Windows 11 now runs on 71.5% of all Windows machines worldwide, while Windows 10 has fallen to 27.8%, according to fresh Statcounter data cited by The Register. The shift comes as the cost of staying on Windows 10 is set to double.

Microsoft does not publish its own user figures. Statcounter derives its estimates from tracking code installed on websites globally, and the numbers are not split between consumer and business use.

What drove the migration?

The decisive break came on October 14, 2025, when mainstream support for Windows 10 ended. Just one month before that deadline, roughly half of all PCs still ran Windows 10, according to executives from Dell and HP.

Since then, organizations and consumers could keep receiving security patches through Microsoft's Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. The consumer path is free: Microsoft initially said the free updates would run for one year, then extended the consumer ESU program until October 12, 2027.

Business customers face a different calculation. They must pay to enroll each user device in the ESU program.

How much does staying on Windows 10 cost?

For enterprises holding out, the price ladder is steep:

• Year one: $61 per device
• Year two: $122 per device — double the first-year rate, effective as the second year begins
• Year three: $244 per device — the final year of the program

Each step doubles the previous one. For a fleet of 10,000 machines still on Windows 10 entering year two, that means $1.22 million in annual update fees versus $610,000 the year before — a cost that comfortably funds hardware refresh cycles for many IT budgets.

What happens next?

The price escalation is expected to further accelerate the move to Windows 11. The economics leave little room: a three-year ESU commitment totals $427 per device across the program's lifetime, an amount that buys a substantial portion of a replacement PC.

The trend line already favors Microsoft's newer OS. Windows 11 has gained ground steadily at Windows 10's expense since the October 2025 support cutoff, with the older OS now holding less than a third of the installed base.

IT leaders still running Windows 10 fleets face a narrowing window. The third ESU year, at $244 per machine, is the last one Microsoft will offer — after that, unpatched Windows 10 systems become an unmanaged security exposure.