I've been looking to ditch my current hosting provider for a while now and I wanted to find a new one that supported PHP5.3. Unfortunately however, very few hosting providers seem to advertise their specific PHP version. Finding out what versions they do support has proven to be a hassle and it seems the vast majority only support 5.2.x. Does anyone know of any hosts that are running PHP5.3?

Also, I don't want to take the VPS/Dedicated route as they are a bit pricey for my purposes.

Well, when you are running production server caution is the first priority on upgrading, the last thing we would need is an upgrade that "broke" clients sites

We are running on 5.2.8 and probably won't go to 5.3 for another 2 or 3 weeks.

That's what I figured was going on. I have a feeling however that my current host won't be going to 5.3 for quite a bit longer.

I was searching for PHP 5.3 as well.. Wasn't very easy to find.. I found that Hostek.com now offers PHP 5.3.1 on both their Linux and Windows servers.. You just gotta let them know that you want PHP 5.3 when placing an order..

The kind of information might not be displayed on the web site of the web hosting provider as obvious and all what you need is: get in touch with the web hosting provider and ask them. That might take more time for the search but that will 100% guarantee instead of blind signing up
Good luck

It might have something to do with this list: Backwards Incompatible Changes in PHP 5.3

Is there anything special in php 5.3?

If the web hosting company is big it has differnt servers for shared web hosting accounts and on one server PHP4.x.x can be installed and on another 5.x.x. so you in any way need to ask your prospective web host about that during sign up.

The host I use currently has 5.2.10 version of PHP. Not sure when it would be upgraded, probably after we deem it safe.

The PHP development team would like to announce the immediate availability of PHP 5.3.1. This release focuses on improving the stability of the PHP 5.3.x branch with over 100 bug fixes, some of which are security related.

Originally Posted by ndowens

The host I use currently has 5.2.10 version of PHP. Not sure when it would be upgraded, probably after we deem it safe.

If they are growing and will need to open new server for the shared web hosting accounts they might install there newest version of PHP

Originally Posted by WebIntellects-R

If they are growing and will need to open new server for the shared web hosting accounts they might install there newest version of PHP

I don't see the connection for such an assumption?!? I'd say safety rules on new servers as well.

I agree with guys which recommend ask web hosting provider. Web hosting company as rule have more then one server for shared web hosting accounts.

I've started a list of shared hosts that provide PHP 5.3:
http://nephtaliproject.com/php_53_hosts/index.php

Please use the contact form on the page to suggest others not included on the list (it's nice to have many options.)

You should inquire your hosting company before purchasing the hosting plan. I dare to enlist companies offering php 5.3 environment. you may follow my list through my signature link.

Here is a list of PHP 5.3 hosting providers