Microsoft to charge Windows 10 users $61 to keep the OS past 2025, and $122 the following year

Microsoft has already announced that it was ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 - where after this date, the company will no longer supply security updates or new features. With Windows 10 still the most popular Microsoft operating system and Windows 11 adoption slowing, there will be a way for users and businesses to get Extended Security Updates (ESU) after this date.

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Microsoft announced this last year, easing some concerns for those who might not want to upgrade on October 14, 2025. However, it did mention that signing up for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) will come at a cost. Today, we've got the costs - they're geared toward forcing users to upgrade to Windows 11 (or 12).

Paid security updates after Windows 10 becomes end-of-life will cost users and businesses $61 USD per device for Year 1. From there, the "price will double every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years," so that's $122 USD per device for Year 2 and $244 USD per device for Year 3.

"Extended Security Updates are not intended to be a long-term solution but rather a temporary bridge," Microsoft writes in the announcement. "ESUs do not include new features, non-security fixes, or design change requests. The ESU program does not extend technical support for Windows 10. Technical support is limited to the activation of the ESU licenses, installation of ESU monthly updates, and addressing issues that may have been caused due to an update itself."

ESU licenses for Windows 10 devices will be available for purchase starting in October 2024, a year before the official end-of-support date.