Every major Windows release usually includes different editions. The same goes for Windows 11, and we already have an idea of the SKUs that will be available. The two editions that will be released will be Home and Pro. Users will be able to find them in stores or pre-installed on computers. But what will be the differences between these two editions?
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The main difference between Windows 11 Home and Pro is their price. If Microsoft keeps the same price as Windows 10, the Home edition will cost $139.99, while the Pro edition will cost $199.99. Also, for most users, Windows 11 Home will offer almost everything they need. As the name suggests, the Pro edition is intended for professionals, usually people who use their devices for work. There are a few additional features.
The first big difference you'll see between Windows 11 Home and Pro is when you first set them up. Windows 11 Home has a limitation that can be annoying for some, as you have to set it up with an internet connection and a Microsoft account. You can also remove the Microsoft account from Windows 11 Home after setting up the PC, but Windows 11 Pro simply lets you set up your PC with a local account.
Another difference that will be noticeable to business users is that Windows 11 Home PCs cannot connect to Active Directory. Active Directory solutions are essential for managing business devices, such as configuring access to specific resources, deploying applications, and so on. These are business tools, so they don't make sense for most Windows 11 Home users.
The next major difference between the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 is support for virtualization features in Windows. Windows 11 Home does not support Hyper-V or Windows Sandbox. Additionally, while it can be used as a Remote Desktop client, it cannot be a host, so you cannot remotely access a Windows 11 Home PC using Microsoft’s Remote Desktop. On the other hand, Windows 11 Pro supports all of these features.
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Since business users often deal with highly sensitive information, there are also some additional security features in Windows 11 Pro. First, there is support for BitLocker. This feature encrypts data stored on your hard drive so that no one else can access it. Even if your computer is stolen, your files are protected from users other than you.
Windows 11 Pro also comes with Windows Information Protection, or WIP, a data loss prevention tool that can help prevent a company from leaking data. Using WIP policies, companies can prevent users from promoting content outside the company, for example.
Windows 11 Home and Pro share the same minimum system requirements, so they will mostly run on the same computers. However, Windows 11 Home actually has different maximum limits compared to Windows 11 Pro. For example, Windows 11 Home PCs can only have one CPU socket and therefore only one CPU. Similarly, Windows 11 Home only supports up to 64 CPU cores, while Windows 11 Pro can have up to 128.
Windows 11 Home is also limited to “just” 128GB of RAM. However, Windows 11 Pro will have up to 2TB, and this will be especially useful if you want to create multiple virtual machines with plenty of RAM.
Of course, most of the differences between the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 are for businesses. Most device management features are not available in Windows 11 Home at all. Windows 11 Pro, however, supports things like Group Policy, which allows IT administrators to configure specific policies for groups of devices in one go. There's also Windows Update for Business, which lets companies control how updates are distributed to their users to avoid unexpected issues.
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Features exclusive to Windows 11 Pro include:
Mobile device management
Group Policy
Enterprise State Roaming
Assigned Access
Dynamic Provisioning
Windows Update for Business
Kiosk mode
Active Directory/Azure AD
These are the key differences in Windows 11 Home vs Pro editions. As we've mentioned, most of them revolve around features intended for business users.
