About PHP Checker

Why this site exists

PHP still powers most of the web. Around seven out of ten websites with a known server-side language use it, largely thanks to WordPress, Drupal, Magento and Laravel. Yet roughly half of those sites run a PHP version that no longer receives security fixes, often because nobody knows which version is installed or what an upgrade would break.

PHP Checker answers those two questions quickly. The PHP Version Checker shows which version a site exposes and whether it is still supported. The code tools, the PHP Sandbox and PHP Syntax Checker, let you see how code behaves on every version from 7.4 to 8.5 before you change anything on a server. The EOL calendar keeps the support dates in one place.

How the tools work

The code tools run PHP itself in your browser. We use builds of the official PHP source compiled to WebAssembly by the open-source WordPress Playground project (php-wasm, licensed GPL-2.0-or-later). The versions currently available are 8.5.10, 8.4.25, 8.3.33, 8.2.33, 8.1.34, 8.0.30, 7.4.33. Your code is executed on your own device and is never sent to us.

The website checker is the only tool that uses our server, because browsers are not allowed to read another site's response headers. It makes a single normal request to the address you enter, identifies itself as PHPCheckerBot, follows up to five redirects and reads public headers and markup only. It never scans for vulnerabilities, tries passwords or requests hidden files. Results are cached for ten minutes.

Who uses it

Developers use the sandbox to try an idea, reproduce a bug or answer a question about a function without opening a terminal. Agencies and freelancers use the version checker before quoting a maintenance job, to see at a glance which client sites run an outdated PHP version. Site owners use it after a security warning from their host or from WordPress, to understand what the warning means and how urgent it is. Teachers and students use the sandbox because it works on any computer, including school machines where installing software is not allowed.

What is coming next

We add one tool at a time and only when it is properly tested. Next on the list are a bcrypt and password_hash generator, a phpinfo() reader that explains your configuration in plain language, a PHP date format tester, a code formatter and a regular expression tester for preg_match. Pages for each PHP version, with upgrade notes and the changes that most often break code, will follow. If there is a tool you miss, tell us.

Accuracy and sources

Release and support dates come from php.net and were last checked on Oct 26, 2026. We update them after every PHP release announcement. A version read from a server header is reported exactly as the server sends it. Linux distributions sometimes patch PHP without changing the version number, so an old number is a reason to check with your host, not proof of a vulnerability.

PHP Checker is an independent project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by The PHP Group or the PHP Foundation.

Contact

Found a wrong date, a bug or a site the checker reads incorrectly? Email hello@phpchecker.com. If you run a website and do not want it to be checked, tell us the domain and we will block it from the checker.