Kubernetes Version History
3 active, 17 end-of-life. 20 versions tracked.
Kubernetes ships three minor releases per year, roughly every 4 months. The project moved from four releases per year to three starting in 2021, giving each release a longer support window and more time for upgrades.
Recommendation
For new clusters, start with Kubernetes 1.35 (latest) or 1.34. Starting with the newest version gives you the longest runway before your first required upgrade.
| Version | Released | End of Life | Latest Patch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes 1.35 | December 17, 2025 | February 28, 2027 | 1.35.2 | Active |
| Kubernetes 1.34 | August 27, 2025 | October 27, 2026 | 1.34.5 | Active |
| Kubernetes 1.33 | April 23, 2025 | June 28, 2026 | 1.33.9 | Active |
| Kubernetes 1.32 | December 11, 2024 | February 28, 2026 | 1.32.13 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.31 | August 13, 2024 | October 28, 2025 | 1.31.14 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.30 | April 17, 2024 | June 28, 2025 | 1.30.14 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.29 | December 13, 2023 | February 28, 2025 | 1.29.15 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.28 | August 15, 2023 | October 28, 2024 | 1.28.15 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.27 | April 11, 2023 | June 28, 2024 | 1.27.16 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.26 | December 8, 2022 | February 28, 2024 | 1.26.15 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.25 | August 23, 2022 | October 27, 2023 | 1.25.16 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.24 | May 3, 2022 | July 28, 2023 | 1.24.17 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.23 | December 7, 2021 | February 28, 2023 | 1.23.17 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.22 | August 4, 2021 | October 28, 2022 | 1.22.17 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.21 | April 8, 2021 | June 28, 2022 | 1.21.14 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.20 | December 8, 2020 | February 28, 2022 | 1.20.15 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.19 | August 26, 2020 | October 28, 2021 | 1.19.16 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.18 | March 25, 2020 | June 18, 2021 | 1.18.20 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.17 | December 7, 2019 | December 25, 2020 | 1.17.17 | End of Life |
| Kubernetes 1.16 | September 18, 2019 | August 4, 2020 | 1.16.15 | End of Life |
Kubernetes Support Policy
Each Kubernetes minor release receives approximately 14 months of patch support. The project maintains patch releases for the three most recent minor versions. After support ends, no further CVE fixes or bug patches are provided. Cloud providers (EKS, GKE, AKS) sometimes offer extended support for older versions at additional cost.
What You Need to Know
Kubernetes 1.32 reached end-of-life in February 2026. If you're on 1.32 or older, upgrade now.
Kubernetes 1.33, 1.34, and 1.35 are the three currently supported versions.
Kubernetes follows a strict version skew policy: kubelet can be one minor version behind the API server, but not more.
Starting with 1.24, Dockershim was removed. You must use containerd, CRI-O, or another CRI-compatible runtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Kubernetes release new versions?
Which Kubernetes version should I use in 2026?
How long is each Kubernetes version supported?
Can I skip Kubernetes versions when upgrading?
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