Windows 11 Home vs. Pro: Which One is Best for You?
Windows 11 s now available to everyone who wants to purchase. It's the most current significant version of Windows as well as the very first one within six years. It's got a lot to love about it. We're not just getting an entirely new UI, UX, and many improvements, but we're getting several new features, even though not all of them be available on the operating system as of day one.
Similar to Windows 10, and as has been typical of Windows for a number of years, Windows 11 will come in two versions, Windows 11 Home, and Windows 11 Pro. But what are the differences between the two editions? And more importantly, which one should you pick?
What is the reason there are different Windows 11 Editions?
Windows has had different versions for a good part of their existence in the form of Operating System. The reason for that is pretty simple. Although a universal OS that doesn't require any extra editions is certainly an option (and actually, was implemented for a significant period of time) However, it's much better to have multiple versions of Windows since not everyone will need every feature, and not all computers support each feature.
When we look back to the Windows XP days, we had two main versions: Windows XP Home Edition, and Windows XP Professional. All other editions were just extensions of those two. Later, Windows Vista, and later Windows 7, made things slightly more complicated by introducing a variety of versions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Enterprise, Business, and Ultimate and with a distinct capabilities between the versions.
It's safe to say it was a mess, but for an outline, Starter was normally destined for computers with less expensive specs, Basic and Home Premium were designed for home use, Basic as well as Home Premium were meant to cover the needs of home PCs, Enterprise and Business were meant for PCs that were used that were used in business environments as well as Ultimate included everything in every edition.
Things were further condensed with Windows 10, as Microsoft offers either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro to the general public. Those are not the only ones, as there's also several other versions and variations, including Windows 10 in S mode, Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, Education, and Enterprise and several other. But for the majority of users, Home and Pro are the only two editions users should know about.
Windows 10 Home is the version that ships with most common computers. Windows 10 Pro contains a handful of additional features and is available with more expensive or targeted for business. We'll look into these in more detail later on. Windows 11 follows this same exact version structure--there's Windows 11 Home in addition to Windows 11 Pro. And for the majority of the time, the differences between the two are very similar in comparison to the differences between the two Windows versions.
What Is the Difference Between Windows 11 Home and Pro?
User is using Windows 11 Laptop
Microsoft has a comparative page on the Microsoft website, and one glance at this webpage will reveal a lot about the differences between each version. The majority of the time, Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro are more similar than you think.
Windows 11 Home comes with all the features and creature features you'd expect with Windows 11, including Windows Hello, Secure Boot, Windows Security, parental controls security for devices, and many more.
RELATED:
How To Make Windows 10 Clean Windows 11
Additionally, features such as WSL (Windows Subsystem to Linux) are available on the Home version of the operating system, and features such as Android application support (which will be included in a forthcoming Windows 11 update) should be made available to the Home version, too.
Windows 11 Pro has everything the Home version offers, while it also includes a number of additional featuresthat are primarily designed for professional environments. One of the most notable features is BitLocker that is a full volume encryption tool which can be used to encrypt the drive's volume using 128-bit or 256 bit AES encryption, as well as the TPM of your computer. The tool also includes a comprehensive suite of deployment and management tools, such as Azure integration and features like allocated access to kiosks, dynamic provisioning mode setup, Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox Full Windows Remote Desktop support, and many more.
There are also a few variations that the Microsoft site isn't making immediately clear. First, Windows 11 Home doesn't support local accounts and requires you to connect to your Microsoft account to it (Windows 10 Home did support this, however it was eliminated with Windows 11 Home).brytesoft , meanwhile, does support local accounts, but you don't need to connect to your Microsoft account.
There are a few variations in the hardware limitations. Both come with the same minimum requirements, which include 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of memory and a dual-core 1 GHz CPU from AMD/Intel/Qualcomm. TPM 2.0 and a DirectX 12 compatible GPU.
The problem is that Windows 11 Home only supports 64 CPU cores and 128GB of RAM. Also, it doesn't work with systems with two CPUs. This is enough however if you require more, or more, for any reasons, Windows 11 Pro supports dual CPU systems with 64 cores per (for a total of 128 cores) and up to 2 TB of RAM.
Which one should I use?
Person working on Windows 11 Tablet
We've laid out everything about the two variants that are available for Windows 11, and up until this point, a lot of you may think the Windows 11 Pro is the best option. In the end, there's no disadvantage to choosing Windows 11 Pro over Home. The requirements are identical regardless of the fact that your computer may not use in a professional environment or has crazy specifications, you can still benefit from features such as BitLocker or the capability to create local accounts. But hold the boat for one minute, because we've not yet discussed pricing.
At present, Windows 11 is being made available as a no-cost upgrade from Windows 10. A Windows 10 Pro license, which will make the upgrade Windows 11 on an eligible PC is priced at $199. For comparison, a Windows 10 Home license costs $139. The Home edition is considerably cheaper than Pro. If you decide to buy Home but decide to upgrade to Pro later on the option of upgrading to an operating system that is Home and moving to Pro is another option available, however it'll cost $99 on Microsoft Store. Microsoft Store, so that's even more expensive than buying Pro. Pro license at all.
At the end of the day, however, it'll all come down to your personal use case and needs. Most of the time it's likely that the majority of people will be served well by Windows 11 Home. If you're looking for the specific Pro option, like BitLocker or BitLocker, you'll likely want to choose Pro instead but consider if that's worth the extra $60 (or the extra $99 should you go for an update later on).
Windows 11 Home is Probably adequate
We've just explained a few distinctions between Pro and Home. While Pro offers everything that the Home version offers as well, the typical person will be just right with Windows 11 Home. The programs all function the same with the exception of BitLocker and a handful of functionalities for business, it will function similarly. If you do need Pro regardless of the reason, you'll find the exact system requirements as well as local account support as well as a few additional features.
