diff --git a/downgrade.jl b/downgrade.jl
index f4410fd..39dd6b6 100644
--- a/downgrade.jl
+++ b/downgrade.jl
@@ -479,6 +479,19 @@ function get_resolved_versions(manifest_file::String)
     return versions
 end
 
+"""
+    versions_match_ignoring_build(actual, expected)
+
+Return true if two versions are equal, ignoring SemVer build metadata
+(the `+...` suffix). This allows `1.2.3` and `1.2.3+4` to match.
+"""
+function versions_match_ignoring_build(actual::VersionNumber, expected::VersionNumber)
+    return actual.major == expected.major &&
+           actual.minor == expected.minor &&
+           actual.patch == expected.patch &&
+           actual.prerelease == expected.prerelease
+end
+
 """
     check_forced_lower_bounds(project_file, manifest_file, ignore_pkgs)
 
@@ -503,7 +516,7 @@ function check_forced_lower_bounds(project_file::String, manifest_file::String,
         # Check if the major.minor.patch matches
         # We compare the full version, but note that the lower bound might be
         # less specific (e.g., "1.2" means v1.2.0)
-        if actual != expected
+        if !versions_match_ignoring_build(actual, expected)
             @error "forcedeps check failed: $pkg resolved to $actual but lower bound is $expected"
             all_match = false
         else
diff --git a/test/runtests.jl b/test/runtests.jl
index a62d254..22ef162 100644
--- a/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/test/runtests.jl
@@ -152,6 +152,38 @@ downgrade_jl = joinpath(dirname(@__DIR__), "downgrade.jl")
         end
     end
 
+    @testset "forcedeps mode - ignores build metadata" begin
+        mktempdir() do dir
+            cd(dir) do
+                # JLL packages commonly resolve with build metadata (e.g., +0)
+                # while compat lower bounds typically omit it.
+                toml_content = """
+                name = "TestPackage"
+                version = "0.1.0"
+
+                [deps]
+                OpenSSL_jll = "458c3c95-2e84-50aa-8efc-19380b2a3a95"
+
+                [compat]
+                julia = "1.10"
+                OpenSSL_jll = "3.5.0"
+                """
+                write("Project.toml", toml_content)
+
+                # Should pass even when resolved version is like 3.5.0+0
+                run(`$(Base.julia_cmd()) $downgrade_jl "" "." "forcedeps" "1.10"`)
+
+                manifest = TOML.parsefile("Manifest.toml")
+                deps = manifest["deps"]
+                deps_OpenSSL_jll = get(deps, "OpenSSL_jll", [])
+
+                @test !isempty(deps_OpenSSL_jll)
+                @test startswith(deps_OpenSSL_jll[1]["version"], "3.5.0")
+                @test occursin("+", deps_OpenSSL_jll[1]["version"])
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
     @testset "invalid cases" begin
         # Test invalid mode
         mktempdir() do dir