diff --git a/.github/actions/build-wheel/action.yml b/.github/actions/build-wheel/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..25f75d1f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/build-wheel/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+# Composite action that builds a datafusion-python wheel with maturin.
+# Centralises the abi3-vs-free-threaded argument logic so platform jobs
+# stay short and changes to wheel-build flags happen in one place.
+
+name: "Build wheel"
+description: "Build datafusion-python wheel with maturin (abi3 or free-threaded)"
+
+inputs:
+  target:
+    description: "Rust target triple (e.g. x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu). Required when manylinux is set; ignored for native builds."
+    required: false
+    default: ""
+  python-tag:
+    description: "abi3 (covers 3.10..3.14 GIL builds) or a free-threaded interpreter such as 3.13t / 3.14t"
+    required: true
+  build-mode:
+    description: "release or debug"
+    required: true
+  features:
+    description: "Comma-separated extra features (in addition to those implied by the python-tag)"
+    required: false
+    default: "substrait"
+  manylinux:
+    description: "manylinux tag for maturin-action (e.g. 2_28). Leave empty to use uv-run maturin natively."
+    required: false
+    default: ""
+  out-dir:
+    description: "Output directory for built wheels"
+    required: false
+    default: "dist"
+
+outputs:
+  args:
+    description: "Computed maturin args (for debugging)"
+    value: ${{ steps.args.outputs.args }}
+
+runs:
+  using: "composite"
+  steps:
+    - name: Compute maturin args
+      id: args
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        set -euo pipefail
+        FEATURES="${{ inputs.features }}"
+        TAG="${{ inputs.python-tag }}"
+        if [ "$TAG" = "abi3" ]; then
+          # Default features include the `abi3` cargo feature.
+          # One wheel covers Python 3.10..3.14 (GIL builds only).
+          BUILD_ARGS="--features ${FEATURES}"
+        else
+          # Free-threaded build: disable abi3, force mimalloc back in, pin interpreter.
+          if [ "${RUNNER_OS:-}" = "Windows" ]; then
+            # Windows free-threaded builds ship as `python.exe` (no `tN`
+            # suffix). Resolve sys.executable so the path is independent of
+            # PATH ordering, and assert the interpreter is actually
+            # free-threaded before we hand the wheel off.
+            INTERP=$(python -c 'import sys; print(sys.executable)')
+            python -c "import sysconfig, sys; \
+              v = sysconfig.get_config_var('Py_GIL_DISABLED'); \
+              sys.exit(0 if v == 1 else f'expected free-threaded interpreter, got Py_GIL_DISABLED={v!r} at {sys.executable}')"
+            # Backslashes in BUILD_ARGS would be parsed as escapes when the
+            # output is re-expanded in the next step; use forward slashes
+            # (maturin/Rust accept them on Windows).
+            INTERP="${INTERP//\\//}"
+          else
+            INTERP="python${TAG}"
+          fi
+          BUILD_ARGS="--no-default-features --features mimalloc,${FEATURES} --interpreter ${INTERP}"
+        fi
+        if [ "${{ inputs.build-mode }}" = "release" ]; then
+          BUILD_ARGS="--release --strip ${BUILD_ARGS}"
+        fi
+        BUILD_ARGS="${BUILD_ARGS} --out ${{ inputs.out-dir }}"
+        echo "args=${BUILD_ARGS}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        echo "maturin args: ${BUILD_ARGS}"
+
+    - name: Build via maturin-action (manylinux container)
+      if: inputs.manylinux != ''
+      uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
+      with:
+        target: ${{ inputs.target }}
+        manylinux: ${{ inputs.manylinux }}
+        maturin-version: "1.13.3"
+        args: ${{ steps.args.outputs.args }}
+        rustup-components: rust-std
+
+    - name: Build via native maturin
+      if: inputs.manylinux == ''
+      shell: bash
+      # Use `uvx` so maturin is available even when `uv sync` was skipped
+      # (free-threaded matrix entries don't pre-populate the project venv).
+      run: uvx maturin@1.13.3 build ${{ steps.args.outputs.args }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 37a9dba03..593a343e1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -135,8 +135,12 @@ jobs:
   # ============================================
   build-manylinux-x86_64:
     needs: [generate-license, lint-rust, lint-python]
-    name: ManyLinux x86_64
+    name: Linux x86_64 (${{ matrix.python-tag }})
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        python-tag: ["abi3", "3.13t", "3.14t"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
@@ -153,7 +157,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Cache Cargo
         uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
         with:
-          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
 
       - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@08807647e7069bb48b6ef5acd8ec9567f424441b
         with:
@@ -172,25 +176,18 @@ jobs:
           free -h
           swapon --show
 
-      - name: Build (release mode)
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        if: inputs.build_mode == 'release'
-        with:
-          target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
-          manylinux: "2_28"
-          args: --release --strip --features protoc,substrait --out dist
-          rustup-components: rust-std
-
-      - name: Build (debug mode)
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        if: inputs.build_mode == 'debug'
+      - name: Build wheel
+        uses: ./.github/actions/build-wheel
         with:
           target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
+          python-tag: ${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+          build-mode: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          features: "protoc,substrait"
           manylinux: "2_28"
-          args: --features protoc,substrait --out dist
-          rustup-components: rust-std
 
+      # FFI test wheel only needs to be built once per platform; gate to abi3.
       - name: Build FFI test library
+        if: matrix.python-tag == 'abi3'
         uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
         with:
           target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
@@ -202,10 +199,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Archive wheels
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
-          name: dist-manylinux-x86_64
+          name: dist-manylinux-x86_64-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
           path: dist/*
 
       - name: Archive FFI test wheel
+        if: matrix.python-tag == 'abi3'
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: test-ffi-manylinux-x86_64
@@ -216,8 +214,12 @@ jobs:
   # ============================================
   build-manylinux-aarch64:
     needs: [generate-license, lint-rust, lint-python]
-    name: ManyLinux arm64
+    name: Linux arm64 (${{ matrix.python-tag }})
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        python-tag: ["abi3", "3.13t", "3.14t"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
@@ -234,7 +236,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Cache Cargo
         uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
         with:
-          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
 
       - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@08807647e7069bb48b6ef5acd8ec9567f424441b
         with:
@@ -253,29 +255,20 @@ jobs:
           free -h
           swapon --show
 
-      - name: Build (release mode)
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        if: inputs.build_mode == 'release'
-        with:
-          target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
-          manylinux: "2_28"
-          args: --release --strip --features protoc,substrait --out dist
-          rustup-components: rust-std
-
-      - name: Build (debug mode)
-        uses: PyO3/maturin-action@v1
-        if: inputs.build_mode == 'debug'
+      - name: Build wheel
+        uses: ./.github/actions/build-wheel
         with:
           target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
+          python-tag: ${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+          build-mode: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          features: "protoc,substrait"
           manylinux: "2_28"
-          args: --features protoc,substrait --out dist
-          rustup-components: rust-std
 
       - name: Archive wheels
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         if: inputs.build_mode == 'release'
         with:
-          name: dist-manylinux-aarch64
+          name: dist-manylinux-aarch64-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
           path: dist/*
 
   # ============================================
@@ -283,13 +276,13 @@ jobs:
   # ============================================
   build-python-mac-win:
     needs: [generate-license, lint-rust, lint-python]
-    name: macOS arm64 & Windows
+    name: ${{ matrix.os == 'macos-latest' && 'macOS arm64' || 'Windows x86_64' }} (${{ matrix.python-tag }})
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.10"]
         os: [macos-latest, windows-latest]
+        python-tag: ["abi3", "3.13t", "3.14t"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
@@ -305,7 +298,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Cache Cargo
         uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
         with:
-          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+
+      - name: Setup Python (free-threaded)
+        if: matrix.python-tag != 'abi3'
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+          freethreaded: true
 
       - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@08807647e7069bb48b6ef5acd8ec9567f424441b
         with:
@@ -318,22 +318,22 @@ jobs:
           repo-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Install dependencies
+        if: matrix.python-tag == 'abi3'
         run: uv sync --dev --no-install-package datafusion
 
-      # Run clippy BEFORE maturin so we can avoid rebuilding. The features must match
-      # exactly the features used by maturin. Linux maturin builds need to happen in a
-      # container so only run this for our mac runner.
+      # Clippy is interpreter-agnostic; run once per OS (against the abi3 entry)
+      # so the matrix doesn't pay the cost three times.
       - name: Run Clippy
-        if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest'
+        if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest' && matrix.python-tag == 'abi3'
         run: cargo clippy --no-deps --all-targets --features substrait -- -D warnings
 
