A day after officially launching the free upgrade process for users of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1, Microsoft Corp. has put a price tag on Windows 10 for those running older versions of Windows or not running it at all.
The Microsoft Store was updated in all regions on Thursday morning with two separate prices, one for Windows 10 Home and one for Windows 10 Pro. In Canada, Windows 10 Home is $149 and Windows 10 Pro is $249. That’s in line with what Microsoft had charged to buy Windows 8. The Pro version includes more features that appeal to business users such as built-in encryption, embedded remote log-in, ability to create virtual machines, and more.
Until now, Microsoft had been silent on how pricing might look for Windows 10. The software giant has described its new OS as the start of the “Windows as a Service” era, indicating that it will be managed much like cloud software, akin to its Office 365 product. That left the pricing of Windows 10 open to interpretation – since this operating system will be upgraded incrementally instead of another major release of Windows coming out in three years – it was possible that Microsoft would move to a subscription fee model for Windows.
But sticking to its traditional pricing model means that once you buy Windows 10, you’ll own it forever without need for any subscripton fees. Of course, Microsoft makes most of its money off of sales of its operating system because of deals with its OEM partners. When HP, Dell, or Samsung sell you a new laptop with Windows 10 pre-loaded, Microsoft gets paid a licence fee.
Windows 10 remains a free upgrade for those running Windows 7 and 8.