Microsoft starts selling individual Windows 11 Home and Pro licenses

Individual users can now buy a separate license for Windows 11 directly from Microsoft. Until now, it was only possible to get a Windows 11 license with a PC, buy a physical license or upgrade a Windows 10 installation.

Microsoft sells Home and Pro licenses on its website. Users can buy Windows 11 Home for 145 euros per license. A Pro license costs 259 euros. Microsoft has always offered separate downloads of the operating system, but these could only be used in combination with a valid license. A separate activation code was not for sale at Microsoft itself. Previously, physical Windows 11 licenses appeared, with a USB stick with the OS on it. Licenses can also be purchased from third parties in the Netherlands. They are significantly cheaper there than at Microsoft itself.

Previously, Microsoft itself did not sell direct Windows 11 licenses for home-built PCs. Users who wanted to buy a Windows 11 key through the company then had to buy a Windows 10 license and then upgrade to the new OS for free. That free upgrade will continue to exist, but new PC builders or users of a virtual machine can now also buy the license separately in one go.

Microsoft warns that systems must meet the correct system requirements, otherwise the installation will not work. A few weeks ago, the company started showing only a watermark if those requirements are not met.