-      - name: Build Python package (release mode)
-        if: inputs.build_mode == 'release'
-        run: uv run --no-project maturin build --release --strip --features substrait
-
-      - name: Build Python package (debug mode)
-        if: inputs.build_mode != 'release'
-        run: uv run --no-project maturin build --features substrait
+      - name: Build wheel
+        uses: ./.github/actions/build-wheel
+        with:
+          python-tag: ${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+          build-mode: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          features: "substrait"
+          out-dir: "target/wheels"
 
       - name: List Windows wheels
         if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         if: inputs.build_mode == 'release'
         with:
-          name: dist-${{ matrix.os  }}
+          name: dist-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
           path: target/wheels/*
 
   # ============================================
@@ -359,11 +359,12 @@ jobs:
   build-macos-x86_64:
     if: inputs.build_mode == 'release'
     needs: [generate-license, lint-rust, lint-python]
+    name: macOS x86_64 (${{ matrix.python-tag }})
     runs-on: macos-15-intel
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.10"]
+        python-tag: ["abi3", "3.13t", "3.14t"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
@@ -379,7 +380,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Cache Cargo
         uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
         with:
-          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          key: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+
+      - name: Setup Python (free-threaded)
+        if: matrix.python-tag != 'abi3'
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+          freethreaded: true
 
       - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@08807647e7069bb48b6ef5acd8ec9567f424441b
         with:
@@ -392,11 +400,16 @@ jobs:
           repo-token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Install dependencies
+        if: matrix.python-tag == 'abi3'
         run: uv sync --dev --no-install-package datafusion
 
-      - name: Build (release mode)
-        run: |
-          uv run --no-project maturin build --release --strip --features substrait
+      - name: Build wheel
+        uses: ./.github/actions/build-wheel
+        with:
+          python-tag: ${{ matrix.python-tag }}
+          build-mode: ${{ inputs.build_mode }}
+          features: "substrait"
+          out-dir: "target/wheels"
 
       - name: List Mac wheels
         run: find target/wheels/
@@ -404,7 +417,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Archive wheels
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
-          name: dist-macos-aarch64
+          name: dist-macos-aarch64-${{ matrix.python-tag }}
           path: target/wheels/*
 
   # ============================================
@@ -509,11 +522,12 @@ jobs:
         with:
           enable-cache: true
 
-      # Download the Linux wheel built in the previous job
+      # Download the Linux wheel built in the previous job.
+      # Docs only need the abi3 wheel — interpreter doesn't matter for sphinx.
       - name: Download pre-built Linux wheel
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
         with:
-          name: dist-manylinux-x86_64
+          name: dist-manylinux-x86_64-abi3
           path: wheels/
 
       # Install from the pre-built wheels
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index c597ab308..b13a3dc89 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@
 # specific language governing permissions and limitations
 # under the License.
 
-# Reusable workflow for running tests
-# This ensures the same tests run for both debug (PRs) and release (main/tags) builds
+# Reusable workflow for running tests.
+# Single matrix covers both GIL (abi3 wheel) and free-threaded
+# (per-interpreter wheels) builds.
 
 name: Test
 
@@ -32,15 +33,16 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        python-version:
-          - "3.10"
-          - "3.11"
-          - "3.12"
-          - "3.13"
-          - "3.14"
-        toolchain:
-          - "stable"
-
+        include:
+          # GIL builds — all share the same abi3 wheel.
+          - { python-version: "3.10", wheel-tag: "abi3", freethreaded: false }
+          - { python-version: "3.11", wheel-tag: "abi3", freethreaded: false }
+          - { python-version: "3.12", wheel-tag: "abi3", freethreaded: false }
+          - { python-version: "3.13", wheel-tag: "abi3", freethreaded: false }
+          - { python-version: "3.14", wheel-tag: "abi3", freethreaded: false }
+          # Free-threaded builds — one wheel per interpreter.
+          - { python-version: "3.13t", wheel-tag: "3.13t", freethreaded: true }
+          - { python-version: "3.14t", wheel-tag: "3.14t", freethreaded: true }
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
@@ -48,40 +50,38 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+          freethreaded: ${{ matrix.freethreaded }}
 
