When you're planning a PC build -- even one of the best PC builds -- you're probably working toward a budget. Perhaps you put aside $300 for the CPU, another $150 for the motherboard and $500 for the graphics card. If you want to run Windows -- and most PC builders and gamers do -- Microsoft would like you to pony up at least $139 for a retail operating system license ($199 if it's Windows 11 Pro).
The good news is that you can get Windows 11 Home or Pro for free (with small caveats) or for as little as $12 if you want the full, hassle-free experience. PC companies such as Dell and Lenovo don't pay full retail price for Windows (they get OEM licenses at bulk costs that are an industry secret) so why should you be penalized for building your own computer?
Below, we'll explain how to get Windows 11 for free or cheap and compare all the methods for doing so. Read on and save.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell - Column 0 PriceProsConsDon't Activate WindowsFreeNo c ost, few downsidesDesktop watermark; Personalization options restricted; Can't use Microsoft supportBuy a Cheap Key from a Third Party$12 - $25Fully functional Windows on the cheapSmall chance your key won't workUpgrade from Windows 10FreeFreeYou need to have Windows 10 alreadyUse a Windows 10 KeyFreeFreeYou need to own it alreadyBuy an OEM DVD from Amazon$119Very reputable sellerPricey, not a retail key, requires DVD driveBuy a Key From MicrosoftHome: $139, Pro: $199Transferrable to other PCsExpensiveHow to Download Windows For FreeWhy you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
No matter how or whether you pay for it, you can download Windows 11 for free 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.
You can either download a Windows 11 ISO directly (and write that to a USB drive using a third-party tool such as Rufus) or you can use Microsoft's media creation tool, which grabs the latest code from the Internet and then burns itself to a USB Flash drive (we'd recommend one of the best flash drives to save install times) directly.
Once that's done, you can boot from your installation media and start the process. During installation, Microsoft asks you to enter a Windows 11 product key (a valid Windows 10 key will also probably work, at least for now). If you don't have a key, you can skip past this step by clicking "I don't have a product key," but there are drawbacks to using a copy of Windows that hasn't been activated, which we'll talk about below.
We'll also show you the different methods for saving money on Windows and compare them. If you need a product key and don't have one available already from an existing build or copy, you'll want to check out method 2, which involves using a low-cost key marketplace.
Method 1: Upgrade from Windows 10: FreeIf you already have Windows 10 installed on the computer and you just want a newer version of the OS on the same hardware, you can upgrade it for free (obviously this method doesn't help if you are building a new PC), provided that your computer meets Windows 11's stringent system requirements. Those include TPM 2.0 support, at least 4GB of RAM, and at least 64GB of storage space.
If you can upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, Windows itself will let you know quite prominently when you go to Settings -> Update & Security. It may be on the top of the screen or on the side.
If you don't have any way to get a Windows 10 or 11 product key for free and you don't want to live with the drawbacks of an non-activated copy of Windows (see below), there are many third-party sellers that offer keys starting at less than $20. At the time of writing, Groupon had Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Home keys for just $12.
We bought a Windows Pro key using Groupon's offer and it worked perfectly; we just entered it during installation and there were no problems. The only drawback to using Groupon is that you have to go through a couple of steps to get your key, After you purchase, you receive a voucher code which you then must email to Microtechkey, the seller that is using Groupon as its marketp lace. Someone from the company then emails you the key code. In our case, there was about a 2-hour delay between our emailing and receiving the key.
If Microtechkey's price goes up by the time you read this, check Kinguin, a popular key marketplace we've used a few times. At publicatoin time, Kinguin was selling Windows 11 Home for $21.89 and Windows 11 Pro for $25.93. You might be able to get them for less with a Kinguin discount code though. These are all OEM keys and likely can't be used on another computer after you activate them on the first one.
If you use Kinguin, we recommend paying a little extra to get a key that has "online activation," which means that it should activate automatically over the Internet. Keys that aren't marked for "online activation" may force you to call Microsoft, wait on hold and ask a phone representative for help activating. The representative may even ask for your Microsoft account, which is not great for your privacy. The key we boug ht from Groupon used online activation; no phone call was required.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyNow, let's address the elephant in the room. While we can't vouch for all of them, websites selling cheap Windows 11 keys are likely offering legitimate codes. Kinguin has more than three dozen merchants worldwide selling Windows keys. Mark Jordan, Kinguin's VP of communications, told Tom's Hardware in 2019 that Kinguin's merchants acquire the codes from wholesalers who have 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 product key that you can use either during the Windows install process or to activate an unactivated copy of the operating system you already have installed.
We've bought keys from Kinguin a few tim es. At one time, we bought a Windows 10 Home key from Kinguin to activate a copy of the OS on a newly-built PC. This was not an "online activation" version so the instructions on the product page warned that we might need to call Microsoft's activation phone number to make the key work and, indeed, the first time we tried using the key, Windows wouldn't accept it. So we tried calling the number and waited on hold for a few minutes.
