diff --git a/deploy/deploy.go b/deploy/deploy.go
index a2bbf9e2..8b7de2a5 100644
--- a/deploy/deploy.go
+++ b/deploy/deploy.go
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ func (k *KindSpec) checkDependencies() error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("kind version check failed: %w", err)
 		}
 		if gotV.LT(wantV) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("kind version check failed: got %s, want %s. install with `go install sigs.k8s.io/kind@%s`", gotV, wantV, wantV)
+			return fmt.Errorf("kind version check failed: got %s, want %s. install with `go install sigs.k8s.io/kind@v%s`", gotV, wantV, wantV)
 		}
 		log.Infof("kind version valid: got %s want %s", gotV, wantV)
 	}