How to Get Windows 10 for Free (or Under $30)

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You can spend thousands of dollars on components when building a PC, but it won’t boot without an operating system (OS). Linux is a viable option, but most people prefer Windows because it runs all of their favorite software, including the latest games. Fortunately, you can get Windows 10 for free or cheap, if you know where to look.

Getting hold of the Windows installer is as easy as visiting support.microsoft.com. Whether you've paid for Windows 10 already or not, Microsoft lets anyone download a Windows 10 ISO file and burn it to a DVD, or create installation media on a USB drive for free. Once that's done, you can boot from your installation media and load Windows 10 onto your PC. During the installation process, Microsoft asks for an activation key. You can skip it, but eventually, Windows will start alerting you that your install isn't activated.

There are many ways to get a Windows 10 activation / product key, and they range in price from completely free to $399 (£339, $340 AU), depending on which flavor of Windows 10 you want. You can of course buy a key from Microsoft online, but there are other websites selling Windows 10 keys for less. There’s also the option of downloading Windows 10 without a key and never activating the OS. But what, if anything, are you missing out if you don’t activate Windows 10? And does your carefully crafted rig face any risks?

Below we outline the top ways you can get Windows 10 -- from the cheapest to most expensive -- and the downsides of each option.

Use an Old Key: Free

Nothing’s cheaper than free. If you’re looking for Windows 10 Home, or even Windows 10 Pro, it’s possible to get the OS onto your PC without paying a penny. If you already have a software/product key for Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, you can install Windows 10 and use the key from one of those older OSes to activate it. But note that a key can only be used on one PC at a time, so if you use that key for a new PC build, any other PC running that key is out of luck.

Downsides of Using an Old Key

When using an older Windows key to activate Windows 10, you may run into complications if Microsoft isn't sure whether you're eligible to update or not. In that case, you’d have to call a number and go through a process of entering your key and getting a code. But that seems to be happening less in recent months and years.

Don't Activate Windows: Free

If you don't have a valid key, you can still use Windows 10 on your PC even if you don’t activate the OS. I have colleagues who have used non-activated versions of Windows for years without Microsoft ever shutting it down. In this way, you can have Windows 10 Home or Pro running on your PC nearly flawlessly. Nearly...

Downsides of Not Activating Windows

“If the user [installs Windows 10] before activating Windows, they will see an ‘Activate Windows’ watermark on their desktop, as well an experience a limit on Windows 10 personalization options,” Microsoft told Tom’s Hardware in a statement.

Microsoft brands PCs running an unactivated version of Windows 10 with a watermark in the bottom-right corner of the screen. A Microsoft spokesperson told me that activating Windows 10 ensures you have a legitimate copy of Windows 10, and the watermark is an attempt to alert consumers that their version could be false. However, if you downloaded your ISO directly from Microsoft, there's no way your copy can be a fake.

If you don’t activate Windows 10, you won’t be able to change Personalization options in the Settings menu. That means you can't choose personal desktop wallpapers, slideshow backgrounds, Start, taskbar, Action Center or title bar colors, light or dark color schemes, font choices or lock screen options.

The lack of custom aesthetics can be a downer, especially if you like to liven things up by changing colors and images. However, we checked, and you can still change your wallpaper if you right-click an image from the web or a personal photo and set it as your wallpaper. And if you have a wallpaper tied to your Microsoft account, it will appear if you sign into Windows with that account.
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