diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index f8c96483..ee471b63 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ pydantic>=1.10,!=2.0.*
 aiohttp~=3.8
 boto3~=1.26
 opencv-python-headless~=4.7
-packaging>=24.0,<26.0
 plotly~=5.14
 pandas~=2.0
 pillow>=9.5,~=10.0
diff --git a/src/superannotate/__init__.py b/src/superannotate/__init__.py
index b005463a..a52eda74 100644
--- a/src/superannotate/__init__.py
+++ b/src/superannotate/__init__.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 import requests
 from lib.core import enums
-from packaging.version import parse
+from lib.core.utils import parse_version
 from lib.core import PACKAGE_VERSION_UPGRADE
 from lib.core import PACKAGE_VERSION_INFO_MESSAGE
 from lib.core import PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR_UPGRADE
@@ -47,15 +47,15 @@
 
 def log_version_info():
     logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)
-    local_version = parse(__version__)
+    local_version = parse_version(__version__)
     if local_version.is_prerelease:
         logging.info(PACKAGE_VERSION_INFO_MESSAGE.format(__version__))
     req = requests.get("https://pypi.org/pypi/superannotate/json")
     if req.ok:
         releases = req.json().get("releases", [])
-        pip_version = parse("0")
+        pip_version = parse_version("0")
         for release in releases:
-            ver = parse(release)
+            ver = parse_version(release)
             if not ver.is_prerelease or local_version.is_prerelease:
                 pip_version = max(pip_version, ver)
         if pip_version.major > local_version.major:
diff --git a/src/superannotate/lib/core/pydantic_v1.py b/src/superannotate/lib/core/pydantic_v1.py
index b1b89287..df3b621c 100644
--- a/src/superannotate/lib/core/pydantic_v1.py
+++ b/src/superannotate/lib/core/pydantic_v1.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-from packaging.version import parse as parse_version
+from lib.core.utils import parse_version
 from pydantic import VERSION
 
+
 if parse_version(VERSION).major < 2:
     import pydantic
 else:
diff --git a/src/superannotate/lib/core/utils.py b/src/superannotate/lib/core/utils.py
index b01e3b86..9c53f1b1 100644
--- a/src/superannotate/lib/core/utils.py
+++ b/src/superannotate/lib/core/utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import asyncio
+import re
 import typing
 from threading import Thread
 
@@ -46,3 +47,58 @@ def wrapper(func: typing.Callable):
     thread.start()
     thread.join()
     return response[0]
+
+
+def parse_version(version_string):
+    """Smart version parsing with support for various formats"""
+    # Remove 'v' prefix if present
+    version_string = version_string.lstrip("v")
+
+    # Extract version parts using regex
+    match = re.match(
+        r"^(\d+)(?:\.(\d+))?(?:\.(\d+))?(?:[-.]?(a|b|rc|dev|alpha|beta)(\d*))?",
+        version_string,
+    )
+
+    if not match:
+        raise ValueError(f"Invalid version format: {version_string}")
+
+    major = int(match.group(1))
+    minor = int(match.group(2) or 0)
+    patch = int(match.group(3) or 0)
+    pre_type = match.group(4)
+    pre_num = int(match.group(5) or 0) if match.group(5) else 0
+
+    class Version:
+        def __init__(self, major, minor, patch, pre_type=None, pre_num=0):
+            self.major = major
+            self.minor = minor
+            self.patch = patch
+            self.pre_type = pre_type
+            self.pre_num = pre_num
+
+        @property
+        def is_prerelease(self):
+            return self.pre_type is not None
+
+        def __str__(self):
+            version = f"{self.major}.{self.minor}.{self.patch}"
+            if self.pre_type:
+                version += f"-{self.pre_type}{self.pre_num}"
+            return version
+
+        def __gt__(self, other):
+            if self.major != other.major:
+                return self.major > other.major
+            if self.minor != other.minor:
+                return self.minor > other.minor
+            if self.patch != other.patch:
+                return self.patch > other.patch
+            # Handle prerelease comparison
+            if self.is_prerelease and not other.is_prerelease:
+                return False
+            if not self.is_prerelease and other.is_prerelease:
+                return True
+            return self.pre_num > other.pre_num
+
+    return Version(major, minor, patch, pre_type, pre_num)