Similar to Windows 10, and as has been typical of Windows for a number of years, Windows 11 will come in two versions, Windows 11 Home, and Windows 11 Pro. But what are the differences between the two editions? And more importantly, which one should you pick?
What is the reason there are different Windows 11 Editions?
Windows has had different versions for a good part of their existence in the form of Operating System. The reason for that is pretty simple. Although a universal OS that doesn't require any extra editions is certainly an option (and actually, was implemented for a significant period of time) However, it's much better to have multiple versions of Windows since not everyone will need every feature, and not all computers support each feature.
When we look back to the Windows XP days, we had two main versions: Windows XP Home Edition, and Windows XP Professional. All other editions were just extensions of those two. Later, Windows Vista, and later Windows 7, made things slightly more complicated by introducing a variety of versions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Enterprise, Business, and Ultimate and with a distinct capabilities between the versions.
It's safe to say it was a mess, but for an outline, Starter was normally destined for computers with less expensive specs, Basic and Home Premium were designed for home use, Basic as well as Home Premium were meant to cover the needs of home PCs, Enterprise and Business were meant for PCs that were used that were used in business environments as well as Ultimate included everything in every edition.
Things were further condensed with Windows 10, as Microsoft offers either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro to the general public. Those are not the only ones, as there's also several other versions and variations, including Windows 10 in S mode, Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, Education, and Enterprise and several other. But for the majority of users, Home and Pro are the only two editions users should know about.
Windows 10 Home is the version that ships with most common computers. Windows 10 Pro contains a handful of additional features and is available with more expensive or targeted for business. We'll look into these in more detail later on. Windows 11 follows this same exact version structure--there's Windows 11 Home in addition to Windows 11 Pro. And for the majority of the time, the differences between the two are very similar in comparison to the differences between the two Windows versions.
What Is the Difference Between Windows 11 Home and Pro?
User is using Windows 11 Laptop
Microsoft has a comparative page on the Microsoft website, and one glance at this webpage will reveal a lot about the differences between each version. The majority of the time, Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro are more similar than you think.
Windows 11 Home comes with all the features and creature features you'd expect with Windows 11, including Windows Hello, Secure Boot, Windows Security, parental controls security for devices, and many more.
RELATED:
How To Make Windows 10 Clean Windows 11
Additionally, features such as WSL (Windows Subsystem to Linux) are available on the Home version of the operating system, and features such as Android application support (which will be included in a forthcoming Windows 11 update) should be made available to the Home version, too.
Windows 11 Pro has everything the Home version offers, while it also includes a number of additional featuresthat are primarily designed for professional environments. One of the most notable features is BitLocker that is a full volume encryption tool which can be used to encrypt the drive's volume using 128-bit or 256 bit AES encryption, as well as the TPM of your computer. The tool also includes a comprehensive suite of deployment and management tools, such as Azure integration and features like allocated access to kiosks, dynamic provisioning mode setup, Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox Full Windows Remote Desktop support, and many more.
There are also a few variations that the Microsoft site isn't making immediately clear. First, Windows 11 Home doesn't support local accounts and requires you to connect to your Microsoft account to it (Windows 10 Home did support this, however it was eliminated with Windows 11 Home).brytesoft , meanwhile, does support local accounts, but you don't need to connect to your Microsoft account.
There are a few variations in the hardware limitations. Both come with the same minimum requirements, which include 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of memory and a dual-core 1 GHz CPU from AMD/Intel/Qualcomm. TPM 2.0 and a DirectX 12 compatible GPU.
The problem is that Windows 11 Home only supports 64 CPU cores and 128GB of RAM. Also, it doesn't work with systems with two CPUs. This is enough however if you require more, or more, for any reasons, Windows 11 Pro supports dual CPU systems with 64 cores per (for a total of 128 cores) and up to 2 TB of RAM.
Which one should I use?
Person working on Windows 11 Tablet
We've laid out everything about the two variants that are available for Windows 11, and up until this point, a lot of you may think the Windows 11 Pro is the best option. In the end, there's no disadvantage to choosing Windows 11 Pro over Home. The requirements are identical regardless of the fact that your computer may not use in a professional environment or has crazy specifications, you can still benefit from features such as BitLocker or the capability to create local accounts. But hold the boat for one minute, because we've not yet discussed pricing.
At present, Windows 11 is being made available as a no-cost upgrade from Windows 10. A Windows 10 Pro license, which will make the upgrade Windows 11 on an eligible PC is priced at $199. For comparison, a Windows 10 Home license costs $139. The Home edition is considerably cheaper than Pro. If you decide to buy Home but decide to upgrade to Pro later on the option of upgrading to an operating system that is Home and moving to Pro is another option available, however it'll cost $99 on Microsoft Store. Microsoft Store, so that's even more expensive than buying Pro. Pro license at all.
At the end of the day, however, it'll all come down to your personal use case and needs. Most of the time it's likely that the majority of people will be served well by Windows 11 Home. If you're looking for the specific Pro option, like BitLocker or BitLocker, you'll likely want to choose Pro instead but consider if that's worth the extra $60 (or the extra $99 should you go for an update later on).
Windows 11 Home is Probably adequate
We've just explained a few distinctions between Pro and Home. While Pro offers everything that the Home version offers as well, the typical person will be just right with Windows 11 Home. The programs all function the same with the exception of BitLocker and a handful of functionalities for business, it will function similarly. If you do need Pro regardless of the reason, you'll find the exact system requirements as well as local account support as well as a few additional features.
