If you’re using a content management system such as WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla for your website, you should be aware of what versions of PHP your web hosting company is supporting—and this information is even more important if you’re a developer. It’s very important that you use the currently recommended version of PHP specified by your CMS.
Update January 2025
PHP 8.4 was released in November and although it’s still early, there are several web hosts supporting it. (See Below)
Update October 2024
I’m pleased to report that all of the web hosting providers below are now supporting PHP 8.3–with the exceptions of WP Engine/Flywheel, which still appear to be at 8.2.
Update April 2024
A few more web hosts are now supporting PHP 8.3. We would expect the others to adapt 8.3 soon.
Update March 2024
Happy to report that more hosting companies are now supporting PHP 8.3. (See Below)
Update January 2024
PHP 8.3 has been released and a number of hosting companies are now supporting it. All of the other web hosts below are supporting 8.2–with the exception of Rocket.net which is still currently on 8.1, but I have been informed that they will have PHP 8.2 available soon.
Update September 2023
I’m pleased to report that all but three of the web hosts below are now supporting PHP 8.2. Currently, HostPapa and Rocket are still on PHP 8.1. Namecheap is still on PHP 8.1 for Shared Hosting, however they do support 8.2 with their VPS and Dedicated Hosting.
Update April 2023
PHP 8.2 is now available from the majority of web hosts below. However, there are some hosts still only supporting up to PHP 8.1. And, WP Engine is still on PHP 8.0.
Update December 2022
All of the hosting companies below are now supporting PHP 8.1, with the exceptions of WP Engine and iPage. WP Engine has informed me that they will start supporting PHP 8.1 when they end support of PHP 7.4. But, they don’t have an exact date yet. iPage has reported that they will be supporting PHP 8 soon, but as of now they are still on PHP 7.4.
Update July 2022
A couple more web hosts are now supporting PHP 8.1. The notable exceptions are WP Engine (no time frame on it yet) and the Newfold Digital web hosts (Bluehost, Hostgator, etc.)
Update April 2022
The majority of web hosting companies are now on PHP 8.0–with many now supporting PHP 8.1. While some web hosts are still on PHP 7.4, please note that they may support a higher version with their VPS or Dedicated Servers.
Update January 2022
I’m pleased to report that almost all of the web hosting companies have now adopted PHP 8.0. And, at least a half-dozen web hosts now support PHP 8.1. While there are a few hosting companies still at PHP 7.4, please note that they may support a higher version with their VPS or Dedicated Servers.
Update October 2021
PHP version 8.0 has now been released and is available from some of the web hosting companies listed below. Please note that some applications may not yet be compatible with PHP 8.0. Initially, WordPress advised proceeding in a beta mode when using PHP 8.0. WordPress has since released update versions, however I would still be careful for now. The number of web hosts supporting PHP 8.0 continues to grow, although the increase in hosting companies offering version 8.0 has slowed down somewhat. A number of the managed WordPress hosting companies are holding off on 8.0 for now and continue to support 7.4.
Please note that the version support listed for each web host below is for new hosting accounts. Some current or legacy accounts may not yet be updated to the latest PHP version.
Here are the latest PHP recommendations as of January 2025
WordPress
Version 7.4 or Higher
Drupal
Drupal 10.1 – Version 8.1 or 8.2
Drupal 10.2 – Version 8.1 or 8.3
Drupal 10.3 – Version 8.1 to 8.3
Drupal 10.4 – Version 8.1 or Higher
Drupal 11.0 – Version 8.3
Drupal 11.1 – Version 8.3 or Higher
Joomla
Joomla! 4.x – Version 8.2
Joomla! 5.x – Version 8.3
Web Hosting Company Highest PHP Versions as of January 2025
| Web Host | PHP Version | |
|---|---|---|
| DreamHost | 8.4 | |
| GreenGeeks | 8.4 | Coupon |
| Pressable | 8.4 | |
| ScalaHosting | 8.4 | |
| WPX Hosting | 8.4 | Coupon | A2 Hosting | 8.3 | Coupon |
| Bluehost | 8.3 | Coupon |
| Cloudways | 8.3 | Coupon |
| Convesio | 8.3 | |
| FastComet | 8.3 | |
| GoDaddy | 8.3 | |
| HostGator | 8.3 | |
| Hostinger | 8.3 | |
| HostPapa | 8.3 | |
| InMotion Hosting | 8.3 | Coupon |
| InterServer | 8.3 | |
| Kinsta | 8.3 | |
| Namecheap | 8.3 | |
| Nexcess | 8.3 | Coupon |
| Rocket | 8.3 | |
| SiteGround | 8.3 | |
| Web Hosting Hub | 8.3 | |
| Flywheel | 8.2 | |
| WP Engine | 8.2 | Coupon |
It’s important here to note that although it’s usually preferable to have a higher version of PHP, there are exceptions. For example, in some situations, there could be a compatibility issue with a higher version.
