You can spover thousands on components for building a PC, but it won’t boot without an operating system (OS). Linux is a viable option, but most prefer Windows because it runs all their favorite software, including the latest games. Obtaining a copy of Windows 11 or 10 for a built-from-scratch computer can be costly – if you don’t know what you’re doing. Microsoft charges consumers a whopping $139 for a Windows 10 (opens in new tab) or 11 Home license (opens in new tab) và $199 for Windows 10 (opens in new tab) or 11 Pro (opens in new tab).
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This is profoundly unfair to lớn PC builders, because large OEMs such as Dell và Lenovo likely pay a tiny fraction of that to lớn put Windows on prebuilt systems (though these costs are not made public).Fortunately, there are many ways to lớn get Windows 10 or 11 for không tính phí or for as little as $18 (opens in new tab), depending on what flavor of Windows you want, what you already have sầu and what caveats you’re willing to accept.
How to lớn Download Windows 10 or 11 For Free
No matter how or whether you pay for it, you can download Windows 10 (opens in new tab) or tải về Windows 11 (opens in new tab) for không tính phí from Microsoft.com. And, in fact, you should only download it from Microsoft, as grabbing it from any other site or from a P2P network could give you malware. Microsoft offers a miễn phí truyền thông creation tool, which grabs the lademo code from the Internet và then burns itself to lớn a USB Flash drive sầu or outputs a Windows 10 or Windows 11 ISO file you can write to lớn a drive sầu yourself.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
Once that"s done, you can boot from your installation media và start the process. During installation, Microsoft asks you to enter a Windows 10 or 11 sản phẩm key. If you don’t have sầu a key, you can skip past this step by clicking "I don"t have sầu a sản phẩm key," but there are drawbacks lớn using an unactivated copy of Windows, which we’ll talk about below.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
Below, we’ll also show you the different methods for saving money on Windows and compare them. If you need a hàng hóa key và don’t have sầu one available already from an existing build or copy, you’ll want to check out method 5, which involves using a low-cost key marketplace.
1. Upgrade from a Prior Windows Version: Free
If you already have a prior version of Windows installed on the computer, you can likely upgrade it for không tính tiền (obviously this method doesn’t help if you are building a new PC). Windows 7 & 8 will nâng cấp khổng lồ 10 và Windows 10 will tăng cấp to lớn 11, if your computer meets Windows 11’s stringent system requirements, which include TPM 2.0 tư vấn, at least 4GB of RAM and at least 64GB of storage space (you can bypass Windows 11’s TPM & RAM requirements but we don"t recommover it).
If you are still on Windows 7 or 8, you can upgrade lớn Windows 10 for miễn phí. Whether you’re going from 7 / 8 lớn 10 or 10 khổng lồ 11, you can tăng cấp either by using an install disk (created with the truyền thông media creation tool) or with Windows update.
2. Use an Old Windows 7, 8 or 10 Key From Another PC: Free
If you have sầu an old, retail (non-OEM) copy of Windows 7, 8 or 10 you are no longer using on another PC, you can likely use the sản phẩm key when you bởi a fresh install of Windows on your new PC. If you need help finding the sản phẩm key on your old computer, there are several ways lớn find it, but using Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder, a miễn phí download, is probably the easiest.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
chú ý that if the sản phẩm key comes from a prebuilt computer that came from the factory with Windows on it, it has an OEM key that may not work on a different new PC. Feel không tính tiền lớn try it, though, because if it works you have sầu Windows 10 or 11 for không tính tiền.
If you are massively upgrading your own old PC build, replacing the motherboard and other internal components, try following Microsoft’s instructions for reactivating Windows 10 or 11 after changing hardware (opens in new tab). Just make sure that you don’t use Windows on the old computer afterwards, because that key will already be in use.
3. Don’t Activate Windows 10 or 11: Free
If you don’t have a valid hàng hóa key, you can opt not enter one during the install process and live sầu with an unactivated version. The good news is that you only have two serious disadvantages from not activating Windows 10 or 11. The first is that there’s an embarrassing (if someone is looking over your shoulder) watermark on the lower right corner of the screen, which says that you’re using a non-activated copy of Windows.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
The second drawbaông chồng of using unactivated Windows 10 or 11 is that you can’t use personalization options such as changing the wallpaper, mouse pointer or desktop theme. However, if you are using a Microsoft tài khoản that syncs with another computer on which you have sầu custom wallpaper, that wallpaper will appear on your unactivated Windows.
