Craft CMS upgrades, from Craft 3 or 4 to Craft 5.
Whether you're on Craft 3 or 4, there's a clear path to Craft 5. We update your plugins and move you to a supported version. Craft 4 reached end of life on April 30, 2026. Craft 4 end of life: what it means
Craft 5 upgradesVerified PartnerOn Craft since 2013
Worried your Craft site is falling behind? Keep it current and cared for.
Every major Craft release gets at least two years of active support, then one more year of critical security fixes, then nothing. Here is where each version stands.
| Version | Released | Active support ends | End of life | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craft 6 | In alpha | TBA | TBA | Upcoming Rebuilt on Laravel. In alpha since May 2026; craftcms.com targets general availability in Q4 2026. |
| Craft 5 | March 2024 | December 31, 2030 | December 31, 2031 | Supported The version to be on. A long-term support release, and the smoothest path to Craft 6. |
| Craft 4 | May 2022 | April 30, 2025 | April 30, 2026 | End of life End of life. No more security patches. If you are here, you are running unpatched software. |
| Craft 3 | April 2018 | April 30, 2023 | April 30, 2024 | End of life End of life, and running on PHP versions that are themselves unsupported. |
| Craft 2 | 2015 | Ended | Ended | End of life Long past end of life. An upgrade from here is effectively a rebuild. |
Not sure which version you are on? We’ll check for you
What waiting costs you.
An end-of-life site keeps running, but it stops getting patches, and catching up costs more every month. What Craft 4 end of life means
Where you are, and what it takes.
Craft upgrades move through major versions in order. The further behind you are, the more steps, but your content comes with you every time.
- U.01
Craft 5Craft 6
Planning nowCraft 6 is in alpha, targeted for Q4 2026. Staying current on Craft 5 keeps that upgrade routine.
- U.02
Craft 4Craft 5
Typically 2–4 weeksCraft 4 lost security support on April 30, 2026. Most of the work is plugin compatibility and PHP. No redesign required.
What Craft 4 end of life means for your site - U.03
Craft 3Craft 5
Typically 4–8 weeksTwo steps, through Craft 4. The heavier lift is Matrix restructuring and plugins that never made the jump.
- U.04
Craft 2Current
Scoped case by caseUsually a rebuild with a content migration attached. Your content comes with you.
What is in an upgrade, line by line.
One fixed price covers all of it, quoted after the audit. You will know the number and the cutover date before we start, and there is a rollback plan in writing.
- 01
Full audit of your current version, plugins, PHP version, and server configuration
- 02
A staging environment that mirrors production, so nothing is tested on your live site
- 03
Plugin-by-plugin compatibility review, with replacements sourced for anything abandoned
- 04
Deprecated template and API updates across the codebase
- 05
Content model migration, including Matrix and relation field restructuring
- 06
Integration re-testing: forms, CRM, email, payments, anything with an API
- 07
Performance and caching review while we are already in there
- 08
A rehearsed cutover with a rollback plan, scheduled outside your business hours
Craft upgrade questions
When did Craft 4 reach end of life?
Craft CMS 4 reached end of life on April 30, 2026. Active support ended a year earlier, on April 30, 2025. Craft 4 now gets no updates, including security patches. Craft 5 is the current supported version.
Which Craft CMS version should I upgrade to?
Craft 5. It is the current actively supported release and the only supported path to Craft 6. Craft upgrades move through major versions in order, so you can't skip ahead.
How long does a Craft CMS upgrade take?
Craft 4 to Craft 5 typically takes two to four weeks. Craft 3 to Craft 5 usually takes four to eight weeks, because it's a two-step migration. Craft 2 is scoped case by case. The audit sets the timeline.
Will an upgrade change how my site looks or how my team edits it?
Your site will look the same. Templates, design, and content structure come across. The control panel changes between major versions, and occasionally a field type, and we walk your team through anything that moved.
Do I need to upgrade if my site is working fine?
Yes, if you are on an end-of-life version. A site can look healthy until a published vulnerability gets scanned for at scale, and on an end-of-life version no patch is coming.
What does a Craft CMS upgrade cost?
It's a fixed price, after the audit. The number moves with how many major versions you're jumping and how many plugins need replacing. We quote one number with a rollback plan, not hourly.
Can you upgrade a site you did not build?
Yes, and that is most of them. We start with a technical audit to see what we are working with, and upgrades are frequently the first thing we do for a site we have just taken over from another agency.
Before and after the upgrade
Craft CMS versions & end-of-life dates
The full support timeline, how to check which version you are running, and what each date means.
Read more about Craft CMS versions & end-of-life datesMaintenance & support plans
The reason clients on a plan never face an end-of-life scramble: updates happen the month they ship.
Read more about Maintenance & support plansNeed a new Craft CMS developer?
If the version is only one of several problems, start with an audit of the whole site.
Read more about Need a new Craft CMS developer?