You may purchase Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro licenses directly from Microsoft. While that may sound like the logical path to grab licenses, it is not the best deal that you can get.
Windows 11 licenses come in handy in several situations. Computer users who prefer to build their PCs from scratch need to buy a license if they want to run Windows 11 on the device. Others may want to run Windows 11 in a virtual environment, e.g., for testing purposes or running software that is only available on Windows.
Windows 11 licenses
You have several options when it comes to obtaining Windows licenses. Buying a PC with Windows gets you one, but the license is often linked to the device. You may also buy retail copies at various online stores, or use third-party key resellers for that. PCs with Windows 10 may also be upgraded to Windows 11 free of charge, at least in home environments.
When you check out Microsoft’s offerings on the official site, you will notice that the digital download of the license costs as much as a retail license.
Windows 11 Home is available for $139, and Windows 11 Pro for $199.99. That is the same price that you’d pay for a retail copy of Windows 11. In fact, you may purchase an entire PC with Windows 11 that is almost as expensive as the single license that you get from Microsoft.
On Amazon, you get a Windows 11 Home mini PC for $219 currently. At Best Buy, just one of the stores that is offering Windows 11 retail licenses, you’d get Windows 11 Pro USB Flash Drive for $199.99. At Newegg, Windows 11 Pro OEM DVD is available for $159.98 currently.
If you live in a region where key reselling is allowed, you may get better bargains still. A quick check at key reselling site G2A confirms that you may get a Windows 11 Pro license for as little as $35.08 at the time of writing. Licenses are sold for less than $5 in some stores and online marketplaces, but caution is advised if the deal sounds too good to be true.
Closing Words
You have several options when it comes to obtaining Windows 11 licenses. Buying directly from Microsoft is one of these options, but you pay a premium for that. Retail and online stores offer better deals, and while some of these may not be suitable for all use purposes, it is recommended to select the most suitable option out of the available ones.
Now You: where would you buy a Windows 11 license? (via PC Mag)
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