Microsoft blocks out your personalization options if you get Windows 10 for không lấy phí và don"t activate it.
You also can’t get tech tư vấn from Microsoft should you Gọi for help with Windows. But come on; does anyone actually do that?
Other than those inconveniences, unactivated Windows should work just fine và receive automatic updates too. We’ve sầu known folks who used unactivated Windows for months or years without a problem, but we can’t guarantee that Microsoft won’t crack down & limit functionality further in the future.
4. Microsoft Student or Teacher Discount: Free
If you’re in college, you may be able khổng lồ get Windows 11 for free, just by being enrolled. Microsoft offers students attending certain universities và high schools the ability lớn get Windows 11 Education at no cost (it’s unclear if you can get Windows 10 this way anymore). Windows 11 Education is actually more full-featured than Windows 11 trang chủ and has most of the same features as Windows 11 Pro, including BitLocker encryption, Remote Desktop & Hyper-V virtualization.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
Meanwhile, teachers may be able lớn get Windows 11 Education for $14.99. You can see if your school is eligible và tải về your miễn phí Windows 11 key here.
5. Buy a Cheap Windows 10 or 11 Key From a Third-Party Seller: $20+
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
If you don’t have sầu any way lớn get a Windows 10 or 11 product key for free & you don’t want khổng lồ live sầu with the drawbacks of an unactivated copy of Windows, there are some third-buổi tiệc ngọt sellers that offer keys starting at less than $đôi mươi. At the time of writing, Kinguin, a popular key marketplace, was selling Windows 10 trang chủ for as little as $18.22 (opens in new tab) or Windows 11 trang chủ for $31.62 (opens in new tab). Windows 10 Pro started at $đôi mươi.90 (opens in new tab)& Windows 11 Pro was $34.30 (opens in new tab). These are all OEM keys and likely can"t be used on another computer after you activate them on the first one.
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| Windows 10 Home | $18.22 (opens in new tab) |
| Windows 10 Home (Online Activation) | $32.16 (opens in new tab) |
| Windows 11 Home | $31.62 (opens in new tab) |
| Windows 10 Pro | $trăng tròn.90 (opens in new tab) |
| Windows 10 Pro (Online Activation) | $35.37 (opens in new tab) |
| Windows 11 Pro | $34.30 (opens in new tab) |
Now, let"s address the elephant in the room. While we can"t vouch for all of them, websites selling cheap Windows 10 or 11 keys are likely offering legitimate codes. Kinguin has more than three dozen merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. Mark Jordan, Kinguin’s VPhường. of communications, told Tom"s Hardware in 2019 that Kinguin"s merchants acquire the codes from wholesalers who have sầu surplus copies of Windows they don"t need.
"It"s not a gray market. It would be like buying Adidas or Puma or Nike from a discounter, from TJ Maxx," Jordan said. "There are no legal issues with buying it from us. It"s just another marketplace."
Once you complete a purchase, you’ll be emailed a sản phẩm key that you can use either during the Windows install process or lớn activate an unactivated copy of the operating system you already have installed. However, in some cases, these keys can only be activated by using Microsoft’s phone activation service so we recommover that you pay extra for keys that are specifically labeled as “online activation” keys, because the phone process is not anonymous.
Recently, we bought a Windows 10 Home key from Kinguin to activate a copy of Windows on a newly-built PC. The instructions on the product page warned that we might need lớn Call Microsoft’s activation phone number to lớn make the key work &, indeed, the first time we tried using the key, Windows wouldn’t accept it. So we tried calling the number và waited on hold for a few minutes.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
We thought activating via phone would be an automated process where we just punched in the key and got an approval code, but instead we got a live sầu representative who immediately asked for our Microsoft trương mục ID. Though these are supposed to lớn be legitimate keys & we shouldn’t get in trouble for using one, we were uncomfortable giving out personal information so we hung up & tried the key again và strangely it now worked.
