DIY PC Builders Can Now Buy Window 11 Licenses From Microsoft

pcmag.com:

For many months after the release of Windows 11, there was no way to purchase a license on Microsoft's webpages. Instead, you had to buy one for Windows 10 and then run through the upgrade process. I've been checking the Get Windows 11 page for months, and finally found the licenses available.

A check with the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine shows that the option appeared some time in May. It's not present in the May 3 snapshot(Opens in a new window). There was no media coverage of this development, even in the Windows-only sites that go nuts over even the tiniest changes in the Windows ecosystem (volume indicator, anyone?).

Now, if you click on the Get Windows 11 link under "Want Windows 11 on your custom-built PC?" —which is way down the page below the retailer icons for Best Buy, Dell, and the like— you're taken to a license purchase page for Windows 11 Home(Opens in a new window) (see top image above). It costs $139.00, the same price as Windows 10 Home.

Notably, there's no option to buy the Pro edition when you arrive through this link. I was only able to find the Pro license purchase through a web search. Here's a link that takes you directly to the Windows 11 Pro purchase(Opens in a new window) page. It costs $199.99, the same price as Windows 10 Pro.

I understand that the company is far more interested in getting you to buy a new PC than buying a license. But it's good to see that Microsoft is finally acknowledging that DIY PC builders and Mac users who want to install the OS in a virtual machine are a worthwhile audiences for Windows 11.

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