Windows 10 Editions Explained: Every Version, Support Dates and Upgrade Paths (2026)

Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, but the edition you run still decides what happens next. It determines whether you can join Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program, how long an LTSC install keeps getting patches, and which Windows 11 edition your free upgrade lands on. Below is every Windows 10 edition Microsoft shipped, from Home to IoT Core, with the support dates as they stand in September 2026.

Every date and price below comes from Microsoft’s own lifecycle pages, the Extended Security Updates pages and the Microsoft Store, checked in September 2026. Roughly 30 percent of desktop Windows PCs worldwide still run Windows 10, so this is not a history lesson yet.

All Windows 10 Editions Compared

Microsoft published Windows 10 in a dozen editions over its ten-year life. The table lists the ones that matter to a real PC, who each was sold to, and its support status today.

Source: Microsoft Learn lifecycle pages for each edition and the Windows 10 consumer ESU page, September 2026.

Where Windows 10 Support Stands in 2026

Mainstream support for Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education ended together on October 14, 2025. Version 22H2 was the final feature update, and its build number stayed at 19045 through the end. Microsoft did not release a 23H2 for Windows 10, so every PC on the normal update track is on 22H2 or already unsupported.

End of support does not switch the PC off. It stops security patches, which is the part that matters. Microsoft’s answer for people who cannot move yet is the Extended Security Updates program, and the consumer version of it has changed since launch. The program was originally a one-year bridge to October 2026. In June 2026 Microsoft extended it, and the consumer ESU page now says coverage runs through October 12, 2027, with enrollment open until the same date.

Three ways to enroll in consumer ESU

The consumer program covers Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations on version 22H2. You enroll from Settings under Windows Update, signed in with a Microsoft account that is not a child account. Microsoft offers three routes:

• Free, if you sync your PC settings to your Microsoft account through Windows Backup.
• Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
• A one-time purchase of $30 (or the local equivalent) plus tax.

All three give the same thing: critical and important security updates only. No feature updates, no non-security fixes and no technical support. The consumer program also cannot be used in a business setting.

Business ESU: paid, and the price doubles

Organizations on Enterprise and Education buy ESU through volume licensing at $61 per device for the first year. The price doubles each year for a maximum of three years, which takes coverage to October 2028 at $61, $122 and $244 per device. Virtual machines running Windows 10 in Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure get ESU at no extra cost, and Windows 10 PCs that connect to a Windows 365 Cloud PC are covered for up to three years under that subscription.

Every Windows 10 Edition Explained

1. Home: the consumer edition

Home is the edition on most consumer laptops and desktops. It has the full desktop, the Microsoft Store, Windows Hello sign-in, Windows Security with Microsoft Defender Antivirus, and device encryption on hardware that supports it. What it lacks is the management layer: no BitLocker with your own recovery control, no Group Policy editor, no Remote Desktop hosting, no Hyper-V, and no way to join a company domain.

Microsoft no longer sells Windows 10 Home. A Home PC that meets the Windows 11 requirements gets a free upgrade to Windows 11 Home through Windows Update. If you are staying put, our guide on how to speed up Windows 10 still applies to 22H2.

2. Pro: the business edition

Pro adds the business tools on top of Home: BitLocker drive encryption, Hyper-V virtualization on 64-bit systems, Remote Desktop as a host, Group Policy, Windows Update for Business deferrals, Assigned Access kiosk mode, and domain or Azure AD join. It supports up to 2 TB of RAM and two physical processors.

Pro upgrades free to Windows 11 Pro on eligible hardware. If you need a fresh Pro license today, Microsoft only sells Windows 11 Pro, priced at $199.99 on the Microsoft Store, and Windows 11 Home at $139.

3. Pro for Workstations: server-grade hardware

Pro for Workstations arrived with the Fall Creators Update in 2017 for machines closer to a server than a laptop. It supports up to four physical processors and 6 TB of memory, adds the ReFS resilient file system, persistent memory (NVDIMM-N) support, and SMB Direct for RDMA network cards. Everything else matches Pro, and it shares Pro’s lifecycle: ended October 2025, consumer ESU available.

4. Pro Education and Education: the school editions

Education is Enterprise with school-friendly defaults, sold through academic volume licensing. Pro Education is Pro with the same defaults, meant for schools that buy PCs with Pro preinstalled and then step up with an academic agreement. Both strip out consumer features such as Cortana suggestions and Microsoft Store promotions by default.

The two sit on different ESU tracks. Pro Education qualifies for the consumer ESU program. Education follows the Enterprise lifecycle and needs the paid business ESU.

5. Enterprise and Enterprise multi-session

Enterprise is Pro plus the security and management features large organizations pay for: Windows Defender Application Control, Credential Guard, DirectAccess, AppLocker, and the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integration. It is licensed per user through Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 or through volume agreements, never at retail.

Enterprise also has a multi-session variant that lets several users share one Windows 10 virtual machine at the same time. Microsoft lists Enterprise multi-session under the same lifecycle as Enterprise and Education, so its mainstream support ended in October 2025 as well.

6. Enterprise LTSC and LTSB: long-term servicing

The Long-Term Servicing Channel, called the Long-Term Servicing Branch until 2018, is the edition for devices that must not change: ATMs, medical equipment, factory controllers, digital signage. It gets security updates for years but never receives feature updates, and it ships without the Microsoft Store, Edge or the inbox apps. Each release has its own fixed lifecycle.

Source: Microsoft Learn lifecycle pages for Windows 10 2015 LTSB, 2016 LTSB, Enterprise LTSC 2019, Enterprise LTSC 2021 and IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021.

