With the new year bringing the curtain down on the most used version of Windows, Barry Collins explores where consumers and businesses should head next

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It’s remarkable to think that a decade after its release, Windows 10 will enter 2025 as by far and away the most used version of Windows.

In some ways, it’s a cause for a celebration. It shows that the majority of people still find Windows 10 suitably equipped for their computing needs and see no compelling reason to add to the mountains of e-waste by upgrading their computer. A win for the environment.

However, Microsoft is preparing to call time on Windows 10, with the operating system reaching end of support later this year. That will give consumers and businesses a decision to make.

Do they continue to cling to their Windows 10 hardware, grudgingly paying Microsoft for extended support? Do they upgrade to Windows 11 and, if so, which version: x86 or Arm, Home or Pro? Or should they wait for Windows 12, or maybe even eschew the very notion of running their own Windows installations and head for the clouds of Windows 365 instead?

In this feature, we’ll systematically go through the options, taking the different operating systems in turn and helping you to decide which version of Windows you should be running in your home or business in 2025.

WINDOWS 10

The clock is running down on Windows 10 as we enter 2025. Support comes to a halt at the end of October, and although Microsoft has pushed Windows support deadlines back in the past – particularly when that operating system remains in widespread use – the company seems more determined to draw a line in the sand with Windows 10. Not least because there’s a revenue stream attached to it.

Have no doubt: there’s still a huge installed base of Windows 10 users out there, even though Windows 11 is now more than three years old. The global figures from Statcounter show Windows 10 still accounts for just over 60% of all Windows installations as of October 2024. Windows 11 is at 36%, and while the gap between the two is narrowing, it’s not doing so at any great pace.

Perhaps more alarmingly for Microsoft, even the traditional early adopters of new operating systems remain stubbornly attached to Windows 10. Gamers tend to have higher spec machines than average, but Steam’s hardware survey for October 2024 found that Windows 10 was still installed on 47.5% of all machines used to access the gaming service, only a tiny fraction less than the 48.8% using Windows 11.

This vast installed base partly explains why, for the first time in the history of Windows, Microsoft is offering Extended Security Updates (ESU) to consumers as well as businesses for Windows 10.

Consumers will be given a year’s extra security updates for a one-off fee of $30, effectively pushing the support deadline back to October 2026. Microsoft has confirmed to PC Pro that its Windows Defender antivirus will also keep receiving updates until at least October 2028.

Windows 10 still accounts for just over 60% of all Windows installations as of October 2024

As was the case with Windows 7, businesses can get up to three years of security patches for Windows 10, but there’s a stiff financial penalty for companies that choose to linger on the operating system for the full duration. The first year of updates will cost business customers $61 per device, but that price doubles each year thereafter, meaning that by year three you’ll be paying $244 per device for the security updates.

There’s no financial advantage to biding your time and only paying for the ESU if a major security breach emerges that you absolutely must patch, either. If you decide to join the ESU in year two or three, you still need to pay the fee for any previous years as well.