Windows 11 crossed 1 billion users on January 28, 2026, and its share of the desktop Windows base passed 72% the following month. The surge followed the Windows 10 end-of-support deadline and a strong 2025 PC refresh cycle. This post tracks Windows 11 adoption across regions, enterprise segments, and PC gaming, using the latest StatCounter, Steam, and Microsoft figures.
Windows 11 Adoption Rate – TL;DR
- Windows 11 held 72.57% of the desktop Windows base in February 2026, up from 62.41% in January.
- Windows 11 reached 1 billion users on January 28, 2026, hitting the mark in 1,576 days.
- Windows 10 fell to 26.45% in February 2026, down 9.32 percentage points month over month.
- South America led regional adoption at 73.14% in October 2025.
- Windows 11 passed 70% of Steam gaming systems in June 2026, reaching 70.44%.
Windows 11 adoption accelerated after Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025. Gartner reported more than 270 million PC shipments in 2025, a 9.1% year-over-year rise, as businesses replaced hardware before the cutoff. Enterprise migration still trails consumer uptake, with about half of business endpoints on Windows 11 by mid-2025. For older machines that cannot run Windows 11, ChromeOS is a common fallback, and the data on how the two platforms compare on speed and battery explains why.
Top Windows 11 Adoption Rate Statistics for 2026
Windows 11 reached one billion users in 1,576 days, roughly four months faster than Windows 10 hit the same figure. The 2025 replacement cycle helped, with Gartner recording a 9.1% shipment increase as businesses refreshed hardware ahead of the support cutoff.
| Statistic | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 global desktop Windows share (Feb 2026) | 72.57% | PCWorld |
| Windows 10 global desktop Windows share (Feb 2026) | 26.45% | PCWorld |
| Total Windows 11 users (Jan 28, 2026) | 1 billion | Microsoft FY2026 Q2 Earnings Call |
| Days for Windows 11 to hit 1 billion users | 1,576 days | TechPowerUp |
| Monthly active Windows devices (June 2025) | 1.4 billion+ | Windows Experience Blog |
| Full-year 2025 worldwide PC shipments | 270M+ units (+9.1% YoY) | Gartner |
Source: PCWorld, Microsoft, TechPowerUp, Gartner
Windows 11 Market Share Timeline: 2024 to 2026
The 10.16-point jump between January and February 2026 was one of the sharpest single-month moves in StatCounter’s decade of Windows tracking. Windows 11 briefly slipped to 50.73% in late 2025 as consumers kept old Windows 10 PCs online as secondary devices. Once those machines came offline, the reported share swung toward Windows 11.
| Month | Windows 11 | Windows 10 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | 26.19% | ~68% | Numecent |
| May 2025 | 42.66% | ~52% | Numecent |
| June 2025 | 47.98% | 48.76% | XDA-Developers |
| October 2025 | 55.17% | 41.74% | Computerworld |
| November 2025 | 53.70% | 42.70% | The Register |
| December 2025 | 50.73% | 45.60% | Windows Central |
| January 2026 | 62.41% | 35.77% | PCWorld |
| February 2026 | 72.57% | 26.45% | PCWorld |
Source: StatCounter data reported by Numecent, XDA-Developers, Computerworld, The Register, Windows Central, PCWorld
Windows 11 Adoption Rate by Region
South America posted the highest Windows 11 penetration of any major region in the run-up to Windows 10 end of support. Asia was the only region where Windows 10 still led as late as October 2025. Europe’s slower pace has been tied to the free one-year Extended Security Updates offer for consumers in the EU, which removed the urgency to upgrade immediately.
| Region | Windows 11 | Windows 10 |
|---|---|---|
| South America | 73.14% | 21.91% |
| North America | 63.88% | 33.07% |
| Worldwide | 55.17% | 41.74% |
| Europe | 52.37% | 45.16% |
| Asia | 47.17% | 49.81% |
Source: Computerworld (October 2025)
Buyers in emerging markets who cannot afford a Windows 11-ready PC often look at ChromeOS instead, a cheaper alternative to Windows 11 that runs on lower-spec hardware.
Windows 11 Enterprise Adoption Rate Statistics
The migration gap in business environments is mostly a change-management issue, not a hardware one. ControlUp’s analysis of more than one million endpoints found that 88% of the machines still on Windows 10 in mid-2025 were ready for Windows 11, with only 11% needing full replacement. Extended Security Updates have become the fallback, with per-user ESU pricing starting at $61 for year one and reaching $244 by year three.
| Segment | Windows 11 Migration Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| All enterprise Windows endpoints (mid-2025) | 50% | APMdigest |
| Large enterprises (10,000+ devices) | 42% | APMdigest |
| Healthcare sector endpoints | 41% | APMdigest |
| Finance sector endpoints | 45% | APMdigest |
| Non-migrated endpoints capable of running Windows 11 | 88% | APMdigest |
| Windows 11 Enterprise SKU share of all Windows 11 deployments | 90% | ControlUp |
Source: APMdigest, ControlUp
IT leaders weighing platform costs against those ESU numbers can find side-by-side figures in this ChromeOS vs Windows business productivity comparison. Reliability also factors in, with data on Chromebook failure rates versus Windows laptops showing lower hardware service calls.
