How much will Windows 10 be after official support ends?

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When Microsoft announced its ending support for Windows 10 late next year, people started wondering if the company will continue supporting the operating system after October 14th, 2025. The short answer is YES, but you will pay for it.

After this date, end users will have to pay a starting price of $61.00 for the first year, and then it’ll double to $122.00 then in 2027, you’ll have to pay $244.00. Yes, that does mean you will have to pay for the privilege to keep Windows 10 on your Desktop computer.

Microsoft typically only offers subscriptions for Extended Security Updates to organizations that need to keep running older versions of Windows. This time around, it’s different, as there are still a large number of people on Windows 10, nearly nine years since its release in 2015.

“Extended Security Updates are not intended to be a long-term solution but rather a temporary bridge,” explains Microsoft in a blog post. “You can purchase ESU licenses for Windows 10 devices that you don’t plan to upgrade to Windows 11 starting in October 2024, one year before the end of support date.”

Microsoft is offering a 25 percent discount to businesses that use a Microsoft cloud-based update solution like Intune or Windows Autopatch. This drops the pricing to $45 per user (up to five devices) for the first year. If you’re using Windows 10 laptops and PCs to connect up to Windows 11 Cloud PCs through Windows 365, then Microsoft is waiving the fees for security updates since licenses are included in the Windows 365 subscription cost.

Schools will get an even bigger discount, with Microsoft offering a $1 license for year one, which then doubles to $2 for year two and $4 for the third year. It doesn’t look like Microsoft is going to offer any special discount pricing for consumers, but we’re still months away from these licenses going on sale, so the company could still offer something for consumers.

Naturally, Microsoft wants consumers to move to Windows 11 instead. Millions of PCs can’t upgrade officially to Windows 11 due to more strict hardware requirements and Microsoft’s security push with its latest OS. Windows 11 is only supported on CPUs released from 2018 onward and with devices that support TPM security chips.