Umbraco releases on a fixed schedule
Umbraco ships a new major version twice a year, once in early summer and once in late autumn or early winter. The dates are published well in advance, along with the date each version will stop being supported. That makes it possible to plan upgrades a year or more ahead instead of finding out at the last minute.
Every major version falls into one of two categories: LTS or STS.
What LTS and STS mean
STS (Standard-term Support) versions are supported for 12 months from release. Umbraco 18, released in June 2026, is an STS version.
LTS (Long-term Support) versions are supported for three years. Umbraco 17, released in November 2025, is the current LTS.
The LTS versions are tied to Microsoft .NET, the framework Umbraco is built on. When Microsoft releases a long-term supported version of .NET, a new Umbraco LTS follows shortly after. Umbraco 17 runs on .NET 10 LTS. In practice this means a new Umbraco LTS roughly every two years, with STS versions released in between.
STS versions are usually where new features appear first. LTS versions give you a longer stretch before the next upgrade is due.
LTS or STS?
We won't talk about the Umbraco providers who don't upgrade their sites. However, some providers will focus on LTS and only upgrade their sites every couple of years, knowing they have a longer window between upgrades.
We tend to prefer following STS releases. We typically allow a new release to bed in for a couple of months and then roll it out. This gives our clients access to all the latest Umbraco features and also means smaller, incremental updates rather than bigger leaps.
The three phases of every version
Each major version moves through three phases before it reaches end-of-life.
Active phase. This covers the first six months after release. Umbraco ships minor updates about every six weeks, with small features and bug fixes. These updates don't include breaking changes, so they're generally straightforward to apply.
Support phase. New features stop, but bug fixes, fixes for regressions and security patches carry on. This lasts three months for STS versions and 18 months for LTS.
Security phase. Only security issues are fixed. This lasts three months for STS and 12 months for LTS.
Add those up and you get the full lifespan: 12 months for an STS version (6 + 3 + 3) and 36 months for an LTS version (6 + 18 + 12).
What end-of-life actually means
Once the security phase ends, the version is end-of-life (EOL). Your site will keep running after that date, but it stops receiving any updates at all, including security fixes. If a vulnerability is found later, it won't be patched, and Umbraco no longer recommends using that version.
For organisations that can't upgrade in time, Umbraco offers Extended Long-term Support (XLTS). It's only available for LTS versions and keeps them covered for security past their official EOL date.
Where things stand (September 2026)
Currently supported
Version | Type | Released | Security phase starts | End-of-life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Umbraco 18 | STS | 25 Jun 2026 | 25 Mar 2027 | 25 Jun 2027 |
Umbraco 17 | LTS | 27 Nov 2025 | 27 Nov 2027 | 27 Nov 2028 |
Umbraco 13 | LTS | 14 Dec 2023 | 14 Dec 2025 | 14 Dec 2026 |
Umbraco 13 is already in its security phase, so it's only receiving security fixes until December.
Coming up
Version | Type | Expected release | Security phase starts | End-of-life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Umbraco 19 | STS | 10 Dec 2026 | 10 Sep 2027 | 10 Dec 2027 |
Umbraco 20 | STS | 24 Jun 2027 | 24 Mar 2028 | 24 Jun 2028 |
Umbraco 21 | LTS | 9 Dec 2027 | 9 Dec 2029 | 9 Dec 2030 |
Already end-of-life
Every version other than 13, 17 and 18 is now past end-of-life. That includes Umbraco 16 (June 2026), Umbraco 10 (June 2025, the previous LTS before 13), Umbraco 8 (February 2025) and Umbraco 7 (September 2023).
Add-ons follow the same timeline
Umbraco's own add-ons (Forms, Commerce, Workflow, Engage, UI Builder and Deploy) now use the same version numbers as the CMS and follow the same support timeline. Umbraco Forms 17 goes with Umbraco 17, for example, and if you're on an LTS version, your add-ons are supported for the same three years.
If you're on Umbraco 13
The current LTS is Umbraco 17, which is supported until November 2028. We have rolled out 18 across almost all of our Umbraco sites.
It's also worth knowing that Umbraco 14 introduced a rebuilt backoffice. That makes the jump from 13 to anything newer a bigger job than a typical version upgrade, particularly for sites with custom backoffice extensions or older packages. With December approaching, it's sensible to look at what your site relies on sooner rather than later.
Source: Umbraco Long-term Support and End-of-Life. Dates correct at time of writing and may change, so check Umbraco's page for the latest schedule.