diff --git a/admin.go b/admin.go
index feae1929d..fc500f090 100644
--- a/admin.go
+++ b/admin.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"maps"
 	"math/rand"
 	"strconv"
 	"sync"
@@ -1032,9 +1033,7 @@ func (ca *clusterAdmin) ListConsumerGroups() (allGroups map[string]string, err e
 			}
 
 			groups := make(map[string]string)
-			for group, typ := range response.Groups {
-				groups[group] = typ
-			}
+			maps.Copy(groups, response.Groups)
 
 			groupMaps <- groups
 		}(b, ca.conf)
@@ -1045,9 +1044,7 @@ func (ca *clusterAdmin) ListConsumerGroups() (allGroups map[string]string, err e
 	close(errChan)
 
 	for groupMap := range groupMaps {
-		for group, protocolType := range groupMap {
-			allGroups[group] = protocolType
-		}
+		maps.Copy(allGroups, groupMap)
 	}
 
 	// Intentionally return only the first error for simplicity
@@ -1208,9 +1205,7 @@ func (ca *clusterAdmin) DescribeLogDirs(brokerIds []int32) (allLogDirs map[int32
 	close(errChan)
 
 	for logDirsMap := range logDirsMaps {
-		for id, logDirs := range logDirsMap {
-			allLogDirs[id] = logDirs
-		}
+		maps.Copy(allLogDirs, logDirsMap)
 	}
 
 	// Intentionally return only the first error for simplicity
diff --git a/balance_strategy.go b/balance_strategy.go
index 5946c962f..73066d26e 100644
--- a/balance_strategy.go
+++ b/balance_strategy.go
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ import (
 	"container/heap"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 	"math"
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -233,7 +235,7 @@ func (s *stickyBalanceStrategy) Plan(members map[string]ConsumerGroupMemberMetad
 			delete(unvisitedPartitions, partition)
 			currentPartitionConsumers[partition] = memberID
 
-			if !strsContains(members[memberID].Topics, partition.Topic) {
+			if !slices.Contains(members[memberID].Topics, partition.Topic) {
 				unassignedPartitions = append(unassignedPartitions, partition)
 				continue
 			}
@@ -279,15 +281,6 @@ func (s *stickyBalanceStrategy) AssignmentData(memberID string, topics map[strin
 	}, nil)
 }
 
-func strsContains(s []string, value string) bool {
-	for _, entry := range s {
-		if entry == value {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}
-
 // Balance assignments across consumers for maximum fairness and stickiness.
 func (s *stickyBalanceStrategy) balance(currentAssignment map[string][]topicPartitionAssignment, prevAssignment map[topicPartitionAssignment]consumerGenerationPair, sortedPartitions []topicPartitionAssignment, unassignedPartitions []topicPartitionAssignment, sortedCurrentSubscriptions []string, consumer2AllPotentialPartitions map[string][]topicPartitionAssignment, partition2AllPotentialConsumers map[topicPartitionAssignment][]string, currentPartitionConsumer map[topicPartitionAssignment]string) {
 	initializing := len(sortedCurrentSubscriptions) == 0 || len(currentAssignment[sortedCurrentSubscriptions[0]]) == 0
@@ -321,9 +314,7 @@ func (s *stickyBalanceStrategy) balance(currentAssignment map[string][]topicPart
 	// create a deep copy of the current assignment so we can revert to it if we do not get a more balanced assignment later
 	preBalanceAssignment := deepCopyAssignment(currentAssignment)
 	preBalancePartitionConsumers := make(map[topicPartitionAssignment]string, len(currentPartitionConsumer))
-	for k, v := range currentPartitionConsumer {
-		preBalancePartitionConsumers[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(preBalancePartitionConsumers, currentPartitionConsumer)
 
 	reassignmentPerformed := s.performReassignments(sortedPartitions, currentAssignment, prevAssignment, sortedCurrentSubscriptions, consumer2AllPotentialPartitions, partition2AllPotentialConsumers, currentPartitionConsumer)
 
