| Compatibility Check Strategy | Changes allowed | Check against which schemas | Upgrade first |
| ------------- | ------------- | ----- | ---- |
| `ALWAYS_INCOMPATIBLE` | All changes are disabled | All previous versions | None |
| `ALWAYS_COMPATIBLE` | All changes are allowed | Compatibility checking disabled | Depends |
| `BACKWARD` | Delete fields; Add optional fields | Latest version | Consumers |
| `BACKWARD_TRANSITIVE` | Delete fields; Add optional fields | All previous versions | Consumers |
| `FORWARD` | Add fields; Delete optional fields | Latest version | Producers |
| `FORWARD_TRANSITIVE` | Add fields; Delete optional fields | All previous versions | Producers |
| `FULL` | Modify optional fields | Latest version | Any order |
| `FULL_TRANSITIVE` | Modify optional fields | All previous versions | Any order |