Windows 11 market share sees dramatic increase in 2026

Since its debut, outside of gaming, PC and Windows users across the globe haven't exactly been in a rush to make the jump from Windows 10 to Windows 11. As we headed into 2025, four years after the operating system's initial launch, Windows 10 still commanded just over 60% of the global 'Desktop Windows Version Market Share,' according to StatCounter. Of course, that didn't stop Microsoft from officially making Windows 10 end-of-life on October 14, 2025.

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As expected, for many everyday Windows users and businesses, the end of official support accelerated the need to upgrade. And with that, it took only a few months for Windows 11's market share to match Windows 10's, at around 50% as of December 2025. And now, as we head toward the close of the first quarter of calendar year 2026, it looks like Windows 11 adoption has kicked into high gear.

According to the latest Windows Market Share figures from StatCounter, as of the close of February 2026, Windows 11 now has an impressive 72.57% market share, with Windows 10 dropping to 26.45%.

Looking a little more closely at the numbers, a 10% increase in market share in a single month is a pretty significant increase, and one of the sharpest across all of StatCounter's Windows data for the last decade. So, as impressive as it is to see Windows 11 cross the 70 percent barrier so soon after hitting 50 and 60 percent, the data could be adjusted over time. However, users are moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11, as it's been around five months since Microsoft officially ended support for its previous Windows release.