Windows 10: Microsoft reveals ESU price tag for home users and a big catch

[harlan4096]

How much do Windows 10 system owners have to pay to Microsoft to extend updates support beyond the operating system's October 2025 end of servicing date?
Microsoft revealed the price that organizations have to pay for Windows 10 ESU about six months ago. For three years, businesses have to pay up to $427 to receive continued security updates for a single device.

Windows 10: ESU for home users



With less than a year of support, Microsoft announced the price that regular customers have to pay to extend support.

The answer is buried at the end of a long post that suggests Windows 10 users start preparing to move to Windows 11.

The details:

• Home users may extend support for just 12 months.
  
• The price is $30.
  

Unlike organizations, who may subscribe to get three years of support, home users get just a single year of extended support.  The price is less than half of what businesses pay in the first year.

Microsoft limits the extension to "personal use" scenarios to prevent business owners from picking the cheaper option.

Microsoft writes: "And for the first time ever, we’re introducing an ESU program for personal use as well. The ESU program for consumers will be a one-year option available for $30. Program enrollment will be available closer to the end of support in 2025."

Microsoft does not say why it made the decision to limit support. Considering that Windows 10 is still dominating the usage charts, it is somewhat of a surprising move on first glance.

The relatively high price for business ESU and the limitation to a one-year extension for home users makes the program unattractive. This adds another argument to the "move to Windows 11" suggestion of Microsoft, as it highlights that extended security updates are not a permanent solution, but temporary.

Customers with education licenses pay less. Microsoft set the price tag to $1 for the first year, $2 for the second, and $4 for the third. That is a total of $7 for three additional years of security updates for Windows 10.

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