@@ -332,15 +323,11 @@ func (s *stickyBalanceStrategy) balance(currentAssignment map[string][]topicPart
 	if !initializing && reassignmentPerformed && getBalanceScore(currentAssignment) >= getBalanceScore(preBalanceAssignment) {
 		currentAssignment = deepCopyAssignment(preBalanceAssignment)
 		currentPartitionConsumer = make(map[topicPartitionAssignment]string, len(preBalancePartitionConsumers))
-		for k, v := range preBalancePartitionConsumers {
-			currentPartitionConsumer[k] = v
-		}
+		maps.Copy(currentPartitionConsumer, preBalancePartitionConsumers)
 	}
 
 	// add the fixed assignments (those that could not change) back
-	for consumer, assignments := range fixedAssignments {
-		currentAssignment[consumer] = assignments
-	}
+	maps.Copy(currentAssignment, fixedAssignments)
 }
 
 // NewBalanceStrategyRoundRobin returns a round-robin balance strategy,
@@ -659,12 +646,7 @@ func removeTopicPartitionFromMemberAssignments(assignments []topicPartitionAssig
 }
 
 func memberAssignmentsIncludeTopicPartition(assignments []topicPartitionAssignment, topic topicPartitionAssignment) bool {
-	for _, assignment := range assignments {
-		if assignment == topic {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return slices.Contains(assignments, topic)
 }
 
 func sortPartitions(currentAssignment map[string][]topicPartitionAssignment, partitionsWithADifferentPreviousAssignment map[topicPartitionAssignment]consumerGenerationPair, isFreshAssignment bool, partition2AllPotentialConsumers map[topicPartitionAssignment][]string, consumer2AllPotentialPartitions map[string][]topicPartitionAssignment) []topicPartitionAssignment {
diff --git a/balance_strategy_test.go b/balance_strategy_test.go
index e603cff6f..af41b522d 100644
--- a/balance_strategy_test.go
+++ b/balance_strategy_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"math"
 	"math/rand"
 	"reflect"
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -2123,9 +2124,8 @@ func BenchmarkStickAssignmentWithLargeNumberOfConsumersAndTopics(b *testing.B) {
 		}
 		topics[fmt.Sprintf("topic%d", i)] = partitions
 	}
-	b.ResetTimer()
 
-	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
+	for b.Loop() {
 		if _, err := s.Plan(members, topics); err != nil {
 			b.Errorf("Error building plan in benchmark: %v", err)
 		}
@@ -2163,9 +2163,8 @@ func BenchmarkStickAssignmentWithLargeNumberOfConsumersAndTopicsAndExistingAssig
 	for i := 0; i < 1; i++ {
 		delete(members, fmt.Sprintf("consumer%d", i))
 	}
-	b.ResetTimer()
 
-	for n := 0; n < b.N; n++ {
+	for b.Loop() {
 		if _, err := s.Plan(members, topics); err != nil {
 			b.Errorf("Error building plan in benchmark: %v", err)
 		}
@@ -2203,13 +2202,7 @@ func verifyValidityAndBalance(t *testing.T, consumers map[string]ConsumerGroupMe
 
 	for i, memberID := range members {
 		for assignedTopic := range plan[memberID] {
-			found := false
-			for _, assignableTopic := range consumers[memberID].Topics {
-				if assignableTopic == assignedTopic {
-					found = true
-					break
-				}
-			}
+			found := slices.Contains(consumers[memberID].Topics, assignedTopic)
 			if !found {
 				t.Errorf("Consumer %s had assigned topic %q that wasn't in the list of assignable topics %v", memberID, assignedTopic, consumers[memberID].Topics)
 				t.FailNow()
diff --git a/broker.go b/broker.go
index 187b516b8..d838a407b 100644
--- a/broker.go
+++ b/broker.go
@@ -1670,7 +1670,7 @@ func buildClientFirstMessage(token *AccessToken) ([]byte, error) {
 		ext = "\x01" + mapToString(token.Extensions, "=", "\x01")
 	}
 
