Windows 11 Market Share Dynamics
Windows 11 has yet to make a significant leap in market share over its predecessor, Windows 10, despite the latter’s support ending nearly two months ago. As reported by Statcounter, by November 2025, Windows 11 claimed 53.7 percent of the Windows desktop market, while Windows 10 held 42.7 percent. This indicates a narrowing gap rather than the anticipated widening, which Microsoft and PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) had expected.
It is essential to note that Statcounter’s data is derived from a relatively small sample of around 1.5 million websites, encompassing both consumer and business devices. This context adds layers to the interpretation of the figures.
In a conversation with The Register, Esben Dochy, principal technical evangelist at Lansweeper, highlighted that many consumers possess devices that are either incompatible with upgrades or adhere to the philosophy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He also pointed out that consumers in the European Union benefit from free Microsoft Extended Security Updates (ESU).
For businesses, the scenario diverges significantly. Dochy elaborated, stating, “The primary blocker is slow change management processes. These processes can be hampered by poor planning, insufficient resources, and challenges in execution, especially within highly distributed organizations.” He noted that while organizations utilize ESUs to maintain security during these transitions, the associated costs can become burdensome for those that are unprepared or inefficient.
Kieren Jessop, a research manager at Omdia (formerly Canalys), described the situation reflected by Statcounter as “genuine, but complex.” He explained that when consumers acquire new Windows 11 PCs, they often retain their older Windows 10 machines for secondary purposes, such as children’s homework or basic tasks. This retention leads to continued web traffic from Windows 10 devices, influencing usage statistics and tempering the decline of the older operating system.
In the enterprise landscape, the dynamics shift. Organizations still operating on Windows 10 are leveraging the ESU program strategically, using it as a bridge rather than an alternative. Jessop noted that ESUs have become a standard component of business PC migration planning, rather than an exception.
Organizations are adopting a selective approach to ESUs, focusing on mission-critical systems with application dependencies, specialized hardware lacking Windows 11 drivers, and segments where budget allocations for refreshes have yet to be made. This strategy resembles triage, allowing companies to buy time for specific parts of their fleet while executing staged migrations for the remainder. For large enterprises, the cost per device for ESUs often pales in comparison to the potential disruptions caused by migration, including compatibility testing, deployment planning, user retraining, and productivity losses during rollout. Moreover, many organizations would need to invest in new hardware regardless, making it financially prudent to spread capital expenditures across regular refresh cycles rather than rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline.
Despite the end of free support for numerous versions, Windows 11 faces the challenge of lacking a compelling feature that would prompt enterprises to break their hardware refresh cycles, especially in the current challenging economic climate. While Microsoft has not disclosed official statistics regarding Windows 11 adoption, hardware vendors have observed a sluggish transition. Dell’s COO, Jeffrey Clarke, remarked during an analyst call that the pace of adoption for Windows 11 lags behind previous operating systems by approximately 10-12 points at this stage.
