What ESU is and is not
Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. Extended Security Updates is the paid program that keeps delivering the critical and important security updates the Microsoft Security Response Center rates as such — and nothing else. Microsoft Learn is explicit that ESU includes no new features, no non-security fixes, no design changes and no technical support beyond activation problems with ESU itself (checked September 2026). Devices must run Windows 10 version 22H2 with the October 2025 cumulative update and the ESU licensing preparation package installed; the Long-Term Servicing editions are excluded because they follow their own lifecycle. ESU is a bridge, priced by Microsoft to stay uncomfortable, and every year on it should have an exit date attached.
The consumer program: free to October 2027
For personal devices, Microsoft's Australian consumer ESU page (checked September 2026) offers three enrolment routes: at no additional cost if the PC syncs its settings with Windows Backup, by redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or by a one-off purchase of AU$44.95 including GST. All three now provide security updates through 12 October 2027 — a year beyond the program's original term — and a device can be enrolled any time before then, with one licence usable on up to ten devices tied to the same Microsoft account. The catch for business owners is in the eligibility rules. The consumer program 'can't be used in commercial scenarios': devices joined to an Active Directory domain or Microsoft Entra, or enrolled in any mobile device management, are refused, as are kiosk-mode devices. A properly managed business PC does not qualify, however small the business.
Commercial pricing: US$61, doubling
For organisations, Microsoft Learn lists ESU through the Volume Licensing program at US$61 per device for year one, with the price doubling every consecutive year for a maximum of three years — US$122 for year two and US$244 for year three, or US$427 per device across the full run (checked September 2026). Purchases are cumulative: an organisation that first enrols in year two must also pay for year one. Partial periods cannot be bought. Two cheaper paths exist. Devices managed through Microsoft Intune or Windows Autopatch qualify for a cloud-activation licence that Microsoft's Windows IT Pro blog prices at US$45 per device for year one, about 25 per cent off. And ESU is free for Windows 10 virtual machines on Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure, with Windows 10 endpoints that connect to a Windows 365 Cloud PC entitled for up to three years. Figures are USD list; Australian CSPs quote in AUD.
When to buy ESU and when to replace
Frontrow's decision rule works backwards from the hardware. If a device meets the Windows 11 requirements, upgrade it — that is free, and Intune or Autopatch can stage it in rings. If it cannot run Windows 11 and is due for replacement within the next twelve months anyway, ESU year two at US$122 is cheaper than accelerating the purchase, provided the replacement date is real and in the budget. If it cannot run Windows 11 and cannot be replaced — a controller for a machine tool, a lab instrument, a point-of-sale unit tied to a vendor's certification — buy all three years, isolate it on the network and document the exception for the auditor. Everything else should be replaced, because year three costs US$244 for one device-year of patches and Essential Eight's patch-operating-systems strategy does not accept 'unsupported but paid for' as a maturity claim.
The Windows 365 alternative
There is a fourth option that sidesteps the per-device ESU bill. Because Microsoft grants ESU entitlement to any Windows 10 endpoint that connects to a Windows 365 Cloud PC for up to three years while the licence is active, an old fleet can be turned into thin clients: the user works on a Windows 11 Cloud PC in Australia East, the Windows 10 laptop underneath keeps receiving security updates, and the hardware is replaced on its own schedule rather than Microsoft's. Windows 365 Business starts at AU$52.40 per user per month ex GST (checked September 2026), so this is not cheaper than ESU year two on its own — it is a different purchase that buys a modern desktop, device-agnostic access and a managed image as well as the patches. For remote and regional sites with freight and travel costs baked into every hardware refresh, it is often the better answer.