diff --git a/src/backend/columnar/columnar_tableam.c b/src/backend/columnar/columnar_tableam.c
index 2b11dd27a..1d98b6309 100644
--- a/src/backend/columnar/columnar_tableam.c
+++ b/src/backend/columnar/columnar_tableam.c
@@ -162,6 +162,8 @@ static bool CitusColumnarHasBeenLoadedInternal(void);
 static bool CitusColumnarHasBeenLoaded(void);
 static bool CheckCitusColumnarVersion(int elevel);
 static bool MajorVersionsCompatibleColumnar(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion);
+static bool MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxedColumnar(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion);
+static int ParseVersionComponent(const char *version, char **endPtr);
 
 /* global variables for CheckCitusColumnarVersion */
 static bool extensionLoadedColumnar = false;
@@ -2939,7 +2941,7 @@ CheckInstalledVersionColumnar(int elevel)
 
 	char *installedVersion = InstalledExtensionVersionColumnar();
 
-	if (!MajorVersionsCompatibleColumnar(installedVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
+	if (!MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxedColumnar(installedVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
 	{
 		ereport(elevel, (errmsg("loaded Citus library version differs from installed "
 								"extension version"),
@@ -2998,6 +3000,55 @@ MajorVersionsCompatibleColumnar(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion)
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * ParseVersionComponent parses the integer at the current position and
+ * advances endPtr past the parsed digits to the next character.
+ */
+static int
+ParseVersionComponent(const char *version, char **endPtr)
+{
+	errno = 0;
+	long int val = strtol(version, endPtr, 10);
+
+	if (errno == ERANGE || val > INT_MAX || val < INT_MIN)
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_INVALID_TEXT_REPRESENTATION),
+						errmsg("Invalid integer in version string")));
+	}
+	return (int) val;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxedColumnar checks if two versions have the same major
+ * version and their minor versions differ by at most 1. The schema version
+ * (after '-') is ignored. Returns true if compatible, false otherwise.
+ *
+ * Version format expected: "major.minor-schema" (e.g., "13.1-2")
+ */
+bool
+MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxedColumnar(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion)
+{
+	char *leftSep;
+	char *rightSep;
+
+	int leftMajor = ParseVersionComponent(leftVersion, &leftSep);
+	int rightMajor = ParseVersionComponent(rightVersion, &rightSep);
+
+	if (leftMajor != rightMajor)
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	int leftMinor = (*leftSep == '.') ? ParseVersionComponent(leftSep + 1, &leftSep) : 0;
+	int rightMinor = (*rightSep == '.') ? ParseVersionComponent(rightSep + 1, &rightSep) :
+					 0;
+
+	int diff = leftMinor - rightMinor;
+	return diff >= -1 && diff <= 1;
+}
+
+
 /*
  * AvailableExtensionVersion returns the Citus version from citus.control file. It also
  * saves the result, thus consecutive calls to CitusExtensionAvailableVersion will
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/commands/extension.c b/src/backend/distributed/commands/extension.c
index d5bb50317..1f3ba351e 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/commands/extension.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/commands/extension.c
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ ErrorIfUnstableCreateOrAlterExtensionStmt(Node *parseTree)
 	if (newExtensionVersion != NULL)
 	{
 		/*  explicit version provided in CREATE or ALTER EXTENSION UPDATE; verify */
-		if (!MajorVersionsCompatible(newExtensionVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
+		if (!MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxed(newExtensionVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
 		{
 			ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("specified version incompatible with loaded "
 								   "Citus library"),
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c
index 9694b85bf..7bc6d45b2 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_cache.c
@@ -339,6 +339,7 @@ static Oid DistAuthinfoRelationId(void);
 static Oid DistAuthinfoIndexId(void);
 static Oid DistPoolinfoRelationId(void);
 static Oid DistPoolinfoIndexId(void);
+static int ParseVersionComponent(const char *version, char **endPtr);
 
 /* exports for SQL callable functions */
 PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(citus_dist_partition_cache_invalidate);
@@ -2440,7 +2441,7 @@ CheckInstalledVersion(int elevel)
 
 	char *installedVersion = InstalledExtensionVersion();
 
-	if (!MajorVersionsCompatible(installedVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
+	if (!MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxed(installedVersion, CITUS_EXTENSIONVERSION))
 	{
 		ereport(elevel, (errmsg("loaded Citus library version differs from installed "
 								"extension version"),
@@ -2518,6 +2519,55 @@ MajorVersionsCompatible(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion)
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * ParseVersionComponent parses the integer at the current position and
+ * advances endPtr past the parsed digits to the next character.
+ */
+static int
+ParseVersionComponent(const char *version, char **endPtr)
+{
+	errno = 0;
+	long int val = strtol(version, endPtr, 10);
+
+	if (errno == ERANGE || val > INT_MAX || val < INT_MIN)
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_INVALID_TEXT_REPRESENTATION),
+						errmsg("Invalid integer in version string")));
+	}
+	return (int) val;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxed checks if two versions have the same major
+ * version and their minor versions differ by at most 1. The schema version
+ * (after '-') is ignored. Returns true if compatible, false otherwise.
+ *
+ * Version format expected: "major.minor-schema" (e.g., "13.1-2")
+ */
+bool
+MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxed(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion)
+{
+	char *leftSep;
+	char *rightSep;
+
+	int leftMajor = ParseVersionComponent(leftVersion, &leftSep);
+	int rightMajor = ParseVersionComponent(rightVersion, &rightSep);
+
+	if (leftMajor != rightMajor)
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	int leftMinor = (*leftSep == '.') ? ParseVersionComponent(leftSep + 1, &leftSep) : 0;
+	int rightMinor = (*rightSep == '.') ? ParseVersionComponent(rightSep + 1, &rightSep) :
+					 0;
+
+	int diff = leftMinor - rightMinor;
+	return diff >= -1 && diff <= 1;
+}
+
+
 /*
  * AvailableExtensionVersion returns the Citus version from citus.control file. It also
  * saves the result, thus consecutive calls to CitusExtensionAvailableVersion will
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
index d3a7eaa06..459bf5f03 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/metadata_cache.h
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ extern bool CheckCitusVersion(int elevel);
 extern bool CheckAvailableVersion(int elevel);
 extern bool InstalledAndAvailableVersionsSame(void);
 extern bool MajorVersionsCompatible(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion);
+extern bool MinorVersionsCompatibleRelaxed(char *leftVersion, char *rightVersion);
 extern void ErrorIfInconsistentShardIntervals(CitusTableCacheEntry *cacheEntry);
 extern void EnsureModificationsCanRun(void);
 extern void EnsureModificationsCanRunOnRelation(Oid relationId);