Windows 11 sees a major spike in market share as Windows 10 nears its official EOL

In context: Windows 11 reached a new market share milestone in March, even as Microsoft continues to warn users about Windows 10's impending end of support. Despite being set to reach its end-of-life status in October, Windows 10 – originally released in July 2015 – remains the most widely used version of Microsoft's operating system on desktops and laptops.

According to the latest data from Statcounter, Windows 11's market share saw a significant jump in March 2025, largely at the expense of Windows 10. By the end of Q1, Microsoft's latest desktop OS had reached a 42.66 percent market share worldwide.

While Windows 10 remains the dominant version with a 52.23 percent market share, it has declined sharply from its peak of nearly 70 percent in April 2024. Meanwhile, Windows 11's share rose from 38.13 percent in February, continuing its steady expansion among PC users globally. For comparison, Windows 10 held a 58.7 percent market share in February 2025.

One of the key drivers behind Windows 11's recent market share growth is Microsoft's persistent reminders to Windows 10 users about its impending end-of-life. The company has issued multiple notifications urging users to upgrade to Windows 11 to continue receiving security updates and new features beyond October 2025.

While some users have complained about the "annoying" Windows 11 upgrade prompts, the latest data suggests they are having an effect. Windows 11's market share has been steadily rising since the start of the year, while Windows 10 has been losing users since January, following a slight uptick in December 2024. Windows 10 held a 62.7 percent market share in December, whereas Windows 11 accounted for just 34.2 percent.

Many users remain hesitant to upgrade to Windows 11 due to concerns over telemetry, online features that some believe compromise privacy, and controversial in-shell ads. Additionally, deprecated features and the strict TPM 2.0 requirement have deterred some from making the switch.

Beyond Windows 10 and 11, Windows 7 remains the third-most popular version, still used by 2.22 percent of Windows users. Surprisingly, Windows XP – released nearly a quarter of a century ago – continues to hold on with a 0.33 percent market share. Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 round out the list with 0.28 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively.