Elasticsearch Version History

6 active, 4 end-of-life. 10 versions tracked.

Elasticsearch releases minor versions roughly quarterly and major versions every 2-3 years. The project changed its license from Apache 2.0 to SSPL/Elastic License in 2021, then switched to AGPL in 2024. OpenSearch (AWS fork) is the main open-source alternative.

Recommendation

For new projects, use Elasticsearch 9.x (latest is 9.3) or OpenSearch 2.x if you need an open-source license.

Version Released End of Life Latest Patch Status
Elasticsearch 9.3 February 3, 2026 TBD 9.3.1 Active
Elasticsearch 9.2 October 21, 2025 TBD 9.2.6 Active
Elasticsearch 9.1 July 23, 2025 TBD 9.1.10 Active
Elasticsearch 8.19 July 23, 2025 July 15, 2027 8.19.12 Active
Elasticsearch 8.18 April 10, 2025 October 21, 2025 8.18.8 End of Life
Elasticsearch 9.0 April 8, 2025 TBD 9.0.8 Active
Elasticsearch 8.17 December 11, 2024 TBD 8.17.10 Active
Elasticsearch 8.16 November 8, 2024 April 15, 2025 8.16.6 End of Life
Elasticsearch 7 April 10, 2019 January 15, 2026 7.17.29 End of Life
Elasticsearch 6 November 14, 2017 February 10, 2022 6.8.23 End of Life
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Elasticsearch Support Policy

Elastic maintains the current and previous major version with security patches. Elasticsearch 7.x receives security fixes alongside 8.x. Each minor version within a major gets patches until the next minor ships. Elastic also offers paid subscriptions for extended support.

What You Need to Know

Elasticsearch 9.x is the current major version with improved vector search and performance.

Elasticsearch 8.19 is still supported alongside 9.x for teams not ready to upgrade.

Elasticsearch switched to AGPL in 2024 after previously moving to SSPL/Elastic License in 2021.

OpenSearch (AWS fork) is fully API-compatible with Elasticsearch 7.10 and has diverged since.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use Elasticsearch or OpenSearch?
If licensing matters, use OpenSearch (Apache 2.0). If you want the latest features and don't mind AGPL, Elasticsearch 8.x is more feature-rich. For managed services, AWS offers OpenSearch Service while Elastic offers Elastic Cloud.
How do I upgrade from Elasticsearch 7 to 8?
Use the Elasticsearch Upgrade Assistant in Kibana to check for breaking changes. The biggest difference is that security is enabled by default in 8.x. Plan for index compatibility (7.x indices work in 8.x, but 6.x indices don't). You can't skip major versions.
How often does Elasticsearch release new versions?
Minor versions ship roughly quarterly (8.12, 8.13, 8.14, etc.). Patch releases come out as needed for security fixes. Major versions (7.0, 8.0) ship every 2-3 years.

Related Tools

Vulnerability Scanner
EOL Timeline Visualizer
CVE Dashboard

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