Microsoft has announced a price cut for Windows 365 alongside a not-so-subtle suggestion that Windows 10 users might consider taking advantage of the offer to keep security updates flowing.
The end of Windows 10 support is almost upon us. October 14, 2025, marks the termination of free support for many versions of the operating system. While Microsoft has stopped short of easing the hardware compatibility blocks that prevent many older devices from running Windows 11, it has introduced the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program to keep patches flowing for a cost.
The base license cost for ESU is $61 per device for the first year, which will double annually.
Alternatively, administrators could opt for Windows 365. A Windows 10 device accessing a Windows 11 Cloud PC via Windows 365 will automatically receive security updates.
As a sweetener, Microsoft has announced that first-time users can take advantage of a 20 percent discount on the service for the remainder of their Enterprise Agreement contract period or the first year of the customer’s Windows 365 subscription, whichever of the two is shorter.
Microsoft modestly said: “The 20 percent discount on all Windows 365 plans for new customers underscores Microsoft’s unwavering commitment to supporting our customers during these uncertain times.”
Even with the discount, subscribing to Windows 365 represents a jump from just paying to keep the updates flowing. The cost of a useful Windows 365 Cloud PC (with 2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB of storage) is currently £35.60 per user per month (not including VAT) in the UK, €41,40 in the EU, and $43 in the US. Even with the discount, this does not compare favorably to paying for a year of ESU.
Microsoft’s discount comes as new figures from Statcounter show that the growth of Windows 11 market share has slowed once again, although progress against Windows 10 is still being made. The gap between the two operating systems has now narrowed to less than ten percentage points, with Windows 10 at 52.94 percent and Windows 11 at 43.72 percent.
Microsoft has been ushering customers toward subscription models for its services for a long time now, and letting the company take care of running a PC in the cloud is a logical extension. Indeed, the company recently introduced the Windows 365 Link, a device that does nothing except connect over the internet to a Windows 365 Cloud PC.
So, no need for administrators to worry about all that pesky end-user hardware.
The timing of the offer, which ends on October 31, 2025, appears to be aimed squarely at administrators looking down the barrel at the impending end of support for Windows 10, with devices unable to take the Windows 11 upgrade. However, for users not interested in Windows 11 but still keen to keep the fixes flowing, plenty of alternatives remain, even considering the Windows 365 discount. ®
