Windows 11 has overtaken Windows 10 as the most used desktop operating system, according to the latest data from Statcounter. The figures, released Monday, show Windows 11 holding a 72.57 percent market share, compared to Windows 10’s 26.45 percent.
The shift in dominance comes as Microsoft ended support for many versions of Windows 10 in October 2025, prompting users to upgrade. While extended security updates are available for a fee, many organizations are choosing to migrate to Windows 11 to avoid ongoing costs.
“I don’t think any organization wants to pay for ESU licenses,” said Esben Dochy, Principal Technical Evangelist at Lansweeper, in a statement to The Register. “Many organizations will migrate, but a non-trivial subset will rely on ESU as a safety net because their constraints are less about ‘deciding to upgrade’ and more about validating dependencies and coordinating operational downtime.”
The rise of Windows 11 appears to align with Microsoft’s earlier announcement that its flagship operating system had surpassed one billion users. Yet, Statcounter’s methodology, which tracks usage across more than 1.5 million websites globally, means its data should be viewed with some caution. The company regularly revises its figures as more data becomes available, and it remains one of the few independent sources for operating system market share information in the absence of official telemetry from Microsoft.
Despite the growth of Windows 11, Windows 10 continues to maintain a significant user base. The impending end of support for Windows 10 2016 LTSB and Windows Server 2016 is as well drawing attention. Lansweeper data indicates that Windows Server 2016 currently accounts for 20.3 percent of all servers monitored. Dochy explained that server migrations are often complex due to the critical services they provide, and any downtime can impact entire organizations.
“Migration barriers for servers are often related to the services they provide. Services they run massively increase the effort and time required to migrate as any downtime doesn’t affect a single device but an entire service for the organization,” Dochy stated.
Windows 10 2016 LTSB represents a small portion – 0.5 percent – of all Windows devices, but constitutes 19.8 percent of the LTSC/LTSB segment. Dochy noted that LTSC/LTSB versions are typically deployed for specialized purposes, such as kiosks, point-of-sale systems, and embedded devices, often in the consumer and retail sectors. These deployments often face stricter upgrade requirements related to vendor certification, peripheral compatibility, and driver support.
“Because of this, many of these endpoints have stricter gates they must pass for upgrades to take place like vendor certification, peripheral/driver support, and change windows, not just IT preference,” Dochy said.
