Microsoft reveals how much Windows 10 Extended Security Updates will cost

[DragonSlayer101]

In context: Windows 10 support will officially end on October 14, 2025, but organizations that want to continue using the OS will have the option of enrolling their PCs into a paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription. Microsoft had announced earlier that it would offer the ESU program for at least three more years after the official end-of-support, and the company has now revealed how much the paid subscription will cost.

In an official blog post, Microsoft announced that organizations will have three options to extend update support for Windows 10: the traditional 5-by-5 activation, Windows 365 subscription-based activation, and cloud-based activation. The first option will be available for $61 per device for the first year, $122 in the second year and $244 in the third. Note that the price will double every subsequent year, meaning it will quickly get inordinately expensive to continue receiving extended security updates.

Windows 10 devices that subscribe to the Windows 365 program to access Windows 11 PCs will automatically receive extended security updates without any additional cost for the first year.

The third and final option will only be available to organizations using a cloud-based update management solution, like Microsoft Intune or Windows Autopatch. Microsoft is offering a 25 percent discount on this license, which will cost $45 per user (up to five devices) for the first year. However, the price will once again double every year, so customers will have to pay $90 for the second year and $180 for the third.

Microsoft also notes that if an organization jumps into the ESU program in the second year, it will still have to pay for the first year, as ESUs are cumulative. The ESU licenses will be available for purchase from October 2024, one year before Windows 10's official end-of-support date. The company did not reveal whether retail customers will also be able to enroll in the Windows 10 ESU program.

Microsoft introduced the paid Extended Security Updates program when Windows 7 was nearing its end of life. The price started at $50 in the first year but doubled to $100 in the second and quadrupled to $200 in the third. Windows 8 and 8.1 were not nearly as popular as Windows 7, so the company never felt the need to offer extended support for them.

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Microsoft reveals how much Windows 10 Extended Security Updates will cost

 

[Squid Surprise]

Well, I assume businesses will weigh the cost of purchasing all new devices that can support Windows 11 vs paying the license per device for extended support…

Assuming $500 per device, that’s about the same as a 3 year license… I’d be buying new PCs if I could…

 

[Nelson28]

In context: Windows 10 support will officially end on October 14, 2025, but organizations that want to continue using the OS will have the option of enrolling their PCs into a paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription. Microsoft had announced earlier that it would offer the ESU program for at least three more years after the official end-of-support, and the company has now revealed how much the paid subscription will cost.

In an official blog post, Microsoft announced that organizations will have three options to extend update support for Windows 10: the traditional 5-by-5 activation, Windows 365 subscription-based activation, and cloud-based activation. The first option will be available for $61 per device for the first year, $122 in the second year and $244 in the third. Note that the price will double every subsequent year, meaning it will quickly get inordinately expensive to continue receiving extended security updates.

Windows 10 devices that subscribe to the Windows 365 program to access Windows 11 PCs will automatically receive extended security updates without any additional cost for the first year.

The third and final option will only be available to organizations using a cloud-based update management solution, like Microsoft Intune or Windows Autopatch. Microsoft is offering a 25 percent discount on this license, which will cost $45 per user (up to five devices) for the first year. However, the price will once again double every year, so customers will have to pay $90 for the second year and $180 for the third.

Microsoft also notes that if an organization jumps into the ESU program in the second year, it will still have to pay for the first year, as ESUs are cumulative. The ESU licenses will be available for purchase from October 2024, one year before Windows 10's official end-of-support date. The company did not reveal whether retail customers will also be able to enroll in the Windows 10 ESU program.

Microsoft introduced the paid Extended Security Updates program when Windows 7 was nearing its end of life. The price started at $50 in the first year but doubled to $100 in the second and quadrupled to $200 in the third. Windows 8 and 8.1 were not nearly as popular as Windows 7, so the company never felt the need to offer extended support for them.

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Microsoft reveals how much Windows 10 Extended Security Updates will cost

The cost of keeping Windows 10 secure after October 2025 is now clear. Businesses can pay annually, with prices starting at $61 per device and doubling each year. There's a discount for cloud-managed devices and free ESU for those using Windows 365 for virtual Windows 11 desktops in the first year. Overall, it's getting expensive to stick with Windows 10 long-term, so consider upgrading to Windows 11 before October 2025.

 

[fadingfool]

so consider upgrading to Windows 11 before October 2025.

