Windows 7 Pricing Announced, Cheaper Than Vista

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We knew when (October 22) and now we know for how much.

Pricing on Windows 7 has been speculated for a while now to be even expensive than Windows Vista, but today Microsoft has revealed real dollar figures, showing a price break for the new operating system.

As listed by the Windows Team Blog, the estimated retail prices for upgrade packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:

  • Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99
  • Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99
  • Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99

And the estimated retail prices for full packaged retail product of Windows 7 in the U.S. are:

  • Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99
  • Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99
  • Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99

While the Professional and Ultimate prices aren’t any different than they what they were for Windows Vista, the price break comes in for the Home Premium edition – which will likely be the most popular version for mainstream computer users.

The Vista Home Premium upgrade is $129.95, so there’s a $10 drop in the upgrade to Windows 7. The full Vista Home Premium is $239.95, with the equivalent Windows 7 model going for $40 less.

European customers won’t be able to buy the upgrade SKUs at retail, at least not from point of general availability, but Microsoft said that it would offer upgrade pricing on the full licenses (for those who qualify).

Microsoft also said that Windows 7 upgrade licenses will be available at less than half price as a part of a special pre-order program. Stay tuned for more.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Mr_Man
    But the thing us system-builders want to know: how much are the OEM discs?
    Reply
  • MJRSnyder
    ^ yea that is what really matters
    Reply
  • christop
    Really OEM prices please.....
    Reply
  • joebob2000
    AND

    Will the upgrade version installer have the ability to bootstrap itself, i.e. not require an installed copy of Vista or XP in order to install.
    Reply
  • marshallladd
    Exactly my question, OEM is...?
    Reply
  • ssddx
    Most likely the same percentage of cost differential as with XP, Vista. Buying licenses in bulk could also factor in a discount, or so one might think. All you can do is wait until information has been released from MS.

    Buying at the promotional 50% off might be a good option. This will most likely net savings over an oem copy. Again, it depends on if you need to buy multiply licenses.. or if by "system builder" you mean your 1-3 home pcs.

    On a side note.. I wonder if they will offer 7 ultimate with the discount. I was thinking about switching over to dual boot 7/xp on a new machine. Half the price would make it more appealing to me since I had trouble with vista retail. $300 for an OS that wouldnt even install 64bit on a 64bit system, luckily for me the people working at staples are idiots and I managed to return it for a full refund after I uninstalled (no I didnt activate it) and sealed the package up like new.

    Perhaps If I would have paid half the price I might have been willing to let it slide until the updates rolled around.

    /ramble.....
    Reply
  • pocketdrummer
    Why buy OEM unless you are selling the computer you build to someone else? If you change anything important on them, you immediately end your license. AND, it's stuck on that one computer. The full version will let you upgrade anything, install it on a new computer altogether when the old one craps out, etc.
    Reply
  • marshallladd
    OEM por favor
    Reply
  • ckthecerealkiller
    pocketdrummerWhy buy OEM unless you are selling the computer you build to someone else? If you change anything important on them, you immediately end your license. AND, it's stuck on that one computer. The full version will let you upgrade anything, install it on a new computer altogether when the old one craps out, etc.
    Yah because there is absolutely no way around that...
    Reply
  • norbs
    etichiseems expensive.Agreed, this is what windows vista was supposed to be in the first place. How about a discount for current vista users.
    Reply