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

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

A new journey with Windows

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.

There is another option

Good news is that Windows 10 home and business users have another option. It comes courtesy of micro-patching service 0Patch. For roughly $30 per year, it is providing security patches for Windows 10 after support ends.

The price of a subscription does not double each year, and the company announced already that it will support Windows 10 until at least 2030.

Closing Words

Microsoft's decision to limit extended security updates to a year for home users is disappointing. It affects plenty of Windows 10 users:

  • Those who use devices that do not meet the Windows 11 requirements.
  • Those who prefer Windows 10 over 11.

Millions of devices do not meet the system requirements. These are stuck on Windows 10. While it may be possible to bypass requirement checks to upgrade to Windows 11, it is still a technical process and one that Microsoft is modifying regularly.

It remains to be seen how popular the first consumer-based ESU program will be. It depends to a degree on Microsoft's communication. Will it highlight the option to users when they run Windows 10? Or will it be buried on the Microsoft website only?

What is your take on the news? Do you plan to sign up for the program to get extended support? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

 

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