![]() ![]() The retail cost of Windows 11 Pro comes to approximately $200. Microsoft has somewhat recently made Windows 11 Pro available as a standalone product. Administrators who built their own computers or wanted to do a clean install had to first install Windows 10 and then upgrade to Windows 11. In this case, the OEM license is linked to the specific device and can't be transferred to another machine. This is also the case for Windows 11 Home. Until recently, Windows 11 Pro was available only as an upgrade for eligible PCs running Windows 10, unless the OS was preinstalled by an OEM. It's also available as a perpetual license, with 24-month support from its release date, as opposed to 36 months for the Enterprise edition. For example, Windows Pro is cheaper than Windows Enterprise, and its licensing is a bit more straightforward. With that in mind, there are a few basics worth knowing about Windows 11 licensing to help navigate the labyrinth of fine print and feature matrixes. Even then, they should carefully review all licensing-related documentation to get the full picture. This topic is so complex that organizations usually need to contact Microsoft or a qualified partner to understand all the nuances. If customers purchase new computers, upgrade from Pro to Enterprise, deploy Windows in virtual environments or make any other changes that could affect licensing, they need to fully understand the differences among the various licensing programs. In either case, the existing software licenses continue to apply. If Windows 10 Enterprise is installed, the upgrade installs to Windows 11 Enterprise. If Windows 10 Pro is installed, the upgrade installs Windows 11 Pro. This assumes that the devices running Windows meet the newer hardware requirements - if they don't, then the upgrade technically has the cost of a new device. Many of those computers are still running Windows 10 at the time this article publishes, in which case, administrators can upgrade them to Windows 11 for free. Most organizations choose Windows Professional or Windows Enterprise for their desktop OSes. As such, there's plenty of confusion about the future of the perpetual desktop license and whether Windows 11 requires - or will eventually require - a subscription service-style licensing model in the future. To muddy the waters even further, Microsoft continues its aggressive push toward a cloud-based offerings and a services model. ![]()
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