5 Best jQuery CDN Links (jQuery 4.0, 2026)

Which is the best jQuery CDN to load jQuery for free? jQuery still powers a huge share of websites, including every WordPress site, and in January 2026 it got its first major release in nearly ten years, jQuery 4.0. Here are the best free jQuery CDN links for 2026, ready to copy, plus whether you should use a CDN at all.

Quick answer: The official jQuery CDN is the best default: https://code.jquery.com/jquery-4.0.0.min.js. jsDelivr and cdnjs are fast, reliable alternatives. Always add the Subresource Integrity (SRI) hash that each CDN provides, and test your site before moving from jQuery 3.x to 4.0.

Which jQuery version should you use in 2026?

jQuery 4.0.0 was released on January 17, 2026. It drops support for Internet Explorer 10 and older (IE 11 is still supported), removes long-deprecated functions and follows web standards more closely. The slim build is even smaller and now relies on native Promises.

• New projects: use jQuery 4.0.
• Existing sites and old plugins: stay on the latest jQuery 3.7.x until you’ve tested everything, and use the jQuery Migrate plugin to find code that needs updating.

Best jQuery CDN links

1. Official jQuery CDN (code.jquery.com)

The official jQuery CDN is run by the jQuery team and powered by Fastly. It always has the newest release first and gives you a ready-made script tag with the SRI hash.

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-4.0.0.min.js" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

2. jsDelivr

jsDelivr serves every version published to npm through several global CDN networks, with very high uptime.

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/jquery@4.0.0/dist/jquery.min.js"></script>

3. cdnjs (Cloudflare)

cdnjs is powered by Cloudflare and lists every jQuery version, with copy buttons for the URL, the full script tag and the SRI hash.

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/4.0.0/jquery.min.js"></script>

4. Google Hosted Libraries

Google Hosted Libraries has hosted jQuery for years and is very fast, but it can lag behind new releases. Check the page for the versions currently available. A 3.x example:

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.7.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

5. Microsoft Ajax CDN

The Microsoft Ajax CDN hosts many jQuery versions and related libraries, though it’s also slower to add new releases.

Load Bootstrap from a CDN too

Many sites load Bootstrap alongside jQuery. In 2015 most people used Google Hosted Libraries for jQuery and MaxCDN’s BootstrapCDN (maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com) for Bootstrap. MaxCDN has since shut down, and Bootstrap’s own docs now point to jsDelivr. Bootstrap 5 doesn’t need jQuery at all; the bundle file includes Popper for dropdowns and tooltips. The current stable version is 5.3.x (copy the exact tag with its SRI hash from getbootstrap.com):

<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.8/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.8/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>

Loading jQuery and Bootstrap from the same CDN (such as jsDelivr or cdnjs) means one fewer connection to set up. See also how to load Bootstrap faster.

Which jQuery CDN is the fastest?

All the CDNs above run on large global networks (Fastly, Cloudflare, Google and others), so for most visitors the difference is a few milliseconds. Speed rankings shift over time and by region; in our 2015 test with CDNperf, smaller networks such as 5centsCDN briefly topped the latency charts ahead of Google, Akamai and Cloudflare. Rather than chasing a ranking, pick a reliable CDN, and check real-world load times for your own visitors with your browser’s Network panel or a page speed test.

Use SRI to load jQuery from a CDN safely

Subresource Integrity lets the browser check that the file it downloads is exactly the one you expect, so a hacked CDN can’t inject bad code. Copy the full tag with the integrity and crossorigin attributes from the CDN page, for example:

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-4.0.0.min.js"
  integrity="sha384-(copy the hash from the CDN page)"
  crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

Is a jQuery CDN still faster than hosting it yourself?

A popular old argument for CDNs was that visitors would already have jQuery cached from another site. That’s no longer true: since around 2020, Chrome, Firefox and Safari keep a separate cache for each website for privacy reasons. So a public CDN mainly helps if your own hosting is slow or has no CDN.

• Self-host jQuery if your site already uses a CDN (like Cloudflare or your host’s CDN). It saves an extra connection and avoids sharing visitors’ IP addresses with a third party, which matters for privacy laws like GDPR.
• Use a public CDN for quick prototypes, simple static sites and demos.

On WordPress, jQuery is already bundled and updated with WordPress itself, so most sites don’t need a CDN version at all. Only load jQuery on pages that actually use it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the latest jQuery version?

jQuery 4.0.0, released in January 2026, is the latest major version. Check releases.jquery.com for any newer patch releases.

What is the best jQuery CDN?

The official code.jquery.com CDN is the best default because it always has the latest version. jsDelivr and cdnjs are excellent alternatives.

Does Bootstrap 5 need jQuery?

No. Bootstrap 5 dropped jQuery and uses plain JavaScript. Only Bootstrap 4 and older need jQuery loaded first.

Should I use jquery.min.js or jquery.slim.min.js?

Use the slim build if you don’t need jQuery’s Ajax and effects (animation) functions. It’s smaller and loads faster.