Windows 10 is out of support: ESU year two has started and costs double

Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. Since then, a Windows 10 device only gets security patches if it is enrolled in Extended Security Updates (ESU). For businesses, the second year of ESU started on October 14, 2026.

What changes

• Without ESU, Windows 10 gets no security patches, fixes or technical support from Microsoft.
• Business ESU is bought per year and per device, for up to three years. Microsoft set year one at US$61 per device and the price doubles each year: year two costs US$122.
• If you skipped year one and want to join now, you have to pay for year one too.
• ESU only brings critical and important security patches. No new features and no general technical support.
• Microsoft 365 Apps keeps getting security updates on Windows 10 until October 10, 2028, but the operating system underneath is exposed without ESU.

Since when

• October 14, 2025: Windows 10 end of support.
• October 14, 2026: ESU year two starts, covering until October 12, 2027.
• October 10, 2028: the third and last ESU year ends.

Who it affects

• Businesses that still run Windows 10 devices, with or without ESU.
• IT and finance, because every year you wait the migration costs more.

What to do

1. Take inventory: how many devices are still on Windows 10 and which ones meet the Windows 11 requirements.
2. Upgrade the ones that qualify to Windows 11 before paying for another ESU year.
3. For the ones that don’t, decide whether to replace them or pay ESU one more year while new devices arrive.
4. If a device stays on Windows 10, confirm it is enrolled in ESU and getting patches.

Let’s review your Windows 11 migration plan together.

Microsoft sources:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/whats-new/extended-security-updates
• https://learn.microsoft.com/lifecycle/products/windows-10-enterprise-and-education