diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 59969ce00..0f73c2494 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ Changes since the last non-beta release.
 
 - Drop support for Node v12 [PR 431](https://github.com/shakacode/shakapacker/pull/431) by [G-Rath](https://github.com/g-rath).
 
+- Enable `ensure_consistent_versioning` by default [PR 447](https://github.com/shakacode/shakapacker/pull/447) by [G-Rath](https://github.com/g-rath).
+
 ### Added
 - Emit warnings instead of errors when compilation is success but stderr is not empty. [PR 416](https://github.com/shakacode/shakapacker/pull/416) by [n-rodriguez](https://github.com/n-rodriguez).
 - Allow `webpack-dev-server` v5. [PR 418](https://github.com/shakacode/shakapacker/pull/418) by [G-Rath](https://github.com/g-rath)
diff --git a/lib/install/config/shakapacker.yml b/lib/install/config/shakapacker.yml
index 6a4df72e3..043b47afa 100644
--- a/lib/install/config/shakapacker.yml
+++ b/lib/install/config/shakapacker.yml
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ default: &default
   # Select loader to use, available options are 'babel' (default), 'swc' or 'esbuild'
   webpack_loader: 'babel'
 
-  # Set to true to enable check for matching versions of shakapacker gem and NPM package - will raise an error if there is a mismatch or wildcard versioning is used
-  ensure_consistent_versioning: false
+  # Raises an error if there is a mismatch in the shakapacker gem and npm package being used
+  ensure_consistent_versioning: true
 
   # Select whether the compiler will use SHA digest ('digest' option) or most most recent modified timestamp ('mtime') to determine freshness
   compiler_strategy: digest
diff --git a/lib/shakapacker/version_checker.rb b/lib/shakapacker/version_checker.rb
index 1ea4730d3..d5c10260f 100644
--- a/lib/shakapacker/version_checker.rb
+++ b/lib/shakapacker/version_checker.rb
@@ -17,41 +17,19 @@ def initialize(node_package_version)
 
     def raise_if_gem_and_node_package_versions_differ
       # Skip check if package is not in package.json or listed from relative path, git repo or github URL
-      return if node_package_version.skip_processing?
+      # or if consistent version checking is not enabled
+      return if node_package_version.skip_processing? || !Shakapacker.config.ensure_consistent_versioning?
 
       node_major_minor_patch = node_package_version.major_minor_patch
       gem_major_minor_patch = gem_major_minor_patch_version
-      versions_match = node_major_minor_patch[0] == gem_major_minor_patch[0] &&
-                       node_major_minor_patch[1] == gem_major_minor_patch[1] &&
-                       node_major_minor_patch[2] == gem_major_minor_patch[2]
 
-      uses_wildcard = node_package_version.semver_wildcard?
+      raise_differing_versions_warning unless (
+        node_major_minor_patch[0] == gem_major_minor_patch[0] &&
+        node_major_minor_patch[1] == gem_major_minor_patch[1] &&
+        node_major_minor_patch[2] == gem_major_minor_patch[2]
+      )
 
-      if !Shakapacker.config.ensure_consistent_versioning? && (uses_wildcard || !versions_match)
-        check_failed = if uses_wildcard
-          "Semver wildcard without a lockfile detected"
-        else
-          "Version mismatch detected"
-        end
-
-        warn <<-MSG.strip_heredoc
-          Shakapacker::VersionChecker - #{check_failed}
-
-          You are currently not checking for consistent versions of shakapacker gem and npm package. A version mismatch or usage of semantic versioning wildcard (~ or ^) without a lockfile has been detected.
-
-          Version mismatch can lead to incorrect behavior and bugs. You should ensure that both the gem and npm package dependencies are locked to the same version.
-
-          You can enable the version check by setting `ensure_consistent_versioning: true` in your `shakapacker.yml` file.
-
-          Checking for gem and npm package versions mismatch or wildcard will be enabled by default in the next major version of shakapacker.
-        MSG
-
-        return
-      end
-
-      raise_differing_versions_warning unless versions_match
-
-      raise_node_semver_version_warning if uses_wildcard
+      raise_node_semver_version_warning if node_package_version.semver_wildcard?
     end
 
     private
diff --git a/spec/dummy/yarn.lock b/spec/dummy/yarn.lock
index c21d5c6b4..a7ccb68d8 100644
--- a/spec/dummy/yarn.lock
+++ b/spec/dummy/yarn.lock
@@ -4060,7 +4060,7 @@ setprototypeof@1.2.0:
   integrity sha512-E5LDX7Wrp85Kil5bhZv46j8jOeboKq5JMmYM3gVGdGH8xFpPWXUMsNrlODCrkoxMEeNi/XZIwuRvY4XNwYMJpw==
 
 "shakapacker@file:.yalc/shakapacker":
-  version "7.0.0-rc.0"
+  version "7.2.2"
   dependencies:
     glob "^7.2.0"
     js-yaml "^4.1.0"
diff --git a/spec/shakapacker/configuration_spec.rb b/spec/shakapacker/configuration_spec.rb
index b646aebb2..c562ed58b 100644
--- a/spec/shakapacker/configuration_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/shakapacker/configuration_spec.rb
@@ -113,8 +113,8 @@
     end
 
     describe "#ensure_consistent_versioning?" do
-      it "returns false in production environment" do
-        expect(config.ensure_consistent_versioning?).to be false
+      it "returns true in production environment" do
+        expect(config.ensure_consistent_versioning?).to be true
       end
 
       it "returns true in development environment" do
@@ -123,9 +123,9 @@
         end
       end
 
-      it "returns false in test environment" do
+      it "returns true in test environment" do
         with_rails_env("test") do
-          expect(Shakapacker.config.ensure_consistent_versioning?).to be false
+          expect(Shakapacker.config.ensure_consistent_versioning?).to be true
         end
       end
     end
diff --git a/spec/shakapacker/version_checker_spec.rb b/spec/shakapacker/version_checker_spec.rb
index fe0bd83dc..9f8e44dd7 100644
--- a/spec/shakapacker/version_checker_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/shakapacker/version_checker_spec.rb
@@ -29,19 +29,19 @@ def check_version(node_package_version, stub_gem_version = Shakapacker::VERSION,
     version_checker.raise_if_gem_and_node_package_versions_differ
   end
 
-  it "prints error in stderr if consistency check is disabled and version mismatch" do
+  it "does nothing if consistency check is disabled and version mismatch" do
     node_package_version = NodePackageVersionDouble.new(raw: "6.1.0", major_minor_patch: ["6", "1", "0"])
 
     expect { check_version(node_package_version, "6.0.0", false) }
-      .to output(/Shakapacker::VersionChecker - Version mismatch/)
+      .not_to output
       .to_stderr
   end
 
-  it "prints error in stderr if consistency check is disabled and we have semver" do
+  it "does nothing if consistency check is disabled and we have semver" do
     node_package_version = NodePackageVersionDouble.new(raw: "^6.1.0", major_minor_patch: ["6", "1", "0"], semver_wildcard: true)
 
     expect { check_version(node_package_version, "6.0.0", false) }
-      .to output(/Shakapacker::VersionChecker - Semver wildcard without a lockfile detected/)
+      .not_to output
       .to_stderr
   end