Microsoft Charges $30 for One More Year of Secure Windows 10 Support

Microsoft has announced that it will charge consumers $30 for a year’s worth of additional security updates for Windows 10. Official support for Windows 10 is set to end on October 14, 2025, but consumers will have the unprecedented option of purchasing a single year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) for $30.

Meanwhile, businesses face a different pricing model, with a charge of $61 for the first year of ESU, $122 for the second year, and $244 for a third year of updates. Microsoft will provide consumers the opportunity to purchase only one year of updates at the $30 rate. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, explained that enrolled PCs will continue to receive critical and important security updates for Windows 10, but the company will not offer new features, bug fixes, or technical support.

Consumers will be able to sign up for the ESU program “closer to the end of support in 2025.” Microsoft is also encouraging users to upgrade to Windows 11 instead of opting for extended security updates for Windows 10. According to Mehdi, this is an opportune moment to transition to Windows 11 with confidence given the Windows 10 end-of-support timeline.

The transition to Windows 11 might necessitate purchasing a new PC, as millions of existing PCs lack the capability to officially upgrade to Windows 11 due to stricter hardware requirements and Microsoft’s enhanced security features in its latest operating system. Windows 11 is compatible only with CPUs released from 2018 onward and devices equipped with TPM security chips.

Adoption rates for Windows 11 have lagged behind those for Windows 10 in recent years. However, there are indications that users are beginning to upgrade their systems or refresh their hardware. Windows 11 temporarily became the most popular OS for PC gaming among Steam users in August, though it fell back behind Windows 10 in September. It is anticipated that Windows 10 usage will remain robust through 2025 and beyond.

Originally, Microsoft stated it would cease major updates for Windows 10 in 2023, but the company revised its approach earlier this year, which could help maintain strong usage of Windows 10. In an unusual move, Microsoft reopened its beta program for Windows 10 in June to test new features and improvements on an operating system it intends to stop supporting next year.

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