It is a downgrade to windows 11 - so many issues with it and no advantages. The little hacks to improve things in the registry have been blocked as well in the latest release.

 

[FaTaL]

For some companies... thats still alot cheaper than migrating to Windows 11... when you calculate overhead costs to analyze all company applications to ensure compatability, etc....

 

[JamesBlond]

For some companies... thats still alot cheaper than migrating to Windows 11... when you calculate overhead costs to analyze all company applications to ensure compatability, etc....

What if you just install Tiny 10, updates break most things anyways

 

[Raytrace3D]

I do not use Windows 11 because it's a massive step backwards in the UI department. It offers no significant advantage over Windows 10. It takes a considerable amount of extra clicks for advanced users to do anything in that OS. They changed interfaces on screens established and maintained for 20+ years. Some of us rely on those options to be readily accessible so we can efficiently do our jobs.

 

[Squid Surprise]

I do not use Windows 11 because it's a massive step backwards in the UI department. It offers no significant advantage over Windows 10. It takes a considerable amount of extra clicks for advanced users to do anything in that OS. They changed interfaces on screens established and maintained for 20+ years. Some of us rely on those options to be readily accessible so we can efficiently do our jobs.

Every time there's a new Windows (or new ANYTHING), there will always be people who say "I liked the old one better, it doesn't give me anything I want, why should I upgrade?" but... right or wrong - you don't have a choice. Eventually, MS (and every other company) stops supporting old products - or makes it prohibitively expensive to support - and you have to bite the bullet.

I'm not going to argue that Windows 11 is better than 10... or that 10 is better than 7... or 7 is better than XP... the point is, you HAVE to upgrade eventually.

What companies need to do is figure out the best time, costwise, to upgrade. If your hardware supports it, upgrading ASAP is generally the correct way to go. If not, it becomes a cost analysis comparing licensing to hardware upgrades and logistics...

As the costs double EVERY year to support Windows 10 - and new devices in bulk shouldn't cost more than $500ish (depends on the company), after the 3rd year, it makes no sense to continue with Windows 10 (you'll have already shelled out about $400 per device at that point).

 

[FaTaL]

Every time there's a new Windows (or new ANYTHING), there will always be people who say "I liked the old one better, it doesn't give me anything I want, why should I upgrade?" but... right or wrong - you don't have a choice. Eventually, MS (and every other company) stops supporting old products - or makes it prohibitively expensive to support - and you have to bite the bullet.

I'm not going to argue that Windows 11 is better than 10... or that 10 is better than 7... or 7 is better than XP... the point is, you HAVE to upgrade eventually.

What companies need to do is figure out the best time, costwise, to upgrade. If your hardware supports it, upgrading ASAP is generally the correct way to go. If not, it becomes a cost analysis comparing licensing to hardware upgrades and logistics...

As the costs double EVERY year to support Windows 10 - and new devices in bulk shouldn't cost more than $500ish (depends on the company), after the 3rd year, it makes no sense to continue with Windows 10 (you'll have already shelled out about $400 per device at that point).

In most cases , I agree, but Windows 11 is truly the exception to the norm. When right clicking on desktop to get menu, I always have to click 'show more options' that expands the list of my legacy apps that don't show in the new UI.

Theres a registry hack to fix this but wtf should I have to do that? not to mention who knows what else might blow up when toying with the registry keys....

 

[Gezzer]

Every time there's a new Windows (or new ANYTHING), there will always be people who say "I liked the old one better, it doesn't give me anything I want, why should I upgrade?" but... right or wrong - you don't have a choice. Eventually, MS (and every other company) stops supporting old products - or makes it prohibitively expensive to support - and you have to bite the bullet.

I'm not going to argue that Windows 11 is better than 10... or that 10 is better than 7... or 7 is better than XP... the point is, you HAVE to upgrade eventually.

What companies need to do is figure out the best time, costwise, to upgrade. If your hardware supports it, upgrading ASAP is generally the correct way to go. If not, it becomes a cost analysis comparing licensing to hardware upgrades and logistics...

As the costs double EVERY year to support Windows 10 - and new devices in bulk shouldn't cost more than $500ish (depends on the company), after the 3rd year, it makes no sense to continue with Windows 10 (you'll have already shelled out about $400 per device at that point).

