Windows 11 has hit 1 billion users just a hair faster than Windows 10 did

In a world where technology enthusiasts often voice their grievances about operating systems, Windows 11 has recently achieved a significant milestone. Despite the mixed reviews and ongoing debates about its usability, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced during a recent earnings call that Windows 11 has officially surpassed 1 billion users globally. This achievement comes a few months earlier than Windows 10's journey to the same landmark, reaching it 1,576 days after its debut on October 5, 2021. In contrast, Windows 10 took 1,692 days to reach the billion-user mark, beginning from its general availability on July 29, 2015. One interesting aspect of this comparison is that Windows 10 was offered as a free upgrade for all users of the previous Windows 7 and Windows 8, which had no significant changes in hardware requirements. While Windows 11 remains a free upgrade for Windows 10 users, its stricter system requirements mean that many devices running Windows 10 cannot transition to the newer OS. Estimating the number of PCs still operating on Windows 10 is challenging, as public data can be inconsistent. However, educated guesses suggest that hundreds of millions of machines are still using it, even after the official end-of-support date in October 2022. According to Statcounter, a widely recognized source for operating system and browser usage statistics, approximately 50-55% of Windows PCs around the world are currently using Windows 11, while 40-45% are still on Windows 10. Interestingly, usage figures for both Windows 10 and Windows 7 have seen a slight uptick in recent months, underscoring the variability in data collection. Dell's COO, Jeffrey Clarke, mentioned that as of late 2025, around 1 billion active Windows 10 PCs were still in use, with about 500 million of those not meeting the hardware requirements for an upgrade to Windows 11. This suggests that Statcounter’s portrayal of a nearly balanced user base between the two operating systems may be quite accurate.