Running Visual Studio 2022 and 2026 Side by Side

Thinking about trying a newer version of Visual Studio without changing your current setup? Good news: different major versions of Visual Studio can be installed on the same computer and used independently.

How It Works

Visual Studio 2022 and Visual Studio 2026 are designed to support side-by-side installation. Installing the newer version does not replace or uninstall the older one. Each version maintains its own:

• Installation files
• Settings and preferences
• Workloads and components
• Extensions and add-ins

This makes it easy to test new features while continuing to work on existing projects in a stable environment.

Benefits

• Keep production work on a familiar version
• Explore new tools and features safely
• Compare behavior between versions
• Gradually migrate projects when ready

Things to Consider

• Additional disk space is required because both versions are installed separately.
• Extensions usually need to be installed for each version individually.
• Opening a project in a newer version may introduce changes that are not fully compatible with older versions.

Recommended Approach

Many developers keep the older version for day-to-day work and install the newer version for testing, learning, and evaluating new capabilities. This provides flexibility while reducing the risk of disrupting existing projects.

For most users, running both versions side by side is the safest and most practical way to evaluate a new Visual Studio release.