For content management system developers and users, the key is to make sure you know exactly which PHP versions your web host is offering and their utilization methods. That way, you’ll be less likely to run into any unpleasant surprises down the road.
How dose Hostinger compare to GoDaddy? Which web host is better? In this comparison of…
View Comments
Yes, my hosting provider (hostforlife.eu) has also support the newest PHP 5.6. But, the most important thing is my wordpress can run fine. The requirement for Wordpress is PHP 5.4 above and they have supported it since last year. No problem so far
Cloudways is also support latest PHP 5.6 on their Hosting Plaform.
Kinsta supports PHP 5.6, 7, and 7.1
iPage now supports PHP 7.1
Bluehost appears stuck on PHP 7.0.12, claiming, "that's the latest stable version."
I'm not sure what's going on over there... rude Tech Support today when I called to inquire about this.
Time to find a new host!
When I asked Bluehost, they said 7.2 was available but not on Shared hosting. WTF I don't have that much traffic.
I have a Bluehost shared hosting account and I'm on PHP 7.2.
Hi Michael,
I'm on Bluehost shared hosting too, and I want to upgrade PHP to 7.2 (Single php.ini) from 5.6 (Single php.ini)..
There is no option in cPanel > PHP Config for 7.2 ... it shows only 7.0 Beta !!
should I just add this handler in htaccess without changing anything in PHP Config ??
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php72s .php
Thanks.
Hi Raffi,
Okay, I did some followup with Bluehost and according to them not all of their customer's cPanels have been upgraded to include 7.2 yet.
I would recommend you contact their Support before modifying your htaccess.
Dear Michael:
It's very frustrating to figure out what Blue Host is and is not doing. I've been with Blue Host for years. Just developed a new site in Drupal with a 3rd party developer -- who told me they checked, and Blue Host only supports 7.0. I called Blue Host to confirm after reading your blog above. The SALES guy said they do have 7.2, so he transferred me to tech. TECH guy said something about not all shared hosting accounts have 7.2. He looked at mine and said he can only find 7.0 there, so I must not be on it. I had him go to this column you've written. He looked at the table and said - "see it says in the far right column, 7.2 is not supported." He said suPHP? means "supports PHP?" So I guess I have to find a new web host.
Hi Ruth,
Sorry to hear about your Bluehost experience. I reached out to one of my contacts there to get a definitive answer on what's going on with PHP. I'll just say that there is definitely a lot of confusion over there about PHP 7.2. It's certainly disappointing.
So, yes. If you need the latest PHP versions, try A2, SiteGround, or InMotion. They are usually the first ones to offer support for a new PHP version.
GoDaddy recently implemented PHP 7.2 on their shared hosting. It wasn't listed as an option last week, but today it was.
Thanks Dan! Yes, GoDaddy says 7.2 now available with their cPanel hosting.
Well bad news for me. I'm the guy who has iPage and just built out my site with Divi and can't add Woocommerce without getting a server error. Pretty sure this is a PHP issue, but this isn't my bag.
Hostgator's latest PHP is 7.1, not 7.2
For most hosting plans, HostGator is now supporting 7.2:
HostGator PHP Support Chart
Nope - it's 7.1. That's the max ver through the cPanel php selector. Shocking, I know.
If you ask their support (if you can actually speak to their support) for 7.2+ they offer you an .htaccess code which doesn't work with CMS - for example WordPress.
(I've been on support with them ALL day.)
Happy to give lots more details, including screenshots.
Well, that sucks! Exactly which hosting plan do you have with HostGator? Shared Hosting (Business, Baby, Hatchling)?
Cloud business. (But apparently, all cloud and shared packages have this issue. )
So was HostGator support ever able to help you?
Hostgator support said that them admins are deployng them updates, but did not give me any time window. they also said that when done, 7.3 will be available.
No luck yet...
I am from the Administration team at Bravenet, responsible for the PHP Hosting platform for Bravenet, and thought I'd mention where we are at.
Currently the latest we offer is PHP 7.3.9, (in addition to 7.2.22, 7.1.32). Soon to be 7.3.10, 7.2.23 probably next week if the rpm builds test ok.
(Also have a build of 7.4RC for our hosting platform, but won't be available until the 7.4.0 release).