Windows 11 Adoption in PC Gaming
The Steam Hardware Survey showed a rare reversal in February 2026, with Windows 11 dropping about 10 points as Windows 10 rebounded. That swing was a sampling anomaly tied to a 30.7% surge in Simplified Chinese survey responses during Lunar New Year. By March 2026, Windows 11 had returned to 66.85% of Steam systems, and gaming adoption has climbed each month since, reaching 70.44% by June 2026.
| Month (2026) | Windows 11 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | 56.28% | 40.25% | Valve Steam Hardware Survey |
| March 2026 | 66.85% | 25.36% | Valve Steam Hardware Survey |
| May 2026 | 67.74% | 25.63% | Neowin |
| June 2026 | 70.44% | 23.56% | Valve Steam Hardware Survey |
Source: Valve Steam Hardware Survey, Neowin
VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3 stayed at about 1% of all surveyed users, so gaming migration is being driven by mainstream PCs.
Windows 10 End of Support and Windows 11 Adoption
Microsoft’s decision to end mainstream Windows 10 support left an estimated 500 million PCs stranded on unsupported hardware. That population is roughly the same size as the pool of upgrade-ready devices still on Windows 10, so the migration challenge splits evenly between the “won’t upgrade” and “can’t upgrade” groups.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 end-of-support date | October 14, 2025 | Microsoft Windows Experience Blog |
| Windows 10 share on the day support ended | 41.74% | Computerworld |
| Upgrade-ready Windows 10 PCs still on the old OS | ~500 million | XtendedView |
| Windows 10 PCs blocked from upgrade by hardware | ~500 million | XtendedView |
| Windows 11 share gain, Dec 2025 to Feb 2026 | +21.84 points | Windows Central |
| Microsoft enterprise-managed devices on Win10 22H2 (June 2025) | 53% | Redmondmag |
Source: Microsoft, Computerworld, XtendedView, Windows Central, Redmondmag
For the group blocked by hardware, installing ChromeOS Flex on an old Windows PC is one of the few options that keeps the machine secure without new hardware. It also cuts power draw, with figures on ChromeOS versus Windows energy use showing lower annual consumption.
Final Word on Windows 11 Adoption in 2026
Windows 11’s share of the desktop Windows base climbed from about 26% in May 2024 to over 72% by February 2026, pushed by the Windows 10 support deadline and a strong 2025 refresh cycle. Enterprise migration runs behind consumer migration, with roughly half of business endpoints still on Windows 10 by mid-2025, and Extended Security Updates now act as a paid bridge for organizations that need more time. Gaming adoption tracks close to the broader desktop average once the noisy February 2026 Steam sample is filtered out, with Valve’s June 2026 numbers showing Windows 11 at 70.44%.
FAQs
What is the Windows 11 adoption rate in 2026?
Windows 11 held 72.57% of the global desktop Windows base in February 2026, according to StatCounter data reported by PCWorld. Windows 10 dropped to 26.45% in the same month.
How many people use Windows 11?
Windows 11 passed 1 billion users on January 28, 2026, announced by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the fiscal Q2 2026 earnings call. It reached the milestone in 1,576 days.
Why did Windows 11 adoption jump so fast in early 2026?
Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025. That deadline, plus a strong 2025 PC refresh cycle, pushed consumers and businesses to migrate, adding 21.84 points to Windows 11’s share between December 2025 and February 2026.
What percentage of gamers use Windows 11?
Windows 11 reached 70.44% of surveyed Steam systems in June 2026, per Valve’s Steam Hardware Survey. Windows 10 sat at 23.56%, meaning about one in four Steam users still ran the older OS.
How many enterprises have migrated to Windows 11?
About 50% of all enterprise Windows endpoints ran Windows 11 by mid-2025, per APMdigest. Large enterprises lagged at 42%, and 88% of non-migrated machines were already hardware-ready for the upgrade.
Sources
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3075245/windows-11-market-share-keeps-climbing-despite-all-the-issues.html
https://www.techpowerup.com/345775/windows-11-reaches-1-billion-users-in-1-576-days-faster-than-windows-10
https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam
https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/windows-11-statcounter-market-share-february-2026