According to lớn Jordan, Kinguin"s merchants have sold “several hundred thousand” keys and are not one-time sellers posting listings for codes they don’t want. As part of its fraud protection, a Kinguin employee randomly buys a key “every now & then” khổng lồ make sure they’re legitimate, he said. Jordan added that it’s rare for a customer khổng lồ get a key that’s been resold, but if they did, customer tư vấn would help them get a new one for không tính phí.
“If there"s ever a problem with a key being already activated or something like that, our customer tư vấn team helps you get a new key… And that merchant would be in deep trouble, so they are very careful with it,” Jordan said.
6. Buy Discounted Windows 10 or 11 From Amazon: Not Recommended
If you’re not comfortable with buying from a key marketplace like Kinguin, you might think you’d be better off buying a slightly-discounted boxed or downloadable copy of Windows from Amazon or Newegg. However, both sites play host lớn a number of third-party sellers whose sản phẩm keys may or may not be legit.
At first glance, it looks lượt thích you can get Windows 10 trang chủ for as little as $98 on a USB Flash drive from Amazon. However, if you look at the seller’s name, you might notice that it’s not Microsoft or Amazon but a third-party named UNILOVO and there are several complaints in the user Đánh Giá about the key not working. You can find Windows 11 trang chủ on a Flash drive sầu for $139 on Amazon & Microsoft is listed as the seller so that’s probably legit, but no cheaper than what Microsoft.com charges.
(Image credit: Tom"s Hardware)
7. Buy Windows from Microsoft: $139 - $199
The easiest but most expensive sầu way lớn get Windows is khổng lồ buy your key directly from Microsoft.com. You can get Windows 10 Home (opens in new tab) or Windows 11 trang chủ for $139 (opens in new tab). And you can get Windows 10 Pro (opens in new tab) or Windows 11 Pro for $199 (opens in new tab). You can get these either as downloads or on USB drives.
What"s the Best Way to lớn Get Windows 10 or 11?
| Price | Free | Free | Free (Windows 10 Education) | $18+ | Home: $139, Pro: $199 |
| Pros | Access lớn all personalization options; Microsoft tư vấn access; Free | Free | Access to lớn all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Equivalent to lớn Windows 10 Enterprise; Free | Access khổng lồ all personalization options; Microsoft tư vấn access | Access to lớn all personalization options; Microsoft support access; Refunds |
| Cons | None | Desktop watermark;Personalization options restricted; Can"t use Microsoft support | You have sầu to be enrolled in an eligible school | There"s a chance your key won"t work, & you"ll need to get customer service | Expensive |
If you have sầu an old Windows key you can carry over from a previous build, that"s your best option và effectively gives you Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free. If you don"t have sầu a key on h&, you need to lớn decide whether you"re comfortable using an unactivated version of Windows 10 or 11, which limits your customization options, has an ugly watermark và leaves you ineligible for Microsoft tư vấn.
Many would argue that downloading Windows without paying for or already owning a product key is ethically wrong. That said, Microsoft has made this process easier over various Windows iterations and lessened the limitations and nagging that happens when you don"t activate. The company isn"t trying to lớn cthua kém this loophole, probably because it’s more interested in driving user numbers. We"ve sầu even seen well-known vendors và Microsoft partners vị press presentations with watermarks on their desktop.
If you need lớn buy a Windows 10 or Windows 11 key, you can save sầu a lot with a low-cost seller such as Kinguin (opens in new tab), although there’s always a chance your key won’t work & you’ll have sầu lớn rely on customer service. We strongly recommover that you buy a key with online activation so you don’t have sầu to lớn explain yourself and give out personal info khổng lồ a Microsoft operator.
It’s hard lớn recommend paying MSRP. for Windows 10 or 11, because Microsoft"s price is astronomically high. You can save sầu $100 or more by buying a key from one of these third-tiệc ngọt sites, which is money you can spend on one of the best graphics cards, one of the faschạy thử SSDs or a few AAA games for your new PC.
Scharon Harding has a special affinity for gaming peripherals (especially monitors), laptops và virtual reality. Previously, she covered business công nghệ, including hardware, software, cyber security, cloud and other IT happenings, at Channelnomics, with bylines at CRN UK.
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