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WordPress PHP Version Checker

Reviewed by Ali Yasin Jatoi, Founder & Lead Engineer· Updated 2026-07-03

Pick your PHP version. Get instant WordPress + WooCommerce compatibility, official EOL date, security-support status, and the exact upgrade path — from the former fleet manager of 150+ Pearl Lemon internal WordPress sites.

Last updated 3 July 2026 · Reviewed by Ali Yasin Jatoi

Pick your PHP version

Not sure which version you're on? Scroll down to How to check your PHP version.

Recommended for 2026

PHP 8.3 on WordPress in 2026

Released

2023-11

Active support until

2025-12

End of life

2027-12

Relative speed vs PHP 7.0

400%

Minimum WordPress

6.4

Compatible WordPress

6.7+

WooCommerce compatible

Yes

Verdict

The version we run on every site in our fleet in 2026. Active security patches until December 2027. Full WordPress + WooCommerce support. Meaningful speed gains over 8.1 on typed-property-heavy plugins (Elementor, ACF Pro, WooCommerce). This is the answer to 'which PHP version should I use for WordPress in 2026'.

What to do

Nothing to do — you're on the recommended version. Schedule a review in October 2027 to plan the 8.3 → 8.4 or 9.0 migration well before EOL.

From the founder

Ali Yasin Jatoi · Founder, WebCare Studios

I keep this page in sync manually because every "PHP version" tool online is either two years stale or scraped from php.net without the WordPress context. The important number isn't which PHP version is newest — it's which one your host actually supports, which one your ugliest plugin still runs on, and how many months of security patches you have before you're forced into a rushed migration.

The rule I apply on every site in our fleet: never run a PHP version that's out of active support. When 8.3 drops to security-only in December 2025, we start migrating to 8.4. When 8.4 drops in December 2026, we plan the 8.5 or 9.0 move. Deferring a planned migration by a year turns a $95 upgrade into a $995 emergency at 2am. Same amount of work either way — the only variable is whether it happens on your calendar or the attacker's.

Signed, Ali Yasin Jatoi. Written by hand, signed for E-E-A-T.

Every PHP version WordPress has run on, at a glance

Sourced from php.net's supported versions, the WordPress core requirements page, and WooCommerce's system requirements. Verified July 2026.

Version	Status	EOL date	WordPress	WooCommerce	Rel. speed
PHP 5.6	End of Life — insecure	2018-12	4.1 → 5.1 (5.2+ requires 5.6.20)	✗ blocked	100%
PHP 7.0	End of Life — insecure	2019-01	4.4 → 6.2	✗ blocked	200%
PHP 7.4	End of Life — insecure	2022-11	5.3 → 6.4	✗ blocked	250%
PHP 8.0	End of Life — insecure	2023-11	5.6 → 6.7+	✓ supported	340%
PHP 8.1	End of Life — insecure	2025-12	5.9 → 6.7+	✓ supported	360%
PHP 8.2	Security patches only	2026-12	6.1 → 6.7+	✓ supported	380%
PHP 8.3	Recommended for 2026	2027-12	6.4 → 6.7+	✓ supported	400%
PHP 8.4	Active support	2028-12	6.6 → 6.7+	✓ supported	415%
PHP 8.5	Latest stable	2029-12	6.7 → 6.7+	✓ supported	425%

Not sure which version you're on?

How to check your WordPress PHP version

1
In WordPress admin
Go to Tools → Site Health → Info → Server. WordPress reports the exact PHP version your site is running on, plus the memory limit and max execution time.
2
Via a hosting control panel
cPanel: 'Select PHP Version'. Plesk: 'PHP Settings'. Cloudways: server dashboard → Settings → PHP. WP Engine, Kinsta, and SiteGround expose it in their custom dashboards under a 'Tools' or 'PHP Version' section.
3
Via SSH (fastest, most accurate)
SSH into the server and run 'php -v'. Note: on some managed hosts the CLI PHP version differs from the web-server (FPM) PHP version. Always verify via Site Health for the version WordPress actually uses.
4
Via a diagnostic file
Upload a file named 'php-info.php' containing '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' to your web root, load it in a browser, note the version, DELETE THE FILE immediately. Never leave phpinfo() accessible — it exposes server internals to attackers.

WordPress PHP versions — FAQ

Which PHP version should I use for WordPress in 2026?

PHP 8.3 is the version we run on every site in our 150-site fleet. It has active security support until December 2027, full WordPress and WooCommerce compatibility, and measurable speed gains over 8.1 on typed-property-heavy plugins. PHP 8.4 is also fine on new builds; on established production sites we wait 3–6 months after each major PHP release for the WordPress plugin ecosystem to catch up.

Is PHP 7.4 still safe for WordPress?

No. PHP 7.4 hit end-of-life in November 2022, meaning no security patches from the PHP core team. WordPress 6.5+ dropped support entirely, and WooCommerce 8+ throws fatal errors on activation. Any host still offering 7.4 in 2026 is charging an 'extended support' surcharge to backport patches themselves — that's a filter, not a fix. Upgrade to 8.2 or 8.3 in the next 30 days.

Will upgrading PHP break my WordPress site?

On a healthy site with maintained plugins: no. The usual culprits when it does break are (a) unmaintained plugins using deprecated PHP constructs, (b) custom code in the child theme that copy-pasted an old Stack Overflow answer, (c) an outdated caching plugin. The fix is always: test the upgrade on staging first, fix or replace the breaking piece, then cut over.

How much faster is PHP 8.3 than PHP 7.4?

For WordPress specifically, expect 25–40% lower TTFB (time to first byte) and 30–50% lower PHP memory usage on the same request. The gain is bigger on WooCommerce, LearnDash, BuddyPress, and other object-heavy plugins, and smaller on simple brochure sites. Third-party benchmarks (Kinsta 2024, Cloudways 2025) put PHP 8.3 at roughly 4x the operations-per-second of PHP 7.0 on synthetic WordPress workloads.

How do I check what PHP version my WordPress site is using?

Fastest way: log in to wp-admin, go to Tools → Site Health → Info → Server, and read the 'PHP version' line. This shows the exact version WordPress is running against, which may differ from your CLI PHP version on managed hosts. Alternative: your host's control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or the custom dashboard) will show it under a 'PHP Settings' or 'Select PHP Version' menu.

My host says they'll 'extend support' for an old PHP version. Is that real?

Some enterprise providers (like the paid PHP LTS from Zend/Perforce) do genuinely backport security patches to end-of-life PHP versions. Most shared hosts don't — they just leave the old version running and add generic WAF rules on top. Ask specifically: 'Do you backport CVE patches to this PHP version, or do you rely on a WAF to filter exploit attempts?' If the answer is the second one, you're not patched — you're behind a filter. Move.

Can I run different PHP versions on different WordPress sites on the same host?

Yes, on any host that exposes per-domain PHP version selection — which is essentially all cPanel, Plesk, Cloudways, WP Engine, Kinsta, and SiteGround plans in 2026. Useful for a slow migration: run your production site on 8.2 while you upgrade the staging clone to 8.3 and confirm plugin compatibility, then cut over.

What's the difference between 'active support' and 'security support' for a PHP version?

Active support (usually the first 2 years after release) means bug fixes AND security patches. Security-only support (the following year) means security patches only — no bug fixes. After that, the version is end-of-life and receives nothing from the PHP core team. On a production WordPress site, our rule is: only run versions in active support. Downgrade to security-only means the migration should already be planned.