Microsoft doubles the Windows 10 ESU price (from 61 to 122 dollars per device): what to decide before October 13 for your Mexico operation

On October 8, Xataka and El Ecosistema Startup reported that year two of Windows 10 Extended Security Updates jumps from 61 to 122 dollars per device. Year three will cost triple.

ESU is what you pay Microsoft so a Windows 10 PC keeps getting security patches. Year one ends on Tuesday, October 13. If nobody signs off this week, the Windows 10 machines at your Mexico site stop getting patches.

We already covered how ESU works for a Mexico operation. This one is about the math.

What renewing ESU costs for 10, 30 or 50 PCs

Windows 10 PCs	ESU year two	What you get
10	1,220 USD	Twelve more months of patches
30	3,660 USD	The same, on 30 machines a year older
50	6,100 USD	The same, with year three at triple

Here is what bothers us about that number: it buys nothing that lasts. A year from now you have the same PCs, slower, and a bigger bill waiting.

Xataka says the increase applies to “some users”. If headquarters runs a global Microsoft agreement, check whether your Mexico devices are actually covered. We often find local sites that were left out.

The three alternatives

Upgrade to Windows 11 on the same device. If the PC meets the requirements (a TPM 2.0 chip, a security module on the motherboard, plus a supported processor), going from Windows 10 Pro to 11 Pro has no license cost. You pay technician time and an afternoon of testing.

Replace the device. A new business PC runs roughly 650 to 1,100 USD (market reference, verify). It hurts more today, but it lasts years, not twelve months.

Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop. That is Windows in the cloud: the old PC becomes a window into a desktop running on Microsoft servers. It is billed monthly per user, and Microsoft includes ESU for Windows 10 devices that connect this way (confirm the terms with your reseller). It works for staff who only use email, a browser and Office.

Decision table, device by device

Device situation	What to do	Why
Windows 11 compatible	Upgrade this week or next	No license cost
Not compatible and already slow	Replace	ESU only drags it out
Not compatible, light use	Windows 365 or a basic replacement	A cloud window is enough
Runs a critical app that does not work on Windows 11	ESU for that device only, isolated from the network	Buys time to replace the system

That last case is real. The plant PC that drives a machine, the old local payroll software in accounting. ESU makes sense there. Only there.

The risk of unpatched machines

An unpatched PC is a door without a lock. Nothing happens until someone at the front desk opens a strange email and ransomware gets in through the machine nobody updated. From there it moves to the server, and maybe to your global network.

If you also run Windows 11 24H2, check its own end of support on that same October 13.

Let’s talk

Which path fits your Mexico operation?

It starts with knowing how many PCs you have and which ones can run Windows 11. Without that, any check is a blind one.

At ProcessBi we run the inventory, do the on-site migration anywhere in Mexico and buy the licenses (ESU, Windows 11 or Windows 365), invoiced in MXN or USD. You decide what happens to each device.

Book your free assessment — we reply the same business day.