diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9ae7ec5b..ee959fd8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -127,6 +127,9 @@ The following arguments are available:
 removes UTF-8 byte order marker
 
 #### `fix-encoding-pragma`
+
+_Deprecated since py2 is EOL - use [pyupgrade](https://github.com/asottile/pyupgrade) instead._
+
 Add `# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-` to the top of python files.
   - To remove the coding pragma pass `--remove` (useful in a python3-only codebase)
 
diff --git a/pre_commit_hooks/fix_encoding_pragma.py b/pre_commit_hooks/fix_encoding_pragma.py
index f2cf38b2..eee67058 100644
--- a/pre_commit_hooks/fix_encoding_pragma.py
+++ b/pre_commit_hooks/fix_encoding_pragma.py
@@ -110,7 +110,8 @@ def _normalize_pragma(pragma: str) -> bytes:
 def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
     print(
         'warning: this hook is deprecated and will be removed in a future '
-        'release because py2 is EOL',
+        'release because py2 is EOL. instead, use '
+        'https://github.com/asottile/pyupgrade',
         file=sys.stderr,
     )