Edit

Share via


Release history for SQL Server Management Studio

SQL Server Management Studio is regularly updated to provide new features, performance and reliability improvements, security updates, and bug fixes.

SQL Server Management Studio 21 introduces Preview and Release channels to give you the flexibility and control to decide when to adopt feature updates. The latest release on each channel is always the most secure version, so we encourage you to stay up to date regardless of the channel you choose.

For more information, see:

Release notes

Here are the release notes for different versions of SQL Server Management Studio:

Update your installation to a specific release

If you need to install or update to a specific release of SSMS, you can find the available bootstrapper in the Evergreen bootstrapper table.

Uninstall SSMS to go back to an earlier release

To install an earlier release of SQL Server Management Studio 21, uninstall your current installation. Then, use one of the links later in this article to reinstall the version that you want.

  1. On Windows, open the Visual Studio Installer.
  2. Uninstall all instances of SQL Server Management Studio 21 listed in the Visual Studio Installer.
  3. From Programs and Features in the Control Panel, find SQL Server Management Studio 21, and uninstall it.

To install an earlier release of SQL Server Management Studio 20.x or earlier for a major version (for example, to downgrade from SSMS 20.2 to SSMS 19.3), uninstall your current installation. Then, use one of the links later in this article to reinstall the version that you want.

  • On Windows, from Programs and Features in the Control Panel, find your version of SSMS and uninstall it.

Before attempting to install a previous version of SQL Server Management Studio, refer to our support policy. Microsoft doesn't guarantee support outside of this policy.

If you're unable to follow the previous steps due to a corrupted install, follow the steps to remove SQL Server Management Studio with the InstallCleanup.exe tool.

Uninstalling SSMS doesn't remove standalone products and components such as .NET and Visual C++ Redistributables. These components might need to be removed manually from Apps and Features in Windows Settings.

Release dates and build numbers

This section provides links to the publicly released bootstrappers for SQL Server Management Studio. The bootstrappers initiate Visual Studio's installation process. Only the latest release is supported.

To verify what version a given bootstrapper installs, right-click on the bootstrapper vs_SSMS.exe, choose Properties > Details, and look at the Product Version information. The version number should always be read as latest of that version. A bootstrapper with a Product Version of 21.0 would install the latest 21.0.x servicing release that's available.

Evergreen bootstrapper

The bootstrapper in the following table always installs the latest release of SSMS from its respective channel.

Channel Version Bootstrapper
Release 21.6.17 SQL Server Management Studio

Fixed version installers

This table lists latest build numbers of publicly released versions of SQL Server Management Studio, the release date, and download link.

SSMS version Build number Release date
21.5.14 21.5.14 September 9, 2025
21.4.12 21.4.12 August 12, 2025
21.4.8 21.4.8 July 8, 2025
21.3.7 21.3.7 June 23, 2025
21.3.6 21.3.6 June 17, 2025
21.2.5 21.2.5 June 10, 2025
21.1.3 21.1.3 May 28, 2025
21.0.0 21.0.0 May 19, 2025
20.2.1 20.2.37.0 April 8, 2025
19.3 19.3.4.0 January 10, 2024
18.12.1 15.0.18420.0 June 21, 2022
17.9.1 14.0.17289.0 November 21, 2018
16.5.3 13.0.16106.4 January 30, 2017