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.
