TYPO3 v12 has run out: upgrade to v14 or buy ELTS?

Since 1 May 2026, TYPO3 v12 no longer receives free security updates. Your website keeps running as if nothing happened. That is exactly the problem: you only see the risk once a vulnerability goes public.

You now have two realistic paths. Either you buy time with ELTS. Or you go straight to TYPO3 v14, the current LTS version.

My short answer: ELTS is a bridge for a limited time. Only buy it if you have a fixed upgrade date and need to secure the time until then. If you have to touch the system anyway, jump straight to v14 and skip v13 as a live version.

In this article I show you what both paths cost, where the pitfalls are and how to reach a solid decision within one week.

What the end of support for TYPO3 v12 means in practice

TYPO3 v12 LTS was released on 25 April 2023 and had three years of free community support. That ended on 30 April 2026. Since then, if a vulnerability in the core becomes known, nobody fixes it on the v12 branch for free. TYPO3 confirms this in its official end-of-support announcement.

Nobody will switch anything off. But from now on, every new vulnerability becomes your problem instead of the community’s.

The table already shows the key point: an upgrade to v13 only buys you a little over 14 months. At the end of 2027 you face the same question again.

Then there is PHP. v12 is approved for PHP 8.1 to 8.4. PHP 8.1 itself has had no security updates since the end of 2025. Anyone still running v12 on PHP 8.1 has two unpatched layers stacked on top of each other. How to classify this kind of baggage is explained in our glossary entry on legacy software (German).

Option 1: Buy ELTS and gain time

ELTS (Extended Long Term Support) is sold by TYPO3 GmbH, the company behind the project. It keeps delivering security and compatibility updates for the v12 core.

What it costs: According to TYPO3 GmbH, a single licence (Single Plan) for v12 costs €3,200 per year and installation before discounts. That is about 15 % more than for v10 and v11. Members of the TYPO3 Association get tiered discounts, which pays off especially with several installations.

How long it runs: ELTS years are fixed, each running from 1 May to 30 April:

1. Year 1: May 2026 to April 2027
2. Year 2: May 2027 to April 2028
3. Year 3: May 2028 to April 2029
4. Year 4: May 2029 to April 2030, only via official TYPO3 partners

If you sign up today, you are already in the middle of year 1. Check before buying whether you pay the full annual price.

What ELTS does not cover

This is the catch many people miss. ELTS patches the TYPO3 core. Three things remain your problem:

• Your extensions. News, forms, search integration, custom code: if the vendor no longer maintains v12, the vulnerability stays open.
• Your runtime. ELTS officially supports only certain PHP versions. If PHP itself reaches end of life, the TYPO3 contract won’t help you.
• New features. You freeze the 2023 state. You get no new editor features and no modern APIs.

When ELTS is the right choice

• You have a relaunch planned in 6 to 18 months and don’t want to upgrade a system that will be replaced afterwards anyway.
• You run a website in a public-sector or corporate environment with fixed approval cycles and compliance obligations.
• You have many legacy extensions and need time to replace them.

In all three cases: ELTS without a fixed upgrade date only postpones the problem and makes it more expensive.

Option 2: Upgrade straight to TYPO3 v14

TYPO3 v14 LTS has been available since 21 April 2026. Security updates run until 30 June 2029. That gives you almost three years of peace instead of a little over one year with v13.

What you get with v14

• New backend: reworked layout, faster page creation, new dashboard widgets.
• Camino: the first bundled frontend theme. Interesting mainly for new or smaller sites because it supports visual editing directly in the frontend.
• Link management: dedicated modules for short URLs and QR codes, including duplicate protection.
• Form Framework: new features, including storing forms in the database.

For the decision, the features are secondary. The real value is a supported stack until mid-2029.

What the jump from v12 to v14 really means

Technically the path still runs through v13: the v13 upgrade wizards run along the way. You just don’t go live with v13. You test once and launch once.

The official changelog lists 101 breaking changes for v13 and another 93 for v14. That is almost 200 places where behaviour or APIs changed. Most of them won’t affect you. Which ones do is almost always decided by your extensions.

The three typical pitfalls

1. Extensions without v14 support. Check every extension in the TER and on Packagist. Not all of them are released for v14 yet. Abandoned extensions have to be replaced, forked or adapted yourself.
2. PHP version. v14 requires at least PHP 8.2. If your hosting still runs 8.1, that is a separate work step, often with lead time at your host.
3. Custom code from older versions. Runtime changes to the TCA are no longer allowed in v14, and remaining hooks have been replaced by PSR-14 events. The Extension Scanner in the Install Tool and TYPO3 Rector take a large part of the work off your hands, but not all of it.