-	resp := []byte(fmt.Sprintf("n,,\x01auth=Bearer %s%s\x01\x01", token.Token, ext))
+	resp := fmt.Appendf(nil, "n,,\x01auth=Bearer %s%s\x01\x01", token.Token, ext)
 
 	return resp, nil
 }
diff --git a/broker_test.go b/broker_test.go
index 6701c895f..01a5f6349 100644
--- a/broker_test.go
+++ b/broker_test.go
@@ -1408,7 +1408,7 @@ func BenchmarkBroker_Open(b *testing.B) {
 	metrics.UseNilMetrics = false
 	conf := NewTestConfig()
 	conf.Version = V1_0_0_0
-	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+	for b.Loop() {
 		err := broker.Open(conf)
 		if err != nil {
 			b.Fatal(err)
@@ -1425,7 +1425,7 @@ func BenchmarkBroker_No_Metrics_Open(b *testing.B) {
 	metrics.UseNilMetrics = true
 	conf := NewTestConfig()
 	conf.Version = V1_0_0_0
-	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+	for b.Loop() {
 		err := broker.Open(conf)
 		if err != nil {
 			b.Fatal(err)
diff --git a/client.go b/client.go
index 0d510ee92..3b117235d 100644
--- a/client.go
+++ b/client.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"math"
 	"math/rand"
 	"net"
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -517,10 +518,8 @@ func (client *client) RefreshMetadata(topics ...string) error {
 	// Prior to 0.8.2, Kafka will throw exceptions on an empty topic and not return a proper
 	// error. This handles the case by returning an error instead of sending it
 	// off to Kafka. See: https://github.com/IBM/sarama/pull/38#issuecomment-26362310
-	for _, topic := range topics {
-		if topic == "" {
-			return ErrInvalidTopic // this is the error that 0.8.2 and later correctly return
-		}
+	if slices.Contains(topics, "") {
+		return ErrInvalidTopic // this is the error that 0.8.2 and later correctly return
 	}
 	return client.metadataRefresh(topics)
 }
diff --git a/delete_records_request.go b/delete_records_request.go
index 9d9486169..05538ddc9 100644
--- a/delete_records_request.go
+++ b/delete_records_request.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package sarama
 
 import (
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ func (t *DeleteRecordsRequestTopic) encode(pe packetEncoder) error {
 	for partition := range t.PartitionOffsets {
 		keys = append(keys, partition)
 	}
-	sort.Slice(keys, func(i, j int) bool { return keys[i] < keys[j] })
+	slices.Sort(keys)
 	for _, partition := range keys {
 		pe.putInt32(partition)
 		pe.putInt64(t.PartitionOffsets[partition])
diff --git a/delete_records_response.go b/delete_records_response.go
index 8f787b18c..c1c15aaed 100644
--- a/delete_records_response.go
+++ b/delete_records_response.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package sarama
 
 import (
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ func (t *DeleteRecordsResponseTopic) encode(pe packetEncoder) error {
 	for partition := range t.Partitions {
 		keys = append(keys, partition)
 	}
-	sort.Slice(keys, func(i, j int) bool { return keys[i] < keys[j] })
+	slices.Sort(keys)
 	for _, partition := range keys {
 		pe.putInt32(partition)
 		if err := t.Partitions[partition].encode(pe); err != nil {
diff --git a/metrics_test.go b/metrics_test.go
index dcd9c2a36..6669dbdfc 100644
--- a/metrics_test.go
+++ b/metrics_test.go
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ func TestGetMetricNameForBroker(t *testing.T) {
 
 func Benchmark_getMetricNameForTopic(b *testing.B) {
 	b.ReportAllocs()
-	b.ResetTimer()
-	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+
+	for b.Loop() {
 		name := getMetricNameForTopic("sarama", "says.hello")
 		if name != "sarama-for-topic-says_hello" {
 			b.Fail()
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ func Benchmark_getMetricNameForBroker(b *testing.B) {
 	broker := &Broker{id: 1965}
 
