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Microsoft Holds the Line on Windows 7 Pricing, Launches Limited Time Promotion

Jun. 25, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

This is from this morning's WinInfo, but I want to make sure everyone caught it.

Microsoft this morning announced its retail pricing plans for Windows 7. First, the good news: Contrary to rumors, the company is not raising prices. The bad news? It's not significantly lowering prices either. In fact, most versions of Windows 7 will simply cost exactly the same as their Windows Vista predecessors.

In the US, three versions of Windows 7 will be widely available at retail, Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Pricing for the Upgrade versions of these products breaks down as follows:

Home Premium (Upgrade) - $119.99
Professional (Upgrade) - $199.99
Ultimate (Upgrade) - $219.99

Full product pricing includes:

Home Premium (Full) - $199.99
Professional (Full) - $299.99
Ultimate (Full) - $319.99

In each case, Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate is priced identically to its Windows 7-based predecessor. Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade) is $10, or 8 percent, cheaper than Windows Vista Home Premium (Upgrade). And Windows 7 Home Premium (Full) is $40, or 17 percent, less expensive than its predecessor. (Similar pricing is available in other markets as well.)

To help avert criticism, Microsoft and its retail partners will temporarily offer steep discounts on the Upgrade versions of Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional only. Consumers who preorder these products online between June 26, 2009 and July 11, 2009 in the US and Canada will pay just $49.99 for Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade) (a $70 savings) and $99.99 for Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade) (a $100 savings). The deals will be made available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Microsoft, and at other participating online retailers. Consumers in Japan, France, Germany, and the UK can also preorder Windows 7 for similarly short time frames, though the exact dates vary.

Microsoft also announced that it would allow consumers who purchase a Windows Vista-based PC between June 26, 2009 and January 31, 2009 to receive a free copy of Windows 7. Called the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program, this program is global and completely free. Microsoft hopes it will address the problems caused by Windows 7 not shipping in time for the back to school PC selling season, which is currently underway.

The company also revealed that it will offer consumers in the EU the Full versions of Windows 7 only through at least December 31, 2009 because of antitrust issues there which preclude it from bundling Internet Explorer with the OS. During this time period, EU users (excluding the UK) will be able to purchase the Full versions of Windows 7 at the Upgrade prices. Traditional Upgrade versions of Windows 7 will appear in the EU eventually, Microsoft says, at which point it will return to its usual pricing structure.

There's a lot more going on here, including a few pricing issues that have yet to be resolved. For more information, please refer to my Windows 7 Pricing article on the SuperSite for Windows.

