Home users got another free year of Windows 10 security updates. Businesses did not. Here is the difference

Tuesday, October 13, 2026, marks the end of the first year of Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program for Windows 10, the paid or points-based safety net created when mainstream support for the operating system ended in October 2025. What happens next depends on who owns the computer and how it is managed, and the answer changed this summer.

In late June, Microsoft quietly extended the consumer version of the program by a year, to October 12, 2027. The change appeared in updates to Microsoft’s ESU documentation and as an editor’s note on a Windows Experience Blog post rather than in a formal announcement, according to BleepingComputer and other outlets that spotted it. Home users who were already enrolled will receive the extra year automatically.

Businesses received no such gift. Devices covered by the commercial program move into a second year that costs twice as much as the first.

What ESU is, and what it is not

Extended Security Updates deliver security fixes only. They do not add features, and they do not include the broader technical support that came with a supported version of Windows. A Windows 10 PC enrolled in ESU stays patched against newly discovered vulnerabilities that Microsoft classifies as critical or important, which is the part that matters most for keeping a machine safe online.

A Windows 10 PC that is not enrolled continues to work. It simply stops receiving security patches, and each month that passes adds to the list of known, unpatched flaws an attacker could use.

The consumer program: free for most, through October 2027

For personal devices, there are three ways to enroll, as reported by Pureinfotech and others: sync PC settings to a Microsoft account through the Windows Backup app at no additional cost, redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or make a one-time payment of $30. Enrollment requires a Microsoft account. In the European Economic Area, consumers need only be signed in to their PC with a Microsoft account to receive coverage at no extra cost.

Microsoft’s support documentation now says users can enroll at any time until the program ends on October 12, 2027. Some older articles and support answers still give the October 2026 date; those predate the extension.

The important limit for business readers is scope. The consumer program applies to personal devices. According to reporting on the change, it excludes systems joined to Active Directory domains or managed by enterprise tools.

The commercial program: the price doubles

Organizations buy ESU through Microsoft Volume Licensing or a Cloud Solution Provider partner. Microsoft lists the commercial price at $61 per device for year one, with the price doubling each consecutive year for up to three years. That puts year two at $122 per device, covering the period after October 13, 2026, through October 12, 2027.

Two rules catch businesses out. Purchases are cumulative: an organization that wants year two must also buy year one, even though that year is over. And partial-year purchases are not offered. A company that skipped the first year therefore pays $183 per device to be covered from now until October 2027.

Some commentary quotes a three-year total of $427 per device. That figure is arithmetic, $61 plus $122 plus $244, rather than a number Microsoft publishes for year three, and readers should treat it as an estimate until Microsoft prices the final year.

Where small businesses fall

Many small businesses do not run domain-joined, centrally managed fleets. A five-person office may have a handful of laptops bought at retail, each signed in with an individual Microsoft account. Whether those machines can use the consumer route is a licensing question that depends on how they are set up and used, and businesses should check Microsoft’s current eligibility terms or ask their IT provider before relying on it.

Where machines are joined to a domain or enrolled in a device-management service, the commercial program is the relevant one, and the math is simple: multiply $122 by the number of devices if you bought year one, or $183 if you did not.

A practical checklist

• Count your Windows 10 machines. Include the PC that runs the card reader, the laptop in the warehouse and the reception computer. Old, single-purpose machines are the ones most often forgotten.
• Sort them by management. Personal-style setups and domain-joined or managed devices fall under different programs.
• Check upgrade eligibility. Microsoft’s PC Health Check app reports whether a computer can run Windows 11. An eligible machine can usually be upgraded without buying new hardware, which ends the ESU question for that device.
• Price the alternatives. For an older machine that cannot run Windows 11, compare two years of commercial ESU with the cost of replacing it. The doubling schedule makes replacement more attractive each year.
• Confirm enrollment, do not assume it. Windows Update shows whether ESU is active on a device. A machine that is neither enrolled nor upgraded is unprotected from October 14 for commercial devices without year-two coverage.
• Do not stop at the operating system. Browsers, office software and security tools have their own support timelines for Windows 10; check each vendor’s published dates.

Why Microsoft is stretching the timeline

Microsoft has not explained the consumer extension in detail, and it was made without a formal announcement. Many PCs are still running Windows 10, including machines that cannot meet Windows 11’s hardware requirements. Extending free security coverage for consumers reduces the number of unpatched home machines online, which is a security benefit for everyone.

For businesses, the message from the pricing is the opposite: the safety net is temporary, it gets more expensive each year, and the cheapest long-term option is usually to move off Windows 10.