 	b.ReportAllocs()
-	b.ResetTimer()
-	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+
+	for b.Loop() {
 		name := getMetricNameForBroker("summer", broker)
 		if name != "summer-for-broker-1965" {
 			b.Fail()
diff --git a/mockbroker.go b/mockbroker.go
index 2c5e7cadd..a985d6e10 100644
--- a/mockbroker.go
+++ b/mockbroker.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"maps"
 	"net"
 	"reflect"
 	"strconv"
@@ -86,9 +87,7 @@ func (b *MockBroker) SetLatency(latency time.Duration) {
 // If the request type is not found in the map then nothing is sent.
 func (b *MockBroker) SetHandlerByMap(handlerMap map[string]MockResponse) {
 	fnMap := make(map[string]MockResponse)
-	for k, v := range handlerMap {
-		fnMap[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(fnMap, handlerMap)
 	b.setHandler(func(req *request) (res encoderWithHeader) {
 		reqTypeName := reflect.TypeOf(req.body).Elem().Name()
 		mockResponse := fnMap[reqTypeName]
@@ -104,9 +103,7 @@ func (b *MockBroker) SetHandlerByMap(handlerMap map[string]MockResponse) {
 // and invoke the found RequestHandlerFunc instance to generate an appropriate reply.
 func (b *MockBroker) SetHandlerFuncByMap(handlerMap map[string]requestHandlerFunc) {
 	fnMap := make(map[string]requestHandlerFunc)
-	for k, v := range handlerMap {
-		fnMap[k] = v
-	}
+	maps.Copy(fnMap, handlerMap)
 	b.setHandler(func(req *request) (res encoderWithHeader) {
 		reqTypeName := reflect.TypeOf(req.body).Elem().Name()
 		return fnMap[reqTypeName](req)
diff --git a/mocks/mocks.go b/mocks/mocks.go
index be4007668..f1a75a56b 100644
--- a/mocks/mocks.go
+++ b/mocks/mocks.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ package mocks
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"maps"
 
 	"github.com/IBM/sarama"
 )
@@ -86,9 +87,7 @@ func (pc *TopicConfig) SetDefaultPartitions(n int32) {
 // SetPartitions sets the number of partitions the partitioners will see for specific topics. This
 // only applies to messages produced after setting them.
 func (pc *TopicConfig) SetPartitions(partitions map[string]int32) {
-	for p, n := range partitions {
-		pc.overridePartitions[p] = n
-	}
+	maps.Copy(pc.overridePartitions, partitions)
 }
 
 func (pc *TopicConfig) partitions(topic string) int32 {
diff --git a/tools/kafka-console-producer/kafka-console-producer.go b/tools/kafka-console-producer/kafka-console-producer.go
index 43e15ab9f..4e65caa71 100644
--- a/tools/kafka-console-producer/kafka-console-producer.go
+++ b/tools/kafka-console-producer/kafka-console-producer.go
@@ -103,8 +103,8 @@ func main() {
 
 	if *headers != "" {
 		var hdrs []sarama.RecordHeader
-		arrHdrs := strings.Split(*headers, ",")
-		for _, h := range arrHdrs {
+		arrHdrs := strings.SplitSeq(*headers, ",")
+		for h := range arrHdrs {
 			if header := strings.Split(h, ":"); len(header) != 2 {
 				printUsageErrorAndExit("-header should be key:value. Example: -headers=foo:bar,bar:foo")
 			} else {
diff --git a/zstd_test.go b/zstd_test.go
index 119772b1d..0ca55625f 100644
--- a/zstd_test.go
+++ b/zstd_test.go
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ func BenchmarkZstdMemoryConsumption(b *testing.B) {
 
 	gomaxprocsBackup := runtime.GOMAXPROCS(cpus)
 	b.ReportAllocs()
-	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+	for b.Loop() {
 		for j := 0; j < 2*cpus; j++ {
 			_, _ = zstdCompress(params, nil, buf)
 		}