Windows 10 Home vs. Pro – What’s The Difference?

Even with its reported issues and bugs, Windows 10 has become the mainstay of today’s laptops and desktop PCs. It is likely to dominate this space in the future as well, as there are hardly any rivals. If you are buying a Windows PC, you will be confronted with the question whether to buy Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro. To help you choose the right OS for your needs, let’s take a look at some key differences between Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro.

Windows basics: Windows offers a range of tools that improve user experience and enhance productivity. These includefunctionalities such as digital pen, touchscreen, fast browser (Microsoft Edge), digital assistant (Cortana), mobile sync and voice commands. In this context, there is no differencebetween Windows 10 Home and Pro, as both offer all of these features.

Security: It might seem that Windows 10 Pro offers higher level of security, but that is not true. If we compare security features of Windows 10 Home and Pro, we can see that both offer largely the same set of safety features. These include facial recognition, fingerprint, PIN, deviceencryption, firewall and network protection, internet protection, Windows Defender Antivirus and secure boot. Windows 10 Pro offers only a few additional security features such as Bit Locker device encryption and Windows Information Protection. These additional security features are ‘desirable’ and not ‘must-have’, so you can easily work without them.

Business use: This is where Windows 10 Pro takes the lead over Windows 10 Home. However, as home users are unlikely to use the advanced business management and deployment features, they have nothing to lose. Business-oriented features that are exclusively available only with Windows 10 Pro include mobile device management, dynamic provisioning, assigned access, Microsoft Store for business, group policy, enterprise state roaming with Azure, kiosk mode set-up and support for active directory.

Price: With its additional safety and business management features, Windows 10 Pro retails at a higher price in comparison to Windows 10 Home. While Windows 10 Home is priced at $139, Windows 10 Pro edition retails at $199.99. If you areunlikely to use business management features, you can go for Windows 10 Home and save around 60 bucks.

As is clear from the above comparison, Windows 10 Home is adequate for personal and home use. It’s only when you need advanced features for your business, it would be better to go with Windows 10 Pro. Keep these things in mind when you are out there searching for the most appropriate Windows PC or laptop that best suits your specific needs.