diff --git a/qutebrowser/misc/earlyinit.py b/qutebrowser/misc/earlyinit.py
index 5d82e0623..3023ed5cb 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/misc/earlyinit.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/misc/earlyinit.py
@@ -253,6 +253,21 @@ def get_backend(args):
         return 'webengine'
 
 
+def qt_version(qversion=None, qt_version=None):
+    """Get a Qt version string based on the runtime/compiled versions."""
+    if qversion is None:
+        from PyQt5.QtCore import qVersion
+        qversion = qVersion()
+    if qt_version is None:
+        from PyQt5.QtCore import QT_VERSION_STR
+        qt_version = QT_VERSION_STR
+
+    if qversion != qt_version:
+        return '{} (compiled {})'.format(qversion, qt_version)
+    else:
+        return qversion
+
+
 def check_qt_version(backend):
     """Check if the Qt version is recent enough."""
     from PyQt5.QtCore import PYQT_VERSION, PYQT_VERSION_STR
@@ -260,7 +275,7 @@ def check_qt_version(backend):
     if (not qtutils.version_check('5.2.0', strict=True) or
             PYQT_VERSION < 0x050200):
         text = ("Fatal error: Qt and PyQt >= 5.2.0 are required, but Qt {} / "
-                "PyQt {} is installed.".format(version.qt_version(),
+                "PyQt {} is installed.".format(qt_version(),
                                                PYQT_VERSION_STR))
         _die(text)
     elif (backend == 'webengine' and (
@@ -268,7 +283,7 @@ def check_qt_version(backend):
             PYQT_VERSION < 0x050700)):
         text = ("Fatal error: Qt >= 5.7.1 and PyQt >= 5.7 are required for "
                 "QtWebEngine support, but Qt {} / PyQt {} is installed."
-                .format(version.qt_version(), PYQT_VERSION_STR))
+                .format(qt_version(), PYQT_VERSION_STR))
         _die(text)
 
 
diff --git a/qutebrowser/utils/version.py b/qutebrowser/utils/version.py
index bac29ed99..7d72fa5f2 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/utils/version.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/utils/version.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
 
 import qutebrowser
 from qutebrowser.utils import log, utils, standarddir, usertypes, qtutils
-from qutebrowser.misc import objects
+from qutebrowser.misc import objects, earlyinit
 from qutebrowser.browser import pdfjs
 
 
@@ -280,14 +280,6 @@ def _pdfjs_version():
         return '{} ({})'.format(pdfjs_version, file_path)
 
 
-def qt_version():
-    """Get a Qt version string based on the runtime/compiled versions."""
-    if qVersion() != QT_VERSION_STR:
-        return '{} (compiled {})'.format(qVersion(), QT_VERSION_STR)
-    else:
-        return qVersion()
-
-
 def _chromium_version():
     """Get the Chromium version for QtWebEngine."""
     if QWebEngineProfile is None:
@@ -326,7 +318,7 @@ def version():
         '',
         '{}: {}'.format(platform.python_implementation(),
                         platform.python_version()),
-        'Qt: {}'.format(qt_version()),
+        'Qt: {}'.format(earlyinit.qt_version()),
         'PyQt: {}'.format(PYQT_VERSION_STR),
         '',
     ]
diff --git a/tests/unit/misc/test_earlyinit.py b/tests/unit/misc/test_earlyinit.py
index 840936853..b26bf7d5e 100644
--- a/tests/unit/misc/test_earlyinit.py
+++ b/tests/unit/misc/test_earlyinit.py
@@ -108,3 +108,20 @@ class TestFixHarfbuzz:
         """Without QtWidgets in sys.modules, no warning should be shown."""
         monkeypatch.setattr(earlyinit.sys, 'modules', {})
         earlyinit.fix_harfbuzz(args)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('same', [True, False])
+def test_qt_version(same):
+    if same:
+        qt_version_str = '5.4.0'
+        expected = '5.4.0'
+    else:
+        qt_version_str = '5.3.0'
+        expected = '5.4.0 (compiled 5.3.0)'
+    actual = earlyinit.qt_version(qversion='5.4.0', qt_version=qt_version_str)
+    assert actual == expected
+
+
+def test_qt_version_no_args():
+    """Make sure qt_version without arguments at least works."""
+    earlyinit.qt_version()
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils/test_version.py b/tests/unit/utils/test_version.py
index 8f3a47a8e..46185f5d1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/utils/test_version.py
+++ b/tests/unit/utils/test_version.py
@@ -774,19 +774,6 @@ class FakeQSslSocket:
         return self._version
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize('same', [True, False])
-def test_qt_version(monkeypatch, same):
-    if same:
-        qt_version_str = '5.4.0'
-        expected = '5.4.0'
-    else:
-        qt_version_str = '5.3.0'
-        expected = '5.4.0 (compiled 5.3.0)'
-    monkeypatch.setattr(version, 'qVersion', lambda: '5.4.0')
-    monkeypatch.setattr(version, 'QT_VERSION_STR', qt_version_str)
-    assert version.qt_version() == expected
-
-
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('ua, expected', [
     (None, 'unavailable'),  # No QWebEngineProfile
     ('Mozilla/5.0', 'unknown'),