How much does a Laravel upgrade cost?

These are starting points, invoiced in USD, GBP, EUR or INR. Larger or older systems can go beyond the top tier, which is why it reads “from”. The same figures are on our pricing page.

Laravel’s upgrade guides quote 15 minutes for 10 to 11, 5 minutes for 11 to 12 and 10 minutes for 12 to 13. Those numbers are fair for a clean application with few dependencies, and the same guides warn that only some of the listed changes will apply to you.

A paid upgrade covers everything around that: making packages agree with each other, updating tests, checking the flows the business depends on, and releasing with a way back. Automated tools such as Laravel Shift and Laravel Boost’s upgrade prompts can reduce the manual code changes. They can’t tell you whether your invoicing still adds up afterwards.

• Number of files and custom code. This sets the tier. Code that follows framework conventions moves quickly; heavily customised internals have to be read one by one.
• Tests. With good coverage, a broken behaviour announces itself. Without it, someone checks each flow by hand, and that time is part of the price.
• Packages. An abandoned package with no release for your target version has to be forked or replaced. composer why-not laravel/framework ^13.0 shows these early.
• Distance. Going from Laravel 12 to 13 is a small step. Going from PHP 5.6 is closer to a rebuild.
• Data and front end. A database engine upgrade or a replaced front end adds real scope.

We don’t publish what clients paid, but timescale tells you a lot. Moving a loyalty-card system from PHP 5.6 onto Laravel took two months, with every card, balance and rule preserved. We had built the original, so we knew the code.

Moving a cabinet manufacturer’s ordering, dealer-portal and inventory system from PHP 5.6 and MySQL 5.0 to Laravel 13, PHP 8.5, MySQL 8 and a new Next.js front end took about eight months. That scope included an audit of the legacy code, a database migration with validation at every step, and checking workflows against the old system in parallel.

Some teams want to do the work themselves with extra hands. Our developers start from $20/h, and dedicated Laravel developers are available by the month. For a straightforward application, your own team following the upgrade checklist may be all you need. If a fixed price suits you better, read how our upgrade service works.