QGIS 4.0 Is Here: Updates and Migration Notes

Introduction

QGIS 4.0 “Norrköping” was released on March 6, 2026. It is the first major version update in about eight years, since the release of QGIS 3.0 “Girona” was announced on February 23, 2018.

This article covers the QGIS 4.0 release and the important points about moving from 3.x to 4.x.

To learn about the new features added in QGIS 4.0, see the article below.

Key points of the QGIS 4.0 update

In QGIS 4.0, the software framework (foundation) moves from Qt5 to Qt6. For users, the experience does not change much, and QGIS works the way it always has. A familiar comparison is a smartphone OS update.

To go a little deeper, the migration brings these benefits:

• Better performance (QGIS runs faster)
• Stronger security
• Support for new libraries
• Easier maintenance

Outlook for QGIS 3.x and 4.x

QGIS 4.0 has been released, but for the time being QGIS 3.44 remains available as the long-term release (LTR), the latest stable version. For work, research, and other settings that need stable operation, using the LTR is still recommended.

According to the QGIS development roadmap, QGIS 4.2 is scheduled to become the LTR in October 2026. QGIS 4.x is expected to become the mainstream from then on.

QGIS 3.44 LTR was released on March 6, 2026. The macOS version already offers QGIS 3.44 as the LTR.

Impact on existing plugins

Even though the major version of QGIS changes from 3 to 4, many plugins keep working without problems. In fact, the development team seems to be building QGIS so that plugin developers can migrate with minimal changes.

However, plugins like the following may stop working in the future.

• Plugins that use legacy APIs from the QGIS 2.x era

QGIS 4.x still supports legacy APIs from the QGIS 2.x era for now, so existing plugins will not stop working right away. The development team says, however, that it does not guarantee support for these legacy APIs throughout the QGIS 4.x series, so keep in mind that they may stop working in a future update.

• Plugins that support only Qt5

QGIS 4.x supports only version 6 of Qt, the GUI framework. A plugin that supports only Qt5 will most likely not work in QGIS 4.x.

To use plugins with confidence

The official QGIS plugin repository publishes a list of plugins approved for QGIS 4 as “QGIS 4 Ready Plugins.” If you are unsure whether the plugins you use every day support QGIS 4, check this list.

Conclusion

With the move from Qt5 to Qt6, QGIS 4.x brings many internal improvements, including better performance and stronger security. The appearance changes little, so you can keep the same feel as before while using QGIS in a more stable environment.

For now, QGIS 3.44 is provided as the LTR, and QGIS 4.2 is scheduled to become the LTR in October 2026.

QGIS LAB will keep sharing news about QGIS 4.x and practical updates as soon as they are available.