Should You Upgrade to Odoo 20 Now? Timing, the Agreement and Your Bill
Odoo 20 upgrade timing for Australia: as at 7 October 2026 Odoo's upgrade platform lists only 17.0 to 19.0 as targets. Who should move early and who waits.
By Josh Craig, Managing Director, Auboros ·
For most Australian businesses the answer on 7 October 2026 is not yet. Odoo 20 was released on 24 September 2026, but Odoo’s upgrade platform still lists only 17.0, 18.0 and 19.0 as target versions. Use the wait to count your light users, test your custom modules and check your renewal date. Only databases on version 17 or older face a deadline, from about late March 2027.
At a glance
- Who it is for: Australian businesses running Odoo Enterprise on version 17, 18 or 19, and anyone about to start an implementation who is asking which version to go live on
- Problem it solves: Odoo 20 changed the software and the bill in the same week; this sets out when you can upgrade, when you have to, and whether the move raises or lowers what you pay
- Platforms: Odoo Enterprise on Odoo Online, Odoo.sh and on-premise
- Typical cost: the database upgrade is included in an Enterprise subscription under clause 4.3 of the Odoo Enterprise Subscription Agreement; partner time to adapt custom modules and retest is the part that varies and is quoted per database. Licences on the Australian pricelist are A$80.00 Custom, A$43.00 Standard and A$12.90 Light User per user per month, yearly billing, ex GST (odoo.com/pricing, as at 5 October 2026)
- Typical timeline: we plan most Enterprise upgrades as a 4 to 10 week project with a test upgrade first
- Last verified: 7 October 2026 (upgrade.odoo.com target versions; Odoo 20 upgrade documentation)
The question has two halves that usually get answered separately. One is technical: is Odoo 20 ready for your database, and is your database ready for it. The other is commercial, because Odoo 20 arrived with a higher Custom price and a new kind of user, the light user. A decision that only looks at one half tends to be wrong, so this post takes both.
Can you upgrade to Odoo 20 today?
Not through Odoo’s upgrade service, as at 7 October 2026. The request form on upgrade.odoo.com offers 19.0, 18.0 and 17.0 as targets and does not list 20.0, and the page gives no date for when it will. New databases can start on Odoo 20. Existing ones wait for the upgrade path to open.
That is no reason to sit still. The upgrade documentation is plain about the real constraint: a database with custom modules cannot be upgraded until a version of those modules exists for the target. For most businesses we work with, the custom code and the third-party apps decide the date, and that work can start now.
Do you have to upgrade, and by when?
It depends on where the database is hosted and what version it is on. Odoo’s documentation says each major version is supported for three years, and then sets a different rule for each hosting type.
- Odoo Online. An upgrade is mandatory every two years for a database on a major version. Odoo notifies you in the database a few weeks ahead and upgrades automatically if you do nothing by the due date.
- Odoo.sh. After the three years of support you have another two years to complete the upgrade. The Odoo.sh FAQ lists the removal dates, starting with Odoo 14 on 31 October 2026.
- On-premise. You can stay on a version indefinitely, though Odoo does not recommend it.
The money deadline is separate. Under clause 5.1 of the agreement, a database on a version older than the three most recent pays an extra 25% of its annualised price, assessed once a year and no earlier than six months after a new major release. Odoo 20 pushed version 17 out of that covered set, so version 17 becomes liable from about late March 2027. Version 18 stays covered until Odoo 21 is released, and version 19 for a year after that. Our post on Odoo version support in Australia has the background.
What does upgrading to Odoo 20 do to your bill?
Three things change, and they pull in different directions.
Light users start to exist. The agreement defines a light user “where supported by the Customer’s version of the Software”, and only Odoo 20 supports it. On 20, a warehouse scanner, field technician or shop-floor operator can be a A$12.90 light user in place of a full seat. On the same wording, every active employee record with no linked user also becomes a billable light user. Our Odoo 20 light user guide has the full list of what a light user can do.
The Custom price is already higher, whatever version you run. The Australian Custom list price went to A$80.00 on 24 September 2026. Staying on 19 does not avoid it: at renewal, clause 5.2 lets Odoo raise charges that are below list by up to 7% for each year of the term just ended, and users added mid-term are charged at the list price of the day. Our Odoo price increase post covers the detail.
AI features draw on credits. Odoo 20’s AI runs on prepaid credits, with 20 included free. If AI is part of your reason to upgrade, read what Odoo 20 AI costs first.
Put together: a business with 12 office users and 18 barcode-only warehouse staff on Custom pays 30 x A$80.00 = A$2,400 a month at list with everyone as a full user, and 12 x A$80.00 + 18 x A$12.90 = A$1,192.20 on Odoo 20 with light users. A business with 10 Standard users and 60 rostered casuals in the Employees app goes from A$430 to A$430 + 60 x A$12.90 = A$1,204. Same upgrade, opposite result. You can run your own mix through the Odoo pricing estimator.