Discuss this Article 168

realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
from http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/pricing.asp "Note that these "E" versions do not apply to the UK." What does that mean, Paul? Does it mean the UK won't see any of that nonsense "E" versions and will get the proper versions that the US are getting (complete with IE)?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
So, we have: The consumer version (Windows 7 Home Premium) is cheaper than it was for Windows Vista The business version (Windows 7 Professional) is the same price as it was for Windows Vista Ultimate is only $20 more than the business version. Let the whining of "It's so unfair that I should have to pay more than I want for a commercial product" begin...
oiler_head@yahoo.ca
on Jun 25, 2009
Wow, what a missed opportunity. It sure would have been nice to see some sort of household licensing ala the some of the virus makers products. As far as pricing goes, I guess it is good they didn't raise prices but jeez, why not move the pricing down on consumer versions? It could have been a coup. I guess they are hoping that disgruntled users of vista will pre-order 7 and everyone else will get it with a new PC purchase... I am going to check the retail pricing for OSX as I wonder what that costs....
wdowell
on Jun 25, 2009
How could the UK be excluded from the E editions? We are part of the EU - you do know that, Paul, right? (The lack of Euro and Schengen-area are just to confuse you guys!)
gorath
on Jun 25, 2009
What is unfair, is that in the UK, we usually pay the same price as Americans, except in £. so... Home premium full = $199 in US, or £199 in the UK. Have they never heard of exchange rates?
benjwah
on Jun 25, 2009
@Mikegalos - You realise the tremendous profit margin on these things don't you? And the competition has been priced EXTREMELY competitively. I'm not talking about Linux. Do you think the price disparity will show up in an Apple ad? I'm pretty sure Justin Long & John Hodgman are currently practicing their lines. I think if they priced it more competitively, it would be better for Microsoft, better for the rest of us and bad for Apple. And in comparison to their OEM pricing, it's a ridiculous amount to charge. Why should it cost so much more if I go into a store and buy it than it does if I buy a new computer?
smiddlehurst
on Jun 25, 2009
@Mikegalos - oh come on, I know you defend Microsoft to a ridculous degree on this blog but surely you can't say in complete honesty that those upgrade prices are realistic, especially for those of us poor sods that actually went out and bought Vista at retail? Fact is, Vista has still, even today, got some fairly serious issues. My own machine is refusing to run Windows Update and still suffers from horrible file transfer speeds (5 hours to transfer over about 10gig of data is ridiculous). Windows 7, by contrast, seems to be a pretty good OS and a big step in the right direction but $120 (which will probably end up close to £120 when it comes over here) to basically fix Vista is far too much. From my perspective as an end user, Windows 7 and Snow Leopard have a lot in common - they're both more about overhauling the underlying code base than introducing a slew of new features, they both give performance increases and both offer a few nice new UI features. Sadly Microsoft have gotten greedy, especially as they've shown they could knock out upgrades for a decent price with this 'limited' offer. At the end of the day it's moves like this that result in such a large number of pirated windows installs. Me, I'll either go back to XP (I now have a licence free which I didn't when I bought Vista) or see what educational discount I get through my employer (I love working for a uni, I really do).
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
benjwah Let's see. The pricing on Windows has either stayed the same or has dropped. Yeah. That's sooooo unfair.
pmcgrath
on Jun 25, 2009
So the biggest problem here is that it will cost the same to upgrade from XP to Win 7 as Vista to Win7. Considering the cost of Snow Leopard, MS now looks like a bunch of asses.
LandonAB
on Jun 25, 2009
OT but I have seen it mentioned here before and I KNOW you guys can clarify this for me. I currently have Vista Home Premium 32 bit OEM License (came with the laptop). I want to move to Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Can I purchase the Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit and upgrade from 32 bit? Currently I actually have the Win 7 RC installed...which means I will have to install HP's bloatware Vista, update to SP2 then do the upgrade. In 18 years of using Windows, i have never done an upgrade. Should I uninstall all of the extras that HP installs before the upgrade or will the upgrade remove that crap? Thanks in advance for reading this! Landon
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
smiddlehurst So what you're saying is that if you ignore the hundreds of new and improved features that Paul documents both on WinSuperSite http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ and in his book, then Windows 7 is the same as a bug fix with virtually no new consumer features. That's a bit like saying "If you ignore that whole bit about flying an Airbus and a bus are pretty much the same" (Is this really the state of logic in the university systems?)
Master3
on Jun 25, 2009
