How many WordPress sites run end-of-life PHP?
The share of WordPress sites on each PHP version, and whether that version still gets security fixes. Updated every day from WordPress.org's public numbers. Last update: Oct 13, 2026.
End-of-life PHP
36.9%
No security fixes at all. Biggest group: PHP 7.4 (16.4%)
Security fixes only
50.4%
Still patched, but no bug fixes
Actively supported
12.7%
Bug and security fixes
Next deadline: Dec 31, 2026
PHP 8.2 reaches end of life in 2 months. That's another 24.1% of WordPress sites. If none of them upgrade, 61.0% of WordPress sites will be on end-of-life PHP that day.
WordPress sites by PHP version
· Link to this ·
| PHP version | Share of sites | Status | End of life |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP 8.6 | 0.02% | Unknown | — |
| PHP 8.5 | 3.6% | Actively supported | Dec 31, 2029 |
| PHP 8.4 | 9.1% | Actively supported | Dec 31, 2028 |
| PHP 8.3 | 26.3% | Security fixes only | Dec 31, 2027 |
| PHP 8.2 | 24.1% | Security fixes only | Dec 31, 2026 |
| PHP 8.1 | 10.9% | End of life | Dec 31, 2025 |
| PHP 8.0 | 3.9% | End of life | Nov 26, 2023 |
| PHP 7.4 | 16.4% | End of life | Nov 28, 2022 |
| PHP 7.3 | 1.4% | End of life | Dec 6, 2021 |
| PHP 7.2 | 1.4% | End of life | Nov 30, 2020 |
| PHP 7.1 | 0.35% | End of life | Dec 1, 2019 |
| PHP 7.0 | 0.58% | End of life | Jan 10, 2019 |
| PHP 5.6 | 1.3% | End of life | Dec 31, 2018 |
| PHP 5.5 | 0.15% | End of life | Jul 21, 2016 |
| PHP 5.4 | 0.17% | End of life | Sep 14, 2015 |
| PHP 5.3 | 0.26% | End of life | Aug 14, 2014 |
| PHP 5.2 | 0.13% | End of life | Jan 6, 2011 |
| PHP 5.1 | 0.00% | End of life | Aug 24, 2006 |
How it's changing
· Link to this ·
Monthly numbers
| Month | End of life | Security only | Actively supported | Most used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | 36.9% | 50.4% | 12.7% | PHP 8.3 (26.3%) |
| Sep 2026 | 37.6% | 50.3% | 12.1% | PHP 8.3 (25.8%) |
| Feb 2026 | 48.1% | 45.3% | 6.5% | PHP 8.2 (26.6%) |
| Jan 2026 | 50.7% | 44.1% | 5.2% | PHP 8.2 (27.3%) |
| May 2025 | 47.0% | 42.9% | 10.1% | PHP 7.4 (29.0%) |
| Mar 2025 | 50.5% | 41.2% | 8.3% | PHP 7.4 (30.9%) |
| Sep 2024 | 57.9% | 20.1% | 22.0% | PHP 7.4 (35.5%) |
| Jun 2024 | 64.9% | 19.2% | 15.8% | PHP 7.4 (40.3%) |
| Nov 2023 | 80.7% | 13.1% | 6.2% | PHP 7.4 (47.4%) |
Use these numbers
Free to cite, chart or embed. Please link to this page so readers can find the current figure.
- Download the CSV (every month, every version, with its status that day)
- JSON (current breakdown and monthly history, CORS open)
curl latestat.com/stats/wordpress-phpfor a quick look in the terminal
How it's calculated
- Shares come from WordPress.org's public statistics, which count the WordPress sites that check in for updates. Sites that block update checks aren't counted. Invalid entries are dropped and the rest are scaled to add up to 100%.
- Support status comes from latest@'s PHP release dates, as they stood on each snapshot's date. "End of life" means php.net no longer releases fixes for that version, security fixes included. Some Linux distributions and hosts patch older PHP themselves, so a site on an end-of-life version isn't always unpatched.
- History: a snapshot is saved every day. Months before daily tracking started come from Wayback Machine copies of the same WordPress.org data.
Quick answers
- What percentage of WordPress sites run outdated PHP?
- 36.9% of WordPress sites run a PHP version that has reached end of life and no longer gets security fixes (WordPress.org data, Oct 13, 2026). Another 50.4% run a version that only gets security fixes.
- Which PHP version do most WordPress sites use?
- PHP 8.3, on 26.3% of sites, followed by PHP 8.2 (24.1%).
- Is PHP 7.4 still supported?
- No. PHP 7.4 reached end of life on Nov 28, 2022, but 16.4% of WordPress sites still run it.
- What happens when the next PHP version reaches end of life?
- PHP 8.2 reaches end of life on Dec 31, 2026. If none of those sites upgrade, the share of WordPress sites on end-of-life PHP rises to 61.0%.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- WordPress.org publishes the share of WordPress sites by PHP version, based on the sites that check in for updates. latest@ saves a copy every day and marks each version with its support status from our PHP release dates.
More numbers: software end-of-life statistics. Running WordPress? See the WordPress stack and the PHP 8.2 upgrade checklist.