Should you upgrade now or wait?
| Your situation | What Odoo 20 changes for you | What we would do |
|---|---|---|
| On version 17 or older | The 25% legacy fee applies to 17 from about late March 2027; older versions are already liable | Do not wait for 20. Upgrade to 19, which is available as a target today, and move to 20 later from a covered version |
| On version 18 | Still a covered version until Odoo 21; no fee pressure | Start adapting custom modules; request a test upgrade to 20 when the target opens; plan production for 2027 |
| On version 19, office users only | No light user saving to collect; the Custom rise reaches you at renewal either way | No hurry. Upgrade when a 20 feature earns it, after a clean test |
| On version 19 with warehouse, field or shop-floor staff on full seats | Each of those users could drop to A$12.90 on 20 | Move early once the target opens, and line the upgrade up with your renewal so the user counts are reset in one step |
| On version 19 with a long employee list and few users | Employee records without a login become billable light users on 20 | Archive leavers and audit the list before you upgrade; get the counts from Odoo in writing first |
| Starting a new implementation | You can start on 20 directly | Decide per build. A 19 database upgrades to 20 through the same service, so 19 is not a dead end if your apps and connectors are proven there |
The fifth row is the one to slow down for. Our employee record audit walks through the count step by step, and it takes an afternoon.
“Nobody should upgrade to Odoo 20 because it is new, and nobody should stay on 19 because of a forum thread. Count your users, count your employee records, test your custom code, then pick the date. Most of our clients will move in the first half of 2027, and a few with big warehouse teams will want to go the week the upgrade path opens.”
Josh Craig, Director, Auboros
What to do before the upgrade path opens
- Inventory your custom modules and third-party apps. List each one and who maintains it. Check the Odoo app store for a version 20 release of anything you bought.
- Read the release notes against your own processes. The Odoo 20 release notes fold Field Service into Planning and change how access rights are restricted. Both need testing if you rely on them. Our Odoo 20 release post lists the changes that matter most in Australia.
- Count full users, light user candidates and employee records. These three numbers are your Odoo 20 bill.
- Find your renewal date. The upgrade and the renewal are best planned as one decision.
- Pick a cutover window around BAS. Going live early in a new Business Activity Statement (BAS) quarter keeps each BAS on one version. Avoid June and July.
The agreement makes validation your job. Odoo’s upgrade service converts the database and fixes bugs caused by the conversion, and the customer verifies the result and adapts any third-party extensions. That is the work a partner does, and it is what our Odoo upgrade services cover: the test upgrade, the custom module port, the retest and the cutover. The step-by-step process is in our guide to how Odoo version upgrades work.
Goes well with
- Odoo now bills employee records: how to audit your database before you upgrade
- Odoo renewal price: why month 13 costs more
- How the Odoo version upgrade process works
Working out when to move to Odoo 20?
We are an Odoo partner in Brisbane and we upgrade Odoo databases for businesses across Queensland and the rest of Australia. If you want your user counts, your custom modules and your renewal date looked at together before you commit to a date, book a free consultation. If the right answer is to stay on 19 for now, we will say so.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I upgrade to Odoo 20 now?
Not through Odoo's upgrade service as at 7 October 2026. The request form on upgrade.odoo.com lists 19.0, 18.0 and 17.0 as target versions and not 20.0, and Odoo has not published a date on that page. New databases can start on Odoo 20, and existing ones can prepare custom modules in the meantime.
Is the upgrade to Odoo 20 free?
The database conversion is included in an Odoo Enterprise subscription under clause 4.3 of the Enterprise Subscription Agreement. It covers the technical conversion and bugs caused by it. Adapting third-party and custom modules and validating the upgraded database are the customer's responsibility, which is where partner time is spent.
Do I have to upgrade to Odoo 20?
Not immediately. Odoo Online databases on a major version must upgrade every two years, Odoo.sh gives two further years after the three years of support, and on-premise databases can stay put. The cost pressure is the 25% fee on versions older than the three most recent, which reaches version 17 from about late March 2027.
Will upgrading to Odoo 20 increase my Odoo bill?
It can go either way. Staff who only scan barcodes, run field service jobs or use the shop floor can become A$12.90 light users, which lowers the bill. Active employee records with no linked user also become billable light users on Odoo 20, which raises it for businesses with a long employee list.
Should a new Odoo implementation start on version 19 or 20?
Either can be right. Odoo 20 is available for new databases, while version 19 has the longer track record for apps and connectors. A version 19 database upgrades to 20 through the same upgrade service, so the choice should follow what your build depends on.