"And the competition has been priced EXTREMELY competitively. I'm not talking about Linux." Oh you must mean the 20$ OSX that cant be installed on my PC? But if I go out and pay 8 times as much as I payed for my computer, then I can pay 20$ for an OS upgrade. I lose money in order to save money on an OS? Cool... 125.00 for an upgrade is not a lot of money seeing that most people in the 21st century do not go out and buy an OS from the store and are likely to get it new with their new PC anyway. If you have Vista, it's a darn good price. It's the same price Apple sold OSX for until they pulled the $20 "new OS" service pack stunt where we are now supposed to expect MS to sell their OS for the same price. And if you wanted to stay with an almost 10 year old OS because you either kept an old computer that couldn't run Vista, or just fell for the BS FUD about it, then I suggest you save your pennies. MS has been more than generous with keeping XP alive to accommodate people, but they cant keep stringing XP along forever.
Delmont
on Jun 25, 2009
smiddlehurst, If you work for a U. why not just simply purchase via the U and get your U discount. Pretty easy to me. Hey my Dad works for GM. But he refuses to use his GM Employee discount when he purchases a new vehicle and then complains about the cost of retail.
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
LandonAB, going from 32-bit to 64-bit means you'll have to do a clean install. But I think you'll still be able to buy an "upgrade" edition disc. You'll just be restricted to wiping Windows before it'll install.
Master3
on Jun 25, 2009
"So the biggest problem here is that it will cost the same to upgrade from XP to Win 7 as Vista to Win7. Considering the cost of Snow Leopard, MS now looks like a bunch of asses." Uh, because Snow Leopard is just a minor upgrade to a point release of OS 10. Why do you think they named it "SNOW LEOPARD" and not Mountain Lion? They explained it themselves. Yet Microsoft are "asses" for not selling their OS for nothing? And Snow Leopard it still more expensive than what Microsoft charges for their actual service packs which is ZERO.
clindhartsen
on Jun 25, 2009
Paul, there's a typo in there or they decided to go back in time... "...Microsoft also announced that it would allow consumers who purchase a Windows Vista-based PC between June 26, 2009 and January 31, 2009 to receive a free copy of Windows 7...." Still, this is kind of a disappointment, though I suppose that means I better preorder rather soon
DigDug
on Jun 25, 2009
I've never got the complaints about pricing of Windows or Office. I mean, its a lot, but they offer upgrade pricing, and with that the price is usually competitive with the other home OS or Office suites out there. OSX doesn't even need to offer a full version because you can't buy it unless you've already purchased the full version anyway. Any word on the anytime upgrade prices Paul?
WebGuy3000
on Jun 25, 2009
Is anyone actually surprised by this pricing structure? Really? I mean, it's in line with what they've always charged (slightly less in some cases), and I doubt they'd sell that many more at retail if they dropped the price. They'd be leaving money on the table. Seems to me that the people most likely to buy a retail upgrade or full OS are the same people most likely to take advantage of the early discount window.
g6672D
on Jun 25, 2009
Thanks for the info Paul, and no thanks Microsoft.
Ocean
on Jun 25, 2009
Can I upgrade from Window XP professional for $49?
darkmax
on Jun 25, 2009
hmm.... what about us poor Vista Ultimate victims?.....
Ocean
on Jun 25, 2009
>>I went back to my office and tried to write this article on a PC on which I'm running the beta version of Windows 7, the brand-new version of Microsoft's operating system. I'd written a paragraph when the PC crashed, for no reason. I started up again, rewrote the paragraph, and then the PC froze—again for no reason. At that point I gave up and just wrote the story on my Apple MacBook Pro, a pricey but rock-solid little notebook that runs on an operating system I can't remember ever crashing. I have no idea what makes one operating system work better than another, except that I know you need to have someone in charge who keeps telling the engineers that it's not good enough—go back and do better. And that, my friends, is why Apple, and all of us, need Steve Jobs.<< http://www.newsweek.com/id/203361/page/2
de Silentio
on Jun 25, 2009
- Vista seems to run fine on over 300 systems on my network. I'm happy with the way Vista turned out and I'm more happy with the way 7 is turing out. - It would be great to have cheap Windows 7 upgrade prices, but I do think that Microsoft is being fare. They are a business and need to make money. Supply and Demand probably justifies their pricing strategy. - Microsoft does not owe anyone for upgrading to Vista. Anyone who sees Windows 7 pricing this way is working of falacious business principles. - Apple was smart to price Snow Leopard at $29 per upgrade, but the Apple price should not be expected to influence Windows 7 pricing. My two cents (though, I'm sure it's worth less than two cents!)
smiddlehurst
on Jun 25, 2009