What the upgrade costs

Reliable numbers only come after an audit. A simple calculation helps as orientation: two years of ELTS cost you €6,400 per installation without improving anything about your system. An upgrade that stays within that budget is almost always the better investment. ELTS only becomes interesting as a bridge if the audit comes out significantly higher.

ELTS, v13 or v14: the direct comparison

For most websites, the direct jump to v14 wins. The intermediate step v13 is the weakest of the three options: full upgrade effort for half the runtime.

The only real reason for v13 is a business-critical extension that runs on v13 but not yet on v14, where the vendor has announced a date. Even then I would rather buy one ELTS year and wait for v14.

Option 3: Is now the time to switch platforms?

Rarely. An end of support is a good occasion to ask the question. On its own, it is not enough reason to switch.

TYPO3 is strong for large, multilingual sites with many editors, fine-grained permissions and workflows. If that describes your setup, stay. A switch costs you many times more than an upgrade.

Only consider a switch if at least one of these points applies:

• Your site has shrunk. Ten pages, two editors, no multilingual content. Then you are carrying complexity you don’t need.
• Commerce and content are meant to grow together. If a shop or customer portal is being built next to the website, a headless approach with a shared frontend can make more sense.
• Your team can no longer find TYPO3 developers. That is a real operational risk, especially outside the DACH region.

If you nod twice here, calculate the relaunch honestly. Then ELTS is the right bridge, because you need to keep v12 secure until go-live without investing in a system you are about to replace. Whether your legacy system needs refactoring, gradual replacement or a rebuild is shown in two minutes by our legacy check.

How to reach a decision within one week

You don’t need a months-long project to answer the question. Five steps are enough.

1. Take inventory. Exact TYPO3 version, PHP version, database, hosting. Plus a list of all extensions with version and origin: TER, Packagist or custom development.
2. Check extensions against v14. For each extension: is there a v14-compatible version? Is it maintained? Is there a replacement? This step decides the effort.
3. Run the Extension Scanner. On a copy of the site, not live. It shows where your own code hits breaking changes. Add a Rector run.
4. Weigh the effort against ELTS. Compare the upgrade with the ELTS costs over the time you would otherwise need until the upgrade. Include testing and editorial sign-off, not just development.
5. Set a date. Whatever you decide: write down a go-live date. Without a date, ELTS becomes a permanent state and technical debt grows every year.

Until the decision is made, keep PHP up to date, install all available extension updates and check the TYPO3 security advisories regularly. Regardless of the version, it is worth looking at your security headers, which you can fix in half an hour.

FAQ on the end of support for TYPO3 v12

Does my TYPO3 v12 website still work after the end of support?

Yes. The website keeps running unchanged. Only new vulnerabilities in the core are no longer fixed for free since 1 May 2026.

What does TYPO3 ELTS for v12 cost?

A single licence costs €3,200 per year and installation before discounts. Members of the TYPO3 Association pay less.

How long is ELTS available for TYPO3 v12?

Regularly until 30 April 2029. A fourth year until 30 April 2030 is only available via official TYPO3 partners, as the ELTS product page for v12.4 shows.

Can I upgrade directly from TYPO3 v12 to v14?

Yes, without taking v13 live. Technically the v13 upgrade wizards run along the way. You have to work through the breaking changes of both versions.

Which PHP version does TYPO3 v14 need?

At least PHP 8.2.

Is an upgrade to TYPO3 v13 still worth it?

Rarely. Security updates for v13 end on 31 December 2027. After that, the next upgrade is due.

Conclusion: only buy time if you know what for

TYPO3 v12 has been without free security updates since 1 May 2026. Every month without a plan increases your risk without you noticing it day to day.

For most websites, the direct jump to v14 is the best decision. You do the work once and are covered until mid-2029. ELTS pays off as a bridge if a relaunch is firmly planned or the upgrade depends on one extension. In almost all cases you can skip the intermediate step v13.

The most important rule: decide on the basis of an extension inventory. It takes a few days and turns a gut feeling into a solid number.

Want to know where your installation stands? As a TYPO3 agency, we review your stack and tell you honestly whether an upgrade, ELTS or another path is right for you.