Windows 11 adoption might have flatlined

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Despite a literal "End of Life" deadline, Windows 10 is clawing back market share from a stuttering Windows 11.
Windows 11 laptops and PCs crashing into a wall
(Image credit: Future | Edited with Gemini)
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Windows 11 passed Windows 10 in global desktop market share. Now, the newer operating system is on pace to lose its top spot to its predecessor.

Whether it gets that bad for Windows 11's market share is yet to be seen, since the OS has only dropped two months in a row. But those drops have been significant.

According to Statcounter, Windows 11 held a 55.18% market share in October 2025. That share dropped to 53.7% in November and dropped again in December. Now, Windows 11 holds a 50.73% market share.
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That's a dip of more than 5 percentage points in just two months. Even leaving room for a margin of error and the fact that these are not official numbers from Microsoft, that's a big deal.

In that same time, Windows 10's market share went from 41.71% in October to 42.7% in November and then 44.68% in December. Even after the increase, Windows 10 has a smaller market share now than it did midway through last year.

Perhaps most surprising is a noticeable rise in the market share of Windows 7, which increased from 2.52% in October to 3.83% in December.
Why is Windows 11 losing market share?

Microsoft Surface Studio 2
Even Microsoft's original Surface Studio was not able to upgrade to Windows 11 due to hardware requirements. (Image credit: Future)

Statcounter does not provide a reason for the drop in Windows 11 market share or offer a theory on the matter. It simply provides data. But it's difficult to ignore the timing of Windows 11's dip.

Windows 11 steadily gained market share over time, eventually eclipsing Windows 10 in June 2025. That feat actually took longer than expected.

Microsoft had aggressively pushed people toward Windows 11 and increased efforts further during the lead up to the end of Windows 10 support. In addition to showing full-screen prompts telling people to upgrade, Microsoft made a tool for migrating from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

Windows 10 reached its end of support on October 14, 2025, meaning PCs on the older operating system stopped receiving support or updates unless people had paid for extended support.