diff --git a/python/python/lancedb/__init__.py b/python/python/lancedb/__init__.py
index 623279bf0..9cc1db0d5 100644
--- a/python/python/lancedb/__init__.py
+++ b/python/python/lancedb/__init__.py
@@ -7,7 +7,13 @@ from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from datetime import timedelta
 from typing import Dict, Optional, Union, Any, List, Iterable, TYPE_CHECKING
 
-from ._lancedb import __version__ as __version__
+from packaging.version import Version as _Version
+
+from ._lancedb import __version__ as _native_version
+
+# Match Python package metadata without requiring the lancedb distribution.
+__version__ = str(_Version(_native_version))
+
 from ._lancedb import connect as lancedb_connect
 from ._lancedb import FtsToken
 from ._lancedb import FunctionErrorFragment as FunctionErrorFragment
diff --git a/python/python/tests/test_import.py b/python/python/tests/test_import.py
index e8373b03b..6f9b00e5d 100644
--- a/python/python/tests/test_import.py
+++ b/python/python/tests/test_import.py
@@ -34,9 +34,23 @@ def test_native_extension_does_not_link_openssl():
     )
 
 
-def test_top_level_version_comes_from_native_module():
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "native_version, expected_version",
+    [
+        ("0.41.0", "0.41.0"),
+        ("0.41.0-alpha.1", "0.41.0a1"),
+        ("0.41.0-beta.17", "0.41.0b17"),
+        ("0.41.0-rc.1", "0.41.0rc1"),
+        ("0.41.0-dev.1", "0.41.0.dev1"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_top_level_version_comes_from_native_module(native_version, expected_version):
     child_code = """
+import importlib
 import importlib.metadata
+import sys
+
+from packaging.version import Version
 
 orig_version = importlib.metadata.version
 
@@ -51,13 +65,17 @@ import lancedb
 import lancedb._lancedb as native_module
 import lancedb.db
 
-assert lancedb.__version__ == native_module.__version__
+assert lancedb.__version__ == str(Version(native_module.__version__))
+
+native_module.__version__ = sys.argv[1]
+importlib.reload(lancedb)
+assert lancedb.__version__ == sys.argv[2]
 """
     env = os.environ.copy()
     env["PYTHONPATH"] = os.pathsep.join(path for path in sys.path if path)
 
     result = subprocess.run(
-        [sys.executable, "-c", child_code],
+        [sys.executable, "-c", child_code, native_version, expected_version],
         check=False,
         capture_output=True,
         text=True,
diff --git a/python/python/tests/test_package_metadata.py b/python/python/tests/test_package_metadata.py
index 58f4e7267..9bdcbb3b0 100644
--- a/python/python/tests/test_package_metadata.py
+++ b/python/python/tests/test_package_metadata.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright The LanceDB Authors
 
 import importlib
+import importlib.metadata
 import re
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -9,6 +10,18 @@ from pathlib import Path
 import pytest
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("distribution", ["lancedb", "lancedb-compat"])
+def test_version_matches_package_metadata(distribution):
+    import lancedb
+
+    try:
+        package_version = importlib.metadata.version(distribution)
+    except importlib.metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
+        pytest.skip(f"{distribution} is not installed")
+
+    assert lancedb.__version__ == package_version
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("name", ["JobInfo", "JobDescription", "JobFailureInfo"])
 def test_job_metadata_types_have_resolvable_modules(name):
     """Documentation tools resolve re-exports through each type's module."""