EKS 1.34 end of standard support: Dec 2, 2026
Amazon EKS Kubernetes 1.34 reaches end of standard support on Dec 2, 2026. By default the cluster then enters extended support at $0.60 per cluster-hour instead of $0.10, until extended support ends Dec 2, 2027.
Last checked against AWS documentation:
The dates (UTC)
| Version | Amazon EKS release | End of standard support | End of extended support |
|---|---|---|---|
| EKS 1.34 | Oct 2, 2025 | Dec 2, 2026 | Dec 2, 2027 |
| EKS 1.35 | Jan 27, 2026 | Mar 27, 2027 | Mar 27, 2028 |
| EKS 1.36 | Jun 2, 2026 | Aug 2, 2027 | Aug 2, 2028 |
| EKS 1.37 | Oct 1, 2026 | Dec 1, 2027 | Dec 1, 2028 |
AWS publishes these dates in UTC+0. 1.34 is the oldest version still in standard support.
What happens on Dec 2, 2026
- Default (upgrade policy
EXTENDED): the cluster moves into extended support and keeps running on 1.34 for up to 12 more months, at a higher hourly price. - Upgrade policy
STANDARD: AWS auto-upgrades the cluster at the end of standard support instead of billing extended support. - Billing for extended support starts at the beginning of the day the version reaches end of standard support, in UTC.
- At the end of extended support (Dec 2, 2027) AWS auto-upgrades the control plane to the next version. Nodes are not upgraded, and auto-upgraded clusters can't be rolled back.
What it costs
Per AWS pricing, a cluster in extended support pays $0.60 per cluster-hour instead of $0.10, an extra $0.50/hour. Our math at 730 hours/month: about +$365/month per cluster ($438 vs $73). The fee is per cluster, not per node.
Try your own numbers in the EKS extended support cost calculator.
Find 1.34 clusters
aws eks list-clusters --query "clusters[]" --output text aws eks describe-cluster --name my-cluster \ --query "cluster.[name,version,upgradePolicy.supportType]" --output text
Run per Region. aws eks describe-cluster-versions returns each version's endOfStandardSupportDate.
Upgrade checklist
aws eks update-cluster-version \ --name my-cluster --kubernetes-version 1.35
- Control plane upgrades go one minor version at a time: 1.34 → 1.35 → 1.36 → 1.37.
- 1.35 only buys you until Mar 27, 2027, so consider continuing to 1.36 or 1.37.
- Before each hop, check for removed Kubernetes APIs and review AWS's per-version notes.
- Managed node groups and self-managed nodes are not upgraded with the control plane; update them, Fargate pods (redeploy) and the VPC CNI, kube-proxy and CoreDNS add-ons after.
- In-place upgrades can be rolled back to the previous minor version within 7 days.
Sources
FAQ
When does EKS 1.34 standard support end?
Dec 2, 2026 (UTC). Extended support then runs until Dec 2, 2027, per the AWS EKS release calendar.
How much does EKS 1.34 extended support cost?
$0.60 per cluster per hour instead of $0.10, an extra $0.50/hour, or about $365/month per cluster at 730 hours.
Will my 1.34 cluster be upgraded automatically on Dec 2, 2026?
Only if its upgrade policy is STANDARD. With the default EXTENDED policy it stays on 1.34 and pays extended support.
Which version should I upgrade to?
1.35 is the next hop (standard support to Mar 27, 2027); 1.37 is supported until Dec 1, 2027.
More guides
- EKS extended support cost calculator
- RDS & Aurora extended support pricing
- RDS MySQL 8.0 end of support
- RDS PostgreSQL end-of-support dates
- Lambda runtime deprecation schedule
- ElastiCache for Redis OSS end of support
- OpenSearch & Elasticsearch end of support
- OpenSearch extended support fees from Nov 7, 2026
- Lambda Python 3.10 deprecation (Oct 31, 2026)
- RDS MariaDB 10.6 end of support (Dec 31, 2026)
- EKS 1.31 end of extended support (Nov 26, 2026)
- RDS PostgreSQL 14 end of standard support (Feb 28, 2027)
- Lambda .NET 8 deprecation (Nov 10, 2026)
- Amazon Neptune 1.1/1.2 end of life (Dec 4, 2026)
- RDS MySQL 8.4.5/8.4.6/8.4.7 end of standard support (Oct 31 & Nov 30, 2026)
- ElastiCache Redis OSS 6 end of standard support (Jan 31, 2027)