Extended support for Windows 10 will be not cheap – tariffs from $ 61 per year

Last year, Microsoft announced that after the completion of the Windows 10 support period in October of this year, users will be able to continue to receive security updates for this operating system, but they will have to pay separately for this. Now, the software giant has published new details regarding the expanded support program of Extended Security Updates (ESU) and the cost of joining it.

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The purpose of the ESU program is to provide users who are not ready to switch to Windows 11, critical security updates. However, Microsoft will have to pay separately for this, therefore, probably, some organizations will have to revise their strategy. According to reports, participation in the ESU program will be available for computers with Windows 10 22H2 at a price of $ 61 for the first year, i.e. From November 2025 to November 2026.

In addition to this, Microsoft announced that the cost of participating in the ESU program would double annually, and in total it will be valid for three years. Apparently, such a pricing structure is introduced in order to stimulate users to an accelerated transition to Windows 11. In the event of an connection of any organization to the ESU program in the second year, you will also have to pay for the first year, since Microsoft will produce accumulative updates . At the same time, Windows 10 virtual machines operating on the Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop platform will be able to join ESU for free, which may be an advantage for organizations investing in Microsoft cloud services.

Along with this, Microsoft once again recommended not to delay the transition to Windows 11 for the “best and most safe use of computers”. However, statistics are not in favor of Windows 11. According to the STATCOUNTER service calculations, Windows 10 still confidently dominates the market with a share of 60.37 % of the total number of PCs with Windows. Despite the efforts of Microsoft, the popularity of Windows 11 only recently began to grow faster, so that the share of the OS in January increased to 36.6 %.