Two things stand out in that table. Enterprise LTSC 2021 was cut to five years of support with no extended phase, so it ends in January 2027, earlier than the 2019 release it replaced. And the IoT variant of the same release runs to 2032, which is why so many long-life devices ship with IoT Enterprise LTSC rather than the plain Enterprise version.

7. IoT Enterprise and IoT Core

IoT Enterprise is the full Windows 10 Enterprise binary under a different license, sold only through device makers for fixed-purpose hardware such as point-of-sale terminals, thin clients and industrial PCs. The annual-channel version ended with everything else on October 14, 2025, while the LTSC releases follow the dates above.

IoT Core was a different product: a stripped-down, free Windows for small boards like the Raspberry Pi 2 and Intel’s Minnowboard, with no desktop shell and a single foreground app. Microsoft retired it on November 10, 2020, and pointed remaining users to the paid Windows IoT Core Services or to IoT Enterprise.

8. S mode: the locked-down state

S mode is a locked-down state of Home, Pro, Education or Enterprise rather than a separate edition. A PC in S mode only runs apps from the Microsoft Store and only browses with Edge, which is why it appears on cheap school laptops. Switching out of S mode is free and one-way: once you leave it through the Microsoft Store, you cannot go back. The original 2017 edition, Windows 10 S, was folded into this model in 2018.

9. Mobile and Mobile Enterprise

Windows 10 Mobile replaced Windows Phone 8.1 on Lumia handsets in 2015, with a Mobile Enterprise variant for managed fleets. Version 1709 from October 2017 was its last release, and Microsoft ended support for both variants on December 10, 2019. The Project Astoria bridge that promised to bring Android apps to Windows phones was canceled before it shipped; if you want to run Android apps on a PC today, the working options are emulators and Google Play Games.

Which Windows 10 Edition Upgrades to Which Windows 11 Edition

The free upgrade keeps your edition tier. It is offered through Windows Update to any Windows 10 PC that meets the Windows 11 minimum requirements: a compatible 64-bit processor at 1 GHz or faster with two or more cores, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, UEFI with Secure Boot, a TPM 2.0 module, and a DirectX 12 graphics card. The processor list and the TPM 2.0 rule are what exclude most PCs built before 2018.

• Home moves to Windows 11 Home.
• Pro and Pro for Workstations move to Windows 11 Pro and Pro for Workstations.
• Pro Education and Education move to the matching Windows 11 editions.
• Enterprise moves to Windows 11 Enterprise under the same license.
• LTSC releases do not take feature upgrades. Moving an LTSC device to Windows 11 means a new LTSC image, such as Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024.

Meanwhile, Windows 11 is on version 25H2, with 26H2 in the Release Preview Channel since August 27, 2026 and due as a small enablement package later this year. For what each Windows 11 edition adds and how long it is supported, see our Windows 11 editions guide. Once you are across, our Windows 11 dark themes guide is a good first stop.

How to Check Which Windows 10 Edition You Have

Open Settings, go to System, then About. The Windows specifications section lists the edition, the version (it should read 22H2) and the OS build. Typing winver into the Start menu opens a smaller dialog with the same information. If the version shows anything older than 22H2, the PC stopped getting updates before October 2025 and needs the 22H2 update before ESU enrollment will work.

FAQ: Windows 10 Editions

How many editions of Windows 10 are there?

Counting the ones that shipped to customers: Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations, Pro Education, Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session, Enterprise LTSC, IoT Enterprise, IoT Enterprise LTSC, IoT Core, Mobile and Mobile Enterprise, plus the Team edition that runs on Surface Hub. That is thirteen, though a normal PC buyer only ever chose between Home and Pro.

Is Windows 10 still safe to use in 2026?

Only if it is enrolled in Extended Security Updates. An unenrolled Windows 10 PC has not received a security patch since October 2025. Enrollment is free with settings sync and takes a minute from Windows Update, and it now covers you through October 12, 2027.

What is the last version of Windows 10?

Version 22H2, released on October 18, 2022, with OS build 19045. Microsoft’s release information page lists it as the final version for Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education, and ESU devices keep receiving monthly updates on the same build.

Which Windows 10 edition is best for gaming?

Home. Every edition runs the same games on the same DirectX 12 stack with the same drivers, and Game Mode, the Xbox app and Game Bar are all in Home. Pro’s extras are management features that do nothing for frame rates.

What is the difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro?

Pro adds BitLocker, Hyper-V, Remote Desktop hosting, Group Policy, domain join and longer update deferrals. Home has everything a personal PC needs, including the same games, drivers and Defender antivirus. Both ended support on the same day and both qualify for consumer ESU, so the choice only matters for the business features.

Can I still buy a Windows 10 license?

Not from Microsoft. The Microsoft Store only lists Windows 11 Home and Pro. Third-party sellers still offer Windows 10 keys, but a new install today should be Windows 11, and the same tier of key is the only thing that changes between the two.

Should You Still Be on Windows 10 in 2026?

If the PC can run Windows 11, take the free upgrade; the edition mapping above means nothing is lost. If it cannot, enroll in consumer ESU now rather than later, because the program covers the machine until October 2027 and every unpatched month before enrollment is exposure. Businesses on Enterprise or Education have the paid ESU through 2028, and anything on LTSC 2019 or IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 can stay exactly where it is for years.

The edition history is worth a look too. Microsoft sold Windows 10 as a service rather than a numbered version, a first for the company, and our history of Windows shows how that decision shaped everything from XP to Windows 11.