As Windows 10 reaches end of life, Windows 11 is LOSING market share

Beta News ^ | 9/10/2025 | Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

[fireman15]

Next month sees Windows 10 finally reaching the end of (mainstream) support. Microsoft has been pushing people towards Windows 11 for what feels like forever, and it worked – for a while.

The latest market figures show that this is changing. The statistics for August 2025 from statcounter Global Stats show a marked drop in Windows 11’s share of the desktop market.

Rewinding a little bit through time, June 2025 was a significant month because it marked the point at which Windows 11 finally caught up (well, very nearly) with Windows 10. Windows 11 managed to reach a market share of 47.98 percent of Windows desktops, compared to 48.76 percent for Windows 10.

July 2025 saw Windows 11’s steady increase in popularity continuing, with a big jump for the latest version of Windows up to a 53.51 percent share of the market. Windows 10 trailed behind at 42.88 percent.

But now the tide is turning. While Windows 11 remains more popular than Windows 10, there has been a very sudden drop in market share. As of August 2025, Windows 11 has a 49.08 percent share of the desktop Windows version market. This compares to 45.53 percent for Windows 10.

The downturn will be disappointing for Microsoft, and it is somewhat surprising for everyone else. It is all the more shocking when you consider we are now just weeks away from Windows 10 reaching the end of life.

It is difficult to pull apart the numbers to determine just why Windows 11 is suffering in this way, but there is a further surprise. Not only is Windows 10 increasing in popularity, but so is Windows 7. Yes, Windows 7.

I encourage people to click on the link; there is more entertainment value beyond the excerpt that I have posted.

[fireman15]

I thought that this article could stimulate an interesting discussion. Once again Microsoft's incredible power and influence is thwarted by 100s of millions of people who do not like to be pushed around. My neighbors who are unapologetic vaxxed up ultra-liberals were bragging yesterday about how they are still using Windows 7.

[wally_bert]

I have a Win7 laptop that I sometimes play chess or some legacy games on.

[Vaduz]

Windows is a bait deal get the new one or else no options but more gargbage to pimp.

No wode so mny switch to other networks.

[thinden]

please identify alternatives that could save or use old word or excel files?

also alternatives to outlook

[V_TWIN]

Microsoft’s ultimate leverage is to end security updates on any given version of Windows.

How people could still be using older versions such as Win7 is beyond my understanding.

[fireman15]

I thought that everyone could have a little fun with this one.

As Windows 10 reaches end of life, Windows 11 is LOSING market share

I actually do not mind Windows 11 that much. But I have purchased and installed about 20 Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC for myself, friends and family, because Windows 10 is still my preferred Windows OS. But to those who despise Windows in any form, nearly all of our computers multi-boot or have Virtual Machines that I use daily with various forms of Linux. I can’t live without Linux either.

[Openurmind]

“Once again Microsoft’s incredible power and influence is thwarted by 100s of millions of people who do not like to be pushed around.”

As it should be. Customers who allow themselves to be abused by a “product” are dumb as hell...

[George from New England]

Win xp here on one box, win98 on another
But no $$$ on either

[algore]

I have had all of the windows versions since running ms-dos on my Apple][ (I had a z80 card)

I worked at MSFT for a while and contributed substantially to the internet as you know it today.

Yes TPM, secure boot and bitlocker are important for organizations, and yes they should go that direction, but for home use, not necessary.

Sure you should be able to enable these things if you want but they should not be shoved down your throat and money ripped out of your wallet.

personally I have been running only Server OS since 2007 cause I don’t need all the eye candy and gui crap.

Windows 10 will be supported for several more years, yes you might have to pay for it, but either way you will pay.

I will probably migrate to Linux for many things, but I am still trapped in the windows ecosystem for the time being.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

After Microsoft AGAIN trashed my wife's computer running 11 with one of those “updates,” I repaired all, used the HD as a data disk and recovered all data, installed 10 on a new HD and blocked the OS from updating. I also run 10 on a lap top which has received no updates for a very long time. I am our “tech support,” and use some proprietary software on another 11 desktop which will NEVER be even hooked up to the internet. Need to transfer files? Thumb drives are cheap. Microsoft's changing business plan is getting both aggressive and incompetent. A fine combination....

[Phoenix8]

I’m a bit ignoramt of tech. but why can’t they just keep supporting win 10 for people who need it?

No longer efficient or just a dishonest way to force everyone to go buy their 💩???

[Openurmind]

“please identify alternatives that could save or use old word or excel files?”

13 for Linux:

https://itsfoss.gitlab.io/post/13-most-used-microsoft-office-alternatives-for-linux/

“also alternatives to outlook.”

25 for Outlook:

https://alternativeto.net/software/microsoft-office-outlook/?platform=linux

[fireman15]

please identify alternatives that could save or use old word or excel files?

also alternatives to outlook

I have upgraded approximately 20 computers to Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC. I can post or freepmail step by step instructions along with a video on how to do this and maintain basically everything that you have in your current Windows 10 installation without very much effort, although it takes a couple hours to get all of the updates which end up being reinstalled. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC will receive security updates until 2032. The licenses cost approximately $20 from the place where I get mine, the cheaper alternatives usually are not IoT which means the updates will be extended for only a couple of years.

[Carry_Okie]

I'm stuck with Windows because of Acrobat and Adobe is screwing me. I have thousands of pages from a CS-2 PowerPoint in layered pdf. The pdf equivalents from PowerPoint in Linux simply suck graphically. When I installed a new motherboard, Adobe killed the Acrobat 13 I had. I bought a new Acrobat 13 on CD. Adobe basically disabled it with "updates," pitching their outrageous monthly bill.

I made the mistake of setting up this machine as a dual boot with Ubuntu. I'm thinking I should instead have made it native Ubuntu and run Windows as a virtual machine. I'm afraid I'll have to wipe out the hard drive and start over, putting decades of work at risk. I don't know enough to do this myself despite having assembled the tower in the first place with dual flash drives and a 2TB hard disk.

So it all sucks, between Bill Gates control trips and Adobe's native greed bleeding me charging a fortune for 20 year old software.

[Red Badger]

Ping!.................

[Red Badger]

Ping!.................

[Openurmind]

They are selling extensions for $30 a year... But it is just kicking the can down the road...

[Flavious_Maximus]

Decades of using low skilled Indian programmers have ruined Windows. Those H-1B visa holders are NOT highly skilled (and NEVER have been). They are extremely mediocre and at the same time think they are superior. In my opinion, they are all Untouchables (Dalit). Which is why India is sending them all over here. India doesn’t want them.

[AppyPappy]

The “I hate Windows 10 people” from a few years ago are now “I love Windows 10 and hate Windows 11 people”

[discostu]

If you don’t hang out in the dark corners of the internet or install very stupid browser add-ons you really don’t need security updates. They make it sound like it’s a big deal, but honestly it’s not.