No, you don't have to upgrade. Users are forced to upgrade, there's a major difference. IMHO while I'm currently using Win10, I feel that after Win7 there was really no need to have to upgrade other than with security issues. And M$ has shown in the past that if a still popular version has a really major security issue raise it's head they'll release a patch. I'm going to chance sticking with Win10 over Win11. At least for my gaming systems. Anything that needs extra security or isn't a gaming system is running Linux Mint anyway.

 

[Squid Surprise]

No, you don't have to upgrade. Users are forced to upgrade, there's a major difference. IMHO while I'm currently using Win10, I feel that after Win7 there was really no need to have to upgrade other than with security issues. And M$ has shown in the past that if a still popular version has a really major security issue raise it's head they'll release a patch. I'm going to chance sticking with Win10 over Win11. At least for my gaming systems. Anything that needs extra security or isn't a gaming system is running Linux Mint anyway.

We are talking corporations… if a user wants to run Windows XP forever, that’s different….

But years from now, when new games stop supporting windows 10, you’ll find it hard and harder to resist upgrading.

 

[Gezzer]

We are talking corporations… if a user wants to run Windows XP forever, that’s different….

But years from now, when new games stop supporting windows 10, you’ll find it hard and harder to resist upgrading.

You have a point. But as I also hinted at, we've reached a point where Windows is a really stable (okay, compared to older versions) gaming platform. Since Win7 anything forcing a gamer or developer to use a newer version has been mostly artificial in nature. M$ restricting versions of DX is a perfect example. Or hardware driver developers discontinuing support. Hell, other than security, Win7 would still be viable today. What ultimately killed it as a gaming platform IMHO was Chrome, and by extension Steam, discontinuing support for it.

 

[Raytrace3D]

Every time there's a new Windows (or new ANYTHING), there will always be people who say "I liked the old one better, it doesn't give me anything I want, why should I upgrade?" but... right or wrong - you don't have a choice. Eventually, MS (and every other company) stops supporting old products - or makes it prohibitively expensive to support - and you have to bite the bullet.

I'm not going to argue that Windows 11 is better than 10... or that 10 is better than 7... or 7 is better than XP... the point is, you HAVE to upgrade eventually.

What companies need to do is figure out the best time, costwise, to upgrade. If your hardware supports it, upgrading ASAP is generally the correct way to go. If not, it becomes a cost analysis comparing licensing to hardware upgrades and logistics...

As the costs double EVERY year to support Windows 10 - and new devices in bulk shouldn't cost more than $500ish (depends on the company), after the 3rd year, it makes no sense to continue with Windows 10 (you'll have already shelled out about $400 per device at that point).

It's not about cost. My systems qualify to run Windows 11. It's about productivity. I CAN afford a new computer, I CAN'T afford a loss of productivity.

 

[Squid Surprise]

No, you don't have to upgrade. Users are forced to upgrade, there's a major difference. IMHO while I'm currently using Win10, I feel that after Win7 there was really no need to have to upgrade other than with security issues. And M$ has shown in the past that if a still popular version has a really major security issue raise its head they'll release a patch. I'm going to chance sticking with Win10 over Win11. At least for my gaming systems. Anything that needs extra security or isn't a gaming system is running Linux Mint anyway.

That would be the definition of “have to upgrade”…

 

[Squid Surprise]

It's not about cost. My systems qualify to run Windows 11. It's about productivity. I CAN afford a new computer, I CAN'T afford a loss of productivity.

You won’t be able to be productive for much longer on Windows 10 - but upgrading is fairly simple if you have compatible hardware as you say…

 

[Impudicus]

But windows 10 will be the last version of windows....

 

[Gezzer]

But windows 10 will be the last version of windows....

It was the last version of windows because everyone was going to flock to the "Microsoft Store" just like Android and Apple users with their stores, and M$ was going to make so much money that they'd never have to charge for a new version again. Problem was windows has always been an open software platform and no one has to use the store if they don't want to.

The major reason is that M$ was asleep at the wheel under Steve Ballmer and totally whiffed on creating a mobile platform to compete. Every version since Win8 was meant to catch up by forcing users to adopt M$'s platforms instead. Problem for M$ is there's really no compelling reason to use "apps" over normal programs, and their store is a non starter. They simply can't give users enough reasons to choose it.

IMHO it's why they've backed away from a "last version". They need to find a way to lock windows like Android or iOS so that they can control the purchasing environment. There is a way to do it, but it requires white/black listing app providers so that we're forced to use the store. IMHO it's why Win11 has such strange requirements like TPM. It's the first step in locking windows down.