Here’s how much Microsoft will charge for Win10 security updates once support ends

Microsoft has announced prices for additional security updates after Windows 10 reaches end of support late next year. 

Businesses that continue to run Windows 10 on devices past the Oct. 14, 2025 deadline will have to pay a yearly fee for access to Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program or miss out on important security fixes.

Access to the ESU costs $61 per device for the first year, Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday; the access is available for a maximum of three years. The price will double annually after year one, Microsoft said, rising to $122 per device in the second year, and $244 in year three. Missing a year isn’t an option: those that join the program in year two will also pay for the first year, for example.

Businesses that use one of Microsoft’s update management tools — namely Intune or Windows Autopatch — will receive a 25% discount on ESU licenses. This reduces the cost to $45 per device for the first year, for up to five devices. 

Customers in the education sector will pay significantly less: $1 per ESU license in the first year, $2 in second, and $4 in the third year, according to a post on Microsoft’s Education Blog.

The prices announced this week are for business customers only. For the first time, Microsoft will also offer consumers the option to join the ESU program and receive security updates after Windows 10 support ends. However, prices for individual users were not immediately available; they will be shared “at a later date,” Microsoft said. Adoption of Windows 10 remains far ahead of its successor, Windows 11, according to StatCounter’s data. Windows 10 accounted for 67.6% of desktop Windows usage in the US, compared to 29.2% for Windows 11.
Microsoft, Security, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Security