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 representative who immediately asked for our Microsoft account ID. Though these are supposed to be legitimate keys and we shouldn't get in trouble for using one, we were uncomfortable giving out personal information so we hung up and tried the key again and strangely it then worked.
Another time, we paid a few dollars more for an online activation key. Lo and behold, it activated as soon as we entered the code, with no phone call required.
Are you likely to be ripped off? According to 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 and then" to make sure they're legitimate, he said. Jordan added that it's rare for a customer to get a key that's been resold, but if they did, customer support would help them get a new one for free.
"If there's ever a problem with a key being already activated or something like that, our customer support team helps you get a new key… And that merchant would be in deep trouble, so they are very careful with it," Jordan said.
3. Use an Old Windows 10 Key From Another PC: FreeIf you have an old, retail (non-OEM) copy of Windows 10 you are no longer using on another PC, you can likely use the product key when you do a fresh install of Windows on your new PC. However, you must first make sure it's deactivated on the old PC it came from. See our article on how to transfer a Windows 10 or 11 license to a new PC for step-by-step information on how to retrieve and move your key.
The process of transferring a Windows license varies, depending upon whether you have digital or non-digital license. With a the former, you'll need to log into your Microsoft account to deactivate the old PC. And with the latter, you'll want to use a command line command to terminate the activation.
Note that if the product 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 free to try it, though, because if it works you have Windows 11 for free.
4. Don't Activate Windows 11: FreeIf you don't have a valid product key, you can opt not to enter one during the install process and live with an unactivated version. The good news is that you only have two serious disadvantages from not activating Windows 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.
The second drawback of using unactivated Windows 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 account that syncs with another computer on which you have custom wallpaper, that wallpaper will appear on your unactivated Windows.
You can also change wallpaper by locating the JPG you want, right clicking on it and selecting Set as Desktop Background. The preloaded wallpapers are located under the C:\Windows\Web folder.
Another downer, but a minor one: you can't get tech support from Microsoft should you call for help with Windows if it's not activated. But come on; do any PC builders actually do that?
Other than those inconveniences, unactivated Windows should work just fine and receive automatic updates too. We've known folks who used unactivated Windows for months or years without a problem, but we can't guarantee that Microsoft won't crack down and limit functionality further in the future.
5. Buy Discounted Windows 11 From Amazon: Tiny SavingsIf you're not comfortable with buying from a key marketplace like Groupon or Kinguin, you might think you'd be better off buying a slightly-discounted boxed or downloadable copy of Windows from Amazon or Newegg.
Both sites sell OEM copies of Windows at very marginally-discounted prices. Fo r example, you can get a DVD of Windows 11 Home for $119 on Amazon. But it's a DVD so it's unclear if they product key that comes with it would work with a downloaded copy of Windows. So you might need an optical drive. Also, you have to wait for it in the mail and, for all that, you're saving $15 off of the retail price of Windows 11 Home on Microsoft.com. And this isn't a retail copy so you can't transfer it to a future PC.
It's also possible that you might find third-party sellers on Newegg or Amazon selling copies of Windows 11. However, we didn't see any when we checked recently.
6. Buy Windows 11 from Microsoft: $139 - $199The easiest but most expensive way to get Windows is to buy your key directly from Microsoft.com. You can get Windows 11 Home for $139. And you can get Windows Windows 11 Pro for $199. You can get these either as downloads or on USB drives.
The one true advantage of this method is that your copy of Windows is considered a retail copy, which means that you can use the license again on another PC in the future. It can't be used on two computers at once, but if you rebuil d your computer with new parts, you can use the retail license on it while an OEM key may not work.
What's the Best Way to Get Windows 11 for Free or Cheap?If you have an old Windows key you can carry over from a previous build, that's your best option and effectively gives you Windows 10 or Windows 11 for free. If you don't have a key on hand, you need to decide whether you're comfortable using an unactivated version of Windows 11, which limits your customization options, has an ugly watermark, and leaves you ineligible for Microsoft support.
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 close this loophole, probably because it's more interested in driving user numbers and collecting data. We've even seen wel l-known vendors and Microsoft partners do press presentations with watermarks on their PCs.
If you need to buy a Windows 11 key, you can save a lot with a low-cost seller such as Groupon or Kinguin. If you're using Kinguin, we strongly recommend that you buy a key with online activation so you don't have to explain yourself and give out personal info to a Microsoft operator.
It's hard to recommend paying MSRP for Windows 11, because Microsoft's price is astronomically high. You can save $100 or more by buying a key from one of these third-party sites, which is money you can spend on one of the best graphics cards, one of the fastest SSDs, or a couple AAA games for your new PC.
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