Windows 11 Home vs Pro: Differences and Which One to Choose

Windows 11 editions: what exactly are they

In this guide I am going to briefly explain the differences between Windows 11 Home and Pro. I will also tell you a little about the Windows editions and how Microsoft uses them to distribute its operating system. In fact, I’m going to start by telling you about the latter.

What are Windows editions? In short, they are different versions of the operating system aimed at different audiences. In other words, it is as if Microsoft had created one Windows for businesses and another for personal users. In reality, this statement is not entirely true, since The operating system is essentially the same. What changes between the different versions are the tools included.

If we talk about Windows 11, there are currently the following versions:

• Windows 11 Home
• Windows 11 Pro
• Windows 11 Education
• Windows 11 Enterprise
• Windows 11 Pro Education
• Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
• Windows 11 Mixed Reality

Of all of these, the two that are most popular are Windows 11 Home and Pro. It is difficult to know which of these two is the most used, since there are no official figures published. The Home edition is the one that comes with most consumer computers currently on the market. That is, when you buy a computer for home, it will most likely come with Windows 11 Home.

On the contrary, Windows 11 Pro is an edition designed for the business environment. Taking into account that there are offices with hundreds of computers which are almost always activated with a Windows 11 Pro license, I do not dare to say that Home is the most used.

In any case, from what I have told you so far you have to stick with these two ideas. First, there are several editions of Windows and, second, each one is aimed at a different audience. Let’s now talk about the differences between Windows 11 Home and Pro.

Windows 11 Home vs. Pro: these are all the differences

Windows 11 Home and Pro are, in essence, the same operating system. However, there are three aspects in which it differs significantly. Here I explain them to you.

Target audience

Windows 11 Home It is an edition of Windows intended for end users. This means that it is the edition that is included in most equipment sold to the general public. If you buy a laptop through Amazon, it will surely come with the Home edition. As we will see later, this edition lacks advanced administrative tools. Of course, you can run any applications and programs developed for Windows.

For its part, Windows 11 Pro is aimed at a professional audience. It comes with utilities to manage many computers in an advanced and centralized way, if necessary. It also incorporates some features for developers and IT administrators that allow you to safely test applications, remotely access your computer, and more. The Pro edition is used, for example, on office computers or business laptops.

In this way, Microsoft addresses two different audiences with both editions. With Home, it looks at the user who uses the equipment on a personal level and, with Windows 11 Pro, it looks at businesses.

Tools included

Where both editions really differ is in the tools included. Here are some examples of things that you will be able to use in Windows 11 Pro that are not available in the Home edition:

• Sandbox. It is a testing environment where it is possible to install any application without affecting the main system. Basically, we are talking about a single-use Windows that resets itself every time it is opened again.
• Bitlocker. Allows you to encrypt your computer to prevent data leaks in case of loss. Although Windows 11 Home already has device encryption, this feature is more advanced and allows remote management.
• Remote Desktop. It is possible to access the computer remotely thanks to Microsoft’s own RDC function. Sure, if you have Windows 11 Home, you can always use any other app to control your PC remotely, but with the Pro edition everything comes built into the system.
• Hyper-V. Tool to create virtual machines. It is important to clarify that there are ways to activate this feature in Home, although it is officially only for Pro. Obviously, in Home you can use third-party tools, such as VirtualBox, with which I managed to install MS-DOS on my PC.
• Active Directory. Allows you to connect your PC to a business or educational network. It also supports group policies, which allow you to modify settings on many computers at the same time.
• Other functions. Windows 11 Pro also has a kiosk mode, supports up to 2TB of RAM, and supports mobile device management.

With this in mind, it is clear that for some jobs, Windows 11 Home is also a convenient edition. In fact, I use this edition myself to create content like this. Of course, I am a freelancer who you don’t need to manage an army of computers. And to test programs, I can always use virtual machines.

Price

To buy the Home and Pro editionsyou can always take advantage of cheap Windows keys, which will save you a lot of money. Now, if we take a look at the official price, it is evident that this is another notable difference between both versions.

This is how much each one costs:

• Windows 11 Pro. 259 euros.
• Windows 11 Home. 145 euros.

How to upgrade from Windows 11 Home to Pro?

There are some features of Windows 11 Pro that you may find them attractive. For example, there is no doubt that Sandbox is great if you want to test all kinds of programs or open suspected malicious files without affecting your operating system. It is also useful to have Remote Desktop functions.

For all this you always have third-party alternatives, but you may want to have the tools integrated into the system. Then, It is best that you go from Windows 11 Home to Pro. How to do it?

The first way is the official one (and the most expensive). Go to Settings > System > Activation. There you will see that the edition of Windows that you have installed is displayed. If it is Windows 11 Home, in the section Update Windows edition you will see the option Open Store.

By clicking on it, What happens is that the Microsoft app store opens. From there you will be able to purchase Windows 11 Pro for a price of 145 euros.

After purchase, you will be able install from store the update to jump from Home to Pro. When the process is finished, you will have all the tools for advanced device management at your disposal.

Obviously, the almost 150 euros that the upgrade to Windows 11 Pro costs may make you rethink the situation. Fortunately, there is a cheaper solution. It consists of purchasing a cheap Windows 11 Pro key and using it to activate the computer. Once you have obtained it, simply go to Settings > System > Activation.

There, click on the button Change what’s next to Change product key. Then, paste the Windows 11 Pro key that you have purchased into the pop-up window. This will cause the system to reboot and when the process is complete, you will have upgraded to the Pro edition.

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