SVM
SemVer Compare
Compare two semantic version strings.
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How to use SemVer Compare
Compare two semantic version strings.
- Enter the first version number, such as 1.2.3, in Version A.
- Enter the second one in Version B.
- Press Run to see which version is newer and whether the change is major, minor or patch.
Practical note. The comparator follows semantic versioning rules — 1.10.0 is newer than 1.9.0. Prerelease tags such as -beta sort before the release version.
When you actually reach for this
- You manage dependencies and need to know whether a new release is a breaking (major), feature (minor), or patch bump.
- You are writing a check that rejects updates violating your version policy.
Where this tool stops being accurate
- SemVer only works if the author follows it; many projects bump majors for marketing or skip rules, so the number alone is not a guarantee.
- Pre-release and build metadata (1.0.0-alpha, +build) sort specially and are ignored for equality in the spec.
Frequently asked questions
What does SemVer Compare do?
Compare two semantic version strings.
Which part of 2.3.1 tells me if it breaks my code?
The first number: a major bump (2.x → 3.x) may break the API. Minor (2.3 → 2.4) should add without breaking; patch (2.3.0 → 2.3.1) is fixes only.
Why does 1.0.0-beta compare lower than 1.0.0?
Per SemVer, a pre-release (anything with a hyphen) is lower than the associated release, so 1.0.0-beta < 1.0.0. Build metadata does not affect precedence.