Apache Kafka Version History
4 active, 25 end-of-life. 29 versions tracked.
Apache Kafka releases major versions roughly every 6-9 months. The project is in the middle of a major architectural shift: moving from ZooKeeper to KRaft (Kafka Raft) for metadata management, with ZooKeeper support being phased out.
Recommendation
For new clusters, use Kafka 4.x with KRaft mode. Kafka 4.0 removed ZooKeeper entirely, so KRaft is now the only option.
| Version | Released | End of Life | Latest Patch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Kafka 4.2 | February 17, 2026 | TBD | 4.2.0 | Active |
| Apache Kafka 4.1 | September 2, 2025 | TBD | 4.1.1 | Active |
| Apache Kafka 4.0 | March 18, 2025 | TBD | 4.0.1 | Active |
| Apache Kafka 3.9 | November 6, 2024 | TBD | 3.9.2 | Active |
| Apache Kafka 3.8 | July 26, 2024 | November 6, 2024 | 3.8.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.7 | February 26, 2024 | July 26, 2024 | 3.7.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.6 | October 3, 2023 | February 27, 2024 | 3.6.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.5 | June 13, 2023 | October 3, 2023 | 3.5.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.4 | February 6, 2023 | June 13, 2023 | 3.4.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.3 | September 28, 2022 | February 6, 2023 | 3.3.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.2 | May 9, 2022 | September 28, 2022 | 3.2.3 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.1 | January 21, 2022 | September 19, 2022 | 3.1.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 3.0 | September 20, 2021 | September 19, 2022 | 3.0.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.8 | April 18, 2021 | September 19, 2022 | 2.8.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.7 | December 19, 2020 | November 15, 2021 | 2.7.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.6 | August 3, 2020 | November 15, 2021 | 2.6.3 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.5 | April 14, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | 2.5.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.4 | December 14, 2019 | April 15, 2020 | 2.4.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.3 | June 24, 2019 | December 16, 2019 | 2.3.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.2 | March 22, 2019 | December 1, 2019 | 2.2.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.1 | November 20, 2018 | March 22, 2019 | 2.1.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 2.0 | July 28, 2018 | November 20, 2018 | 2.0.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 1.1 | March 28, 2018 | July 30, 2018 | 1.1.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 1.0 | October 31, 2017 | July 8, 2018 | 1.0.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 0.11 | June 28, 2017 | July 2, 2018 | 0.11.0.3 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 0.10 | May 22, 2016 | July 2, 2018 | 0.10.2.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 0.9 | November 23, 2015 | May 22, 2016 | 0.9.0.1 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 0.8 | December 3, 2013 | November 23, 2015 | 0.8.2.2 | End of Life |
| Apache Kafka 0.7 | January 4, 2012 | December 3, 2013 | 0.7.2 | End of Life |
Apache Kafka Support Policy
The Apache Kafka community supports the current and previous major release with bug fixes. Older versions may receive critical CVE patches at the committers' discretion. Confluent provides commercial support with longer windows for their platform.
What You Need to Know
Kafka 4.0 removed ZooKeeper entirely. All new clusters use KRaft mode exclusively.
Kafka 4.2 is the latest release with improved tiered storage and performance.
If you're still on Kafka 3.x with ZooKeeper, migrate to KRaft before upgrading to 4.x.
The KRaft migration from ZooKeeper is a rolling operation that doesn't require downtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I migrate from ZooKeeper to KRaft?
How often does Kafka release new versions?
Which Kafka version should I use in 2026?
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