diff --git a/core/server/lib/ghost-version.js b/core/server/lib/ghost-version.js
index ad56987bd1..562c4a2dcf 100644
--- a/core/server/lib/ghost-version.js
+++ b/core/server/lib/ghost-version.js
@@ -1,8 +1,27 @@
-var packageInfo = require('../../../package.json'),
-    version = packageInfo.version;
+'use strict';
 
-module.exports = {
-    full: version,
-    safe: version.match(/^(\d+\.)?(\d+)/)[0]
+const semver = require('semver'),
+    packageInfo = require('../../../package.json'),
+    version = packageInfo.version,
+    plainVersion = version.match(/^(\d+\.)?(\d+\.)?(\d+)/)[0];
+
+let _private = {};
+
+_private.compose = function compose(type) {
+    switch (type) {
+        case 'pre':
+            return plainVersion + '-' + semver.prerelease(version)[0] + (semver.prerelease(version)[1] ? '.' + semver.prerelease(version)[1] : '');
+        default:
+            return version;
+    }
 };
 
+// major.minor
+module.exports.safe = version.match(/^(\d+\.)?(\d+)/)[0];
+
+// major.minor.patch-{prerelease}
+module.exports.full = semver.prerelease(version) ? _private.compose('pre') : plainVersion;
+
+// original string in package.json (can contain pre-release and build suffix)
+module.exports.original = version;
+
diff --git a/core/server/web/middleware/api/version-match.js b/core/server/web/middleware/api/version-match.js
index 05f8194c05..eeda5ceb5a 100644
--- a/core/server/web/middleware/api/version-match.js
+++ b/core/server/web/middleware/api/version-match.js
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ var semver = require('semver'),
 
 function checkVersionMatch(req, res, next) {
     var clientVersion = req.get('X-Ghost-Version'),
-        serverVersion = res.locals.version,
+        // can contain pre-release suffix, you should be able to use e.g. 1.19.0-pre [server] with 1.18.0 [client]
+        serverVersion = res.locals.version.match(/^(\d+\.)?(\d+\.)?(\d+)/)[0],
         constraint = '^' + clientVersion + '.0';
 
     // no error when client is on an earlier minor version than server
diff --git a/core/test/unit/lib/ghost-version_spec.js b/core/test/unit/lib/ghost-version_spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..421b6e6348
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/test/unit/lib/ghost-version_spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+'use strict';
+
+// jshint unused: false
+const should = require('should'),
+    rewire = require('rewire'),
+    testUtils = require('../../utils');
+
+let ghostVersionUtils,
+    version;
+
+describe('Utils: Ghost Version', function () {
+    const beforeEachIt = function be() {
+        testUtils.mockNotExistingModule(/package\.json/, {version: version});
+
+        ghostVersionUtils = rewire('../../../server/lib/ghost-version');
+    };
+
+    afterEach(function () {
+        testUtils.unmockNotExistingModule(/package\.json/);
+    });
+
+    it('default', function () {
+        version = '1.10.0';
+        beforeEachIt();
+
+        ghostVersionUtils.full.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.original.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.safe.should.eql('1.10');
+    });
+
+    it('pre-release', function () {
+        version = '1.11.1-beta';
+        beforeEachIt();
+
+        ghostVersionUtils.full.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.original.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.safe.should.eql('1.11');
+    });
+
+    it('pre-release .1', function () {
+        version = '1.11.1-alpha.1';
+        beforeEachIt();
+
+        ghostVersionUtils.full.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.original.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.safe.should.eql('1.11');
+    });
+
+    it('build', function () {
+        version = '1.11.1+build';
+        beforeEachIt();
+
+        ghostVersionUtils.full.should.eql('1.11.1');
+        ghostVersionUtils.original.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.safe.should.eql('1.11');
+    });
+
+    it('mixed', function () {
+        version = '1.11.1-pre+build.1';
+        beforeEachIt();
+
+        ghostVersionUtils.full.should.eql('1.11.1-pre');
+        ghostVersionUtils.original.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.safe.should.eql('1.11');
+    });
+
+    it('mixed 1', function () {
+        version = '1.11.1-beta.12+build.2';
+        beforeEachIt();
+
+        ghostVersionUtils.full.should.eql('1.11.1-beta.12');
+        ghostVersionUtils.original.should.eql(version);
+        ghostVersionUtils.safe.should.eql('1.11');
+    });
+});
diff --git a/core/test/unit/web/middleware/api/version-match_spec.js b/core/test/unit/web/middleware/api/version-match_spec.js
index 34371e0606..df52775c26 100644
--- a/core/test/unit/web/middleware/api/version-match_spec.js
+++ b/core/test/unit/web/middleware/api/version-match_spec.js
@@ -99,4 +99,26 @@ describe('Version Mismatch', function () {
         nextStub.firstCall.args[0].should.have.property('errorType', 'VersionMismatchError');
         nextStub.firstCall.args[0].should.have.property('statusCode', 400);
     });
+
+    it('should call next if pre-release is allowed', function () {
+        var server = '1.5.0-pre',
+            client = '1.4';
+
+        testVersionMatch(server, client);
+
+        nextStub.calledOnce.should.be.true();
+        nextStub.firstCall.args.should.be.empty();
+    });
+
+    it('throws error if server is a pre-release, but later by major version', function () {
+        var server = '2.0.0-alpha',
+            client = '1.5';
+
+        testVersionMatch(server, client);
+
+        nextStub.calledOnce.should.be.true();
+        nextStub.firstCall.args.should.have.lengthOf(1);
+        nextStub.firstCall.args[0].should.have.property('errorType', 'VersionMismatchError');
+        nextStub.firstCall.args[0].should.have.property('statusCode', 400);
+    });
 });