@Delmont - that's what I'll be doing but that doesn't help the regular consumer does it? @Mikegalos - I knew you'd have a pop, well done! I am saying that for ME, as a regular home user, Windows 7 is going to offer me very little in the way of functionality that I really need. There's business uses for it (and we're evaluating it at this moment) but as a home user the real benefit is that it actually works properly where Vista didn't (in my experience). Those 'hundred of new features' only apply IF YOU USE THEM! It's the old argument over Office offering so much more power than, say, Works, but really, how many users really NEED all those features? If you go under the hood Snow Leopard also offers 'hundreds of changes' but for me as a user the main benefit is increased speed of use. Heck, even Paul in his FAQ says that Microsoft's internal language suggests this isn't really a major release. About the only features that I'm looking forward to that aren't speed / reliability focused are the GUI tweaks to something that works (unlike Vista's tweaks that looked pretty but didn't really help day to day) and the new media centre. To put it simply, in this day and age the OS as a product is pretty clearly defined. We know what functionality it has to provide and, more or less, Microsoft got it right with XP. Sure there are rough edges to tweak (wireless networking for instance) but the basic GUI has progressed to the point where most end users are fine with it. All an OS update really needs to deliver is improvements to the speed, stability and security while tweaking areas that don't work as well as they should. For me, both Windows 7 and Snow Leopard accomplish this very well but Windows 7 is VASTLY overpriced considering what the average user will get out of it. Oh, and us Europeans have just gotten another kick in the private area as we're not even getting upgrade editions... Microsoft claiming that they can't do one because of the need to unbundle IE8. Total and complete cobblers! Even if that's 100% true the only difference between upgrade and full is upgrade needs to, well, upgrade an existing install. You could have sold us 'upgrade' discs at upgrade prices even if they have to have a big 'you need to do a clean install because of the evil EU' stickers on the front. XP it is then, at least until I get round to replacing this computer in a year or two.
rlcronin
on Jun 25, 2009
Will you have to have a previous release of Windows installed in order to do a clean install using the upgrade version, or will you be able to stick in your Vista DVD as validation? Also, what prior products qualify, just XP or VIsta?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
Ocean Which is why Fake Steve Jobs (or Real Dan Lyons) shouldn't be using beta software since he's apparently not quite aware of what "beta" means. It's really pretty emabarassing that somebody supposedly tech-aware thinks that a beta being less reliable than a released product is newsworthy. (Oh, and quoting an entire "article" is probably not fair use)
mikegno
on Jun 25, 2009
Anyone have info on whether it's possible to "downgrade" via the preorder, e.g. I have Vista Business , but only need Home Premium. Can I just get the home premium upgrade?
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
smiddlehurst, you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. Why complain about things that don't matter one iota? In the EU we'll still getting Windows, in fact for a short time we'll be getting the FULL version at upgrade prices. So your complaint is just that, a complaint and not even a justified one. You talk about the features being OK only if you use them. That's why Microsoft provides cheaper versions with less features. Simply pick the Starter Edition or Home Premium and there you go. Some people really like to rant and rant and go on about minor things and you're one of them.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
smiddlehurst You Europeans are getting Full Product at the Upgrade price according to what Paul wrote so, at least this time, you're hardly getting kicked anywhere.
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
mikegno, I can't be certain but I'd bet that you'd be able to get an "upgrade" disc as you're going from Vista to 7, however, you'll have to do a clean install as you're going down editions. Please someone correct me if you know this to be wrong.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
smiddlehurst You say the pricing doesn't apply to you (in your reply to Delmont) but you're speaking on behalf of other people and then you're complaining (in your reply to me in the very same post) that this is about how you, personally, have no use for any of the hundreds of new and improved features. So, which is it?
Master3
on Jun 25, 2009
"I went back to my office and tried to write this article on a PC on which I'm running the beta version of Windows 7, the brand-new version of Microsoft's operating system. I'd written a paragraph when the PC crashed, for no reason. I started up again, rewrote the paragraph, and then the PC froze—again for no reason" So a guy that is supposed to be writing about tech, used a beta OS, and says " the PC crashed, for no reason"? And we are supposed to take what hew says after that with any credibility? Let me guess, you posted this to somehow run a line of BS that Windows7 is a terrible OS and that we need to go scamper over to the Mac Store and buy ourselves a Steve-puter, right? Everyone knows Apple's flunkies in the press are going to try to run their FUD engines on Win7. Their not bright people to begin with, and they never miss a chance to remind us in their writings. Oh, and didnt you get booted for spamming with Off-topic stuff just recently?
johnbaxter
on Jun 25, 2009
