diff --git a/.changeset/hungry-coats-sort.md b/.changeset/hungry-coats-sort.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ad0e587f6779
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/hungry-coats-sort.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@sveltejs/kit': patch
+---
+
+Default to target: node14.8, so that top-level await is supported in user code
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/core/build/build_server.js b/packages/kit/src/core/build/build_server.js
index 25d041b56b1f..6181eec6241d 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/core/build/build_server.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/core/build/build_server.js
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ export async function build_server(
 
 	const default_config = {
 		build: {
-			target: 'es2020'
+			target: 'node14.8'
 		},
 		ssr: {
 			// when developing against the Kit src code, we want to ensure that