       - name: Cache Cargo
         uses: actions/cache@v5
         with:
           path: ~/.cargo
-          key: cargo-cache-${{ matrix.toolchain }}-${{ hashFiles('Cargo.lock') }}
+          key: cargo-cache-stable-${{ hashFiles('Cargo.lock') }}
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@08807647e7069bb48b6ef5acd8ec9567f424441b
         with:
           enable-cache: true
 
-      # Download the Linux wheel built in the build workflow
       - name: Download pre-built Linux wheel
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
         with:
-          name: dist-manylinux-x86_64
+          name: dist-manylinux-x86_64-${{ matrix.wheel-tag }}
           path: wheels/
 
-      # Download the FFI test wheel
+      # FFI test wheel only built once (under the abi3 matrix entry in build.yml).
       - name: Download pre-built FFI test wheel
+        if: matrix.wheel-tag == 'abi3'
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
         with:
           name: test-ffi-manylinux-x86_64
           path: wheels/
 
-      # Install from the pre-built wheels
       - name: Install from pre-built wheels
         run: |
           set -x
-          uv venv
-          # Install development dependencies
+          uv venv --python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
           uv sync --dev --no-install-package datafusion
-          # Install all pre-built wheels
           WHEELS=$(find wheels/ -name "*.whl")
           if [ -n "$WHEELS" ]; then
             echo "Installing wheels:"
@@ -95,16 +95,22 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run tests
         env:
           RUST_BACKTRACE: 1
+          # On free-threaded interpreters, fail loud if any C extension
+          # re-enables the GIL implicitly.
+          PYTHON_GIL: ${{ matrix.freethreaded && '0' || '' }}
         run: |
           git submodule update --init
           uv run --no-project pytest -v --import-mode=importlib
 
+      # FFI + TPC-H examples only need to run once; gate to abi3 entries.
       - name: FFI unit tests
+        if: matrix.wheel-tag == 'abi3'
         run: |
           cd examples/datafusion-ffi-example
           uv run --no-project pytest python/tests/_test*.py
 
       - name: Run tpchgen-cli to create 1 Gb dataset
+        if: matrix.wheel-tag == 'abi3'
         run: |
           mkdir examples/tpch/data
           cd examples/tpch/data
@@ -112,6 +118,7 @@ jobs:
           uv run --no-project tpchgen-cli -s 1 --format=parquet
 
       - name: Run TPC-H examples
+        if: matrix.wheel-tag == 'abi3'
         run: |
           cd examples/tpch
           uv run --no-project pytest _tests.py
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 0c4b77582..3252346e9 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2928,6 +2928,7 @@ version = "0.28.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "8bf94ee265674bf76c09fa430b0e99c26e319c945d96ca0d5a8215f31bf81cf7"
 dependencies = [
+ "python3-dll-a",
  "target-lexicon",
 ]
 
@@ -2977,6 +2978,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.117",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "python3-dll-a"
+version = "0.2.15"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d80ba7540edb18890d444c5aa8e1f1f99b1bdf26fb26ae383135325f4a36042b"
+dependencies = [
+ "cc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "quick-xml"
 version = "0.39.2"
diff --git a/crates/core/Cargo.toml b/crates/core/Cargo.toml
index d714dc978..1f5b4e305 100644
--- a/crates/core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/core/Cargo.toml
@@ -42,8 +42,7 @@ tokio = { workspace = true, features = [
 ] }
 pyo3 = { workspace = true, features = [
   "extension-module",
-  "abi3",
-  "abi3-py310",
+  "generate-import-lib",
 ] }
 pyo3-async-runtimes = { workspace = true, features = ["tokio-runtime"] }
 pyo3-log = { workspace = true }
@@ -74,7 +73,11 @@ prost-types = { workspace = true }
 pyo3-build-config = { workspace = true }
 
 [features]
-default = ["mimalloc"]
+default = ["mimalloc", "abi3"]
+# Stable ABI build — single wheel covers Python 3.10..3.14 (GIL builds only).
+# Mutually exclusive with free-threaded interpreters (cp313t / cp314t); the
+# free-threaded wheel build must pass --no-default-features.
+abi3 = ["pyo3/abi3", "pyo3/abi3-py310"]
 protoc = ["datafusion-substrait/protoc"]
 substrait = ["dep:datafusion-substrait"]
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a02f4608a..b25d37166 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ classifiers = [
   "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
   "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
   "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: Free Threading :: 2 - Beta",
   "Programming Language :: Python",
   "Programming Language :: Rust",
 ]