So, use the pre-order offer if the "regular" upgrade price seems too high. Somewhere among Amazon, BestBuy, Microsoft, and 'other' is likely some entity from whom you are willing to order. And yes...the price structure seems high, but Microsoft has to pay their portion (half?) of the cost of the new bridge over State Route 520 somehow. The Apple Snow Leopard upgrade pricing announcement *can't* have influenced Microsoft, since Microsoft's pricing was set in recycled plastic (stone is so old fashioned) well before early June.
Ocean
on Jun 25, 2009
>>(Oh, and quoting an entire "article" is probably not fair use)<< That was page 2. For what its worth, Windows 7 has never crashed on me. XP doesn't even crash much. It just slows down and needs a reboot weekly or every 10 days.
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
Ocean, your quote is pure FUD too. Not sure if you're posting it to disparage Windows or to support your view that some people are stupid but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume the latter. That person who you linked to in your post is an idiot, especially as he seems to think that running a beta version of anything should be stable. Shows that he is clearly not a tech guy by any measurement and cannot speak for informed, intelligent users.
CompactDstrxion
on Jun 25, 2009
The E editions don't apply to the UK? This is the complete opposite of what I'm hearing everywhere else. The BBC just blogged on the Upgrade pricing for the Full Version.
resplendent
on Jun 25, 2009
Vista Ultimate users really got screwed, ugh. Paying $300 for it OEM, then getting the privilige of paying another $219 to upgrade to 7 Ultimate. Over $500 for 2 generations of Windows OS's what the crap!? Thank God I'm a Uni student or else I'd be obtaining this through more illicit means...
shark47
on Jun 25, 2009
Looks like I'll have to get Windows 7 before July 11. $50 is a pretty good deal for me. Only thing is, I'm not sure if I can upgrade from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Home Premium.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
Ocean You're right about it being page 2 and thus probably fair use. btw: Page 1 is even funnier where Lyons talks about how he'll buy anything Apple makes even if he has no possible use for it.
Ocean
on Jun 25, 2009
>>That person who you linked to in your post is an idiot, especially as he seems to think that running a beta version of anything should be stable.<< 1, this is a RC, not a Beta. 2. Paul said: >>the Windows 7 RC is a shining star of performance, usability, stability, and maturity. << and >>Windows 7, in release candidate guise, is already a towering achievement that casts Windows Vista immediately in its shadow.< AND >>The Windows 7 RC could literally ship as the final version of the product. << and >>in treating Windows 7 as final code, I've found that it has risen to the challenge by responding like final code. It is now, in pre-release form, in roughly the same shape as is Windows Vista with SP2.<< http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_rc.asp http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_rc_04.asp
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
Shark47, no, you'll have to do a clean install. Whether you can still by upgrade media to do this or have to get the full version, I'm not sure.
Ocean
on Jun 25, 2009
>>Page 1 is even funnier where Lyons talks about how he'll buy anything Apple makes even if he has no possible use for it.<< Agreed. He is the guy that deserves all the scorn that Paul regularly heaps on Pogue.
stimshady
on Jun 25, 2009
i agree with Gorath, here in the UK we get screwed. there is no exchange rate as far as MS UK are concerned, what the price is in the states will be the same here.
LandonAB
on Jun 25, 2009
@realtestman Thanks for the response! If that's the case, that works for me. I will have to dig into it more.
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
resplendant, if users want Ultimate, they'll have to pony up. No one is forcing them to get it and most people will not need it either. A bit like any car: if you want the top-of-the-range one, then you're going to have to pony up like everyone else and stop complaining. And as you're a student, I'd say you really wouldn't need it either, just like students don't need a top-of-the-range car.
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
Cool LandonAB. Either way, it's a clean install as you'll be going from 32-bit to 64-bit, which doesn't allow for an in-place upgrade scenario. The only thing you need to worry about is whether you can get an "upgrade" or a "full" version disc, which I'm sure someone will confirm 100% later.
shark47
on Jun 25, 2009
Apple needs Jobs because pre-release software from Microsoft crashes? Nice.
realtestman
on Jun 25, 2009
Ocean, your quote said "beta". You can't assume he means the RC version, as for all we know he really is running the beta version, as he specifically said. If he meant RC, then he's an even more terrible inaccurate writer. >>I went back to my office and tried to write this article on a PC on which I'm running the beta version of Windows 7, the brand-new version of Microsoft's operating system...<<
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
Ocean 1) No. Lyons says he was running the beta. 2) So if the RC is relatively stable for beta code it should be treated as though it was released product? That's just bizarre.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 25, 2009
shark Maybe he meant that without Jobs yelling at them and firing people at random Apple's released, commercial products would actually be even less stable than other people's betas.

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