bb..fb7de902baa 100644
--- a/src/shapes/textbox.class.js
+++ b/src/shapes/textbox.class.js
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@
 
       // wrap lines
       this._textLines = this._splitTextIntoLines();
-
       // if after wrapping, the width is smaller than dynamicMinWidth, change the width and re-wrap
       if (this.dynamicMinWidth > this.width) {
         this._set('width', this.dynamicMinWidth);
@@ -244,11 +243,9 @@
     _measureText: function(ctx, text, lineIndex, charOffset) {
       var width = 0;
       charOffset = charOffset || 0;
-
       for (var i = 0, len = text.length; i < len; i++) {
         width += this._getWidthOfChar(ctx, text[i], lineIndex, i + charOffset);
       }
-
       return width;
     },
 
@@ -271,7 +268,8 @@
           wordWidth        = 0,
           infixWidth       = 0,
           largestWordWidth = 0,
-          lineJustStarted = true;
+          lineJustStarted = true,
+          additionalSpace = this._getWidthOfCharSpacing();
 
       for (var i = 0; i < words.length; i++) {
         word = words[i];
@@ -279,7 +277,7 @@
 
         offset += word.length;
 
-        lineWidth += infixWidth + wordWidth;
+        lineWidth += infixWidth + wordWidth - additionalSpace;
 
         if (lineWidth >= this.width && !lineJustStarted) {
           lines.push(line);
@@ -287,13 +285,16 @@
           lineWidth = wordWidth;
           lineJustStarted = true;
         }
+        else {
+          lineWidth += additionalSpace;
+        }
 
         if (!lineJustStarted) {
           line += infix;
         }
         line += word;
 
-        infixWidth = this._measureText(ctx, infix, lineIndex, offset);
+        infixWidth = this._measureText(ctx, infix, lineIndex, offset) + additionalSpace;
         offset++;
         lineJustStarted = false;
         // keep track of largest word
@@ -305,7 +306,7 @@
       i && lines.push(line);
 
       if (largestWordWidth > this.dynamicMinWidth) {
-        this.dynamicMinWidth = largestWordWidth;
+        this.dynamicMinWidth = largestWordWidth - additionalSpace;
       }
 
       return lines;
diff --git a/test/unit/itext_key_behaviour.js b/test/unit/itext_key_behaviour.js
index 9b7cbb61664..bd1cf1441b9 100644
--- a/test/unit/itext_key_behaviour.js
+++ b/test/unit/itext_key_behaviour.js
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 (function(){
+  var canvas = fabric.document.createElement('canvas'),
+      ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
+
   test('event selection:changed firing', function() {
     var iText = new fabric.IText('test need some word\nsecond line'),
         selection = 0;
-
+    iText.ctx = ctx;
     function countSelectionChange() {
       selection++;
     }
@@ -133,7 +136,7 @@
   test('moving cursor with shift', function() {
     var iText = new fabric.IText('test need some word\nsecond line'),
         selection = 0;
-
+    iText.ctx = ctx;
     function countSelectionChange() {
       selection++;
     }