Windows 11 has seen a significant increase in adoption, reaching 72.57% of the market by the end of February 2026, according to Statcounter. This rapid growth comes as Windows 10 support officially ended in October 2025, prompting many organizations to transition to the newer operating system.
Market Share and User Growth
Statcounter's data, which is derived from over 1.5 million websites, indicates that Windows 11's market share jumped from 62.41% in January to 72.57% in February 2026. Meanwhile, Windows 10's share has decreased to 26.45%. Despite potential inaccuracies, these figures are the most detailed available, as Microsoft does not release official operating system share statistics.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted that Windows 11 reached 1 billion users faster than its predecessor, Windows 10. The user base for Windows 11 increased by more than 45% in 2025, driven by the impending end of Windows 10 support.
Migration Drivers and Challenges
The primary catalyst for this migration is the end of official support for Windows 10, which has led organizations to upgrade to Windows 11 rather than incur costs for extended security updates (ESU). Esben Dochy, chief technical evangelist at Lansweeper, noted that while many organizations are migrating, some will continue to rely on ESU due to operational constraints and the need to validate dependencies.
The transition to Windows 11 is seen as a strategic move for many businesses, aiming to avoid the additional expenses associated with maintaining outdated systems and to leverage the enhanced features and security offered by the newer platform.
