While Windows 10 Home is intended for a casual use, Windows10 Pro will primarily be of interest to SMEs and professionals requiring access to specific administration or security features. What are the differences between Windows 10 Home and the Pro edition? Which edition of Windows 10 is right for you? All you need to know is in this article.
Well, it all depends on the current edition of Windows you are using. You can either get a free upgrade to Windows 10 Home or Pro:
From
To
Windows 7 Starter
Windows 7 Home Basic
Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Ultimate
Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 Pro
Windows 8.1 Pro Student
Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
Windows Phone 8.1
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Mobile
Features Available on Both Versions
There are several basic features shared by both Windows 10 Home and Pro:
Feature
Home Edition
Pro Edition
Customizable Start Menu
Yes
Yes
Windows Defender/Firewall
Yes
Yes
Fast start up with Hiberboot and InstantGo
Yes
Yes
TPM Support
Yes
Yes
Power Saving Mode
Yes
Yes
Windows Update
Yes
Yes
Cortana
Yes
Yes
Windows Hello (biometric)
Yes
Yes
Virtual Desktops
Yes
Yes
Snap Assist
Yes
Yes
Snap Apps
Yes
Yes
Continuum (sync PC and tablet)
Yes
Yes
Microsoft Edge Web browser
Yes
Yes
Administration and Security Features
The major difference between the Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro lies in the number of administration and security tools available on the pro edition. For example, features such as BitLocker drive encryption, DirectAccess or the Group Policy Editor are available only in the Windows 10 Pro edition:
Feature
Home Edition
Pro Edition
Device encryption
Yes
Yes
Joining domains
No
Yes
Group Policy
No
Yes
BitLocker
No
Yes
Internet Explorer Enterprise Mode
No
Yes
Kiosk Mode
No
Yes
Remote Desktop
No
Yes
Client Hyper-V
No
Yes
Enterprise-specific app on Windows Store
No
Yes
DirectAccess
No
Yes
Other features
Most of the advanced management tools and apps are only available on the Pro edition:
This document, titled « Windows 10: Home Vs Pro Edition », is available under the Creative Commons license. Any copy, reuse, or modification of the content should be sufficiently credited to CCM (ccm.net).
