ExpressionEngine 8: What We Know So Far, and Should You Wait?

ExpressionEngine 8 was previewed at EEConf 2026, and clients keep asking us the same question: should we upgrade now, or wait for EE8? Here's what's actually been confirmed, sourced from the ExpressionEngine team, and what we recommend.

What's confirmed

From the official EE6 end-of-life announcement and the October 2026 PHP security alert:

• Timing: EE8 is expected before the end of 2026. No exact date has been announced.
• Upgrade path: any installation on EE 2.0.0 or newer can upgrade directly to EE8. No stepping-stone versions.
• Breaking changes: the EE team says it isn't aware of any breaking changes between EE6 and EE8 that should stop the upgrade from working.
• PHP: EE8 will keep supporting PHP 7.4 and newer, so most EE6 sites won't need a big hosting change.
• Licensing: a current Pro licence includes EE8. There's no separate version 8 upgrade fee.

What isn't confirmed yet

Full system requirements, the feature list and the support timeline for EE7 once EE8 ships. We'll update this post when the release notes are published. Until then, be wary of anyone quoting EE8 features as fact.

Should you wait for EE8?

We'd say no, for three reasons:

1. EE6 security support ends 31 December 2026. Waiting for EE8 could leave an EE6 site unsupported if the release slips.
2. The PHP security alert can't wait. EE5 and older can't run a patched PHP branch at all (see PHP security alert).
3. The hard part doesn't change. Most upgrade effort goes into add-ons, templates and testing. Do that work once for EE7 and the later move to EE8 is small.

The sensible plan

• On EE7: update to the latest 7.x now. Check your add-ons have EE8 releases when it lands, and upgrade once they do.
• On EE6: move to EE7 before 31 December, following our upgrade checklist.
• On EE2–EE5: start now. These are the upgrades that take weeks, not days. Here's the legacy guide.