Microsoft tells us Windows 11 has hit a billion users — and if you're confused because you thought it was a failing OS, here's what's going on

• Windows 11 has reached 1 billion users
• It achieved this four months faster than Windows 10
• You might be confused as to how this has happened, given other recent stats, and the online negativity around Windows 11 – but there are clear enough reasons here

Windows 11 has hit a billion users, Microsoft has announced, and its newest operating system achieved that feat considerably faster than Windows 10.

The Verge reports that the revelation was made by CEO Satya Nadella, who in an earnings call boasted: "Windows reached a big milestone, 1 billion Windows 11 users."

That is indeed a major milestone, and one that you might think has kind of come out of nowhere – though it's not actually a surprise, even given some of the more negative stats that have been aired around Windows 11 adoption of late. I'll come back to why that's the case in a moment.

As The Verge observes, Windows 11 managed to hit the magic billion mark 1,576 days after the OS was launched, whereas Windows 10 took 1,706 days. So the newer OS was just over four months quicker than Windows 10.

Analysis: a wake-up call that Windows 11 isn't going anywhere – if you needed one

If you recall, yesterday I reported that according to Statcounter, an analyst firm that keeps tabs on desktop OS usage, Windows 11's market share actually declined over the past two months. Yet Microsoft says it just hit a billion users, and faster than Windows 10, with its newest desktop platform seemingly going from strength to strength – despite all the negativity around Windows 11 of late (of which there's been plenty).

So, what gives?

There are different ways of tracking – or estimating – Windows 11 adoption, of course. Microsoft is directly tracking active devices running Windows 11, whereas Statcounter is using an indirect method of web analytics. As I noted yesterday, there are quite a lot of complications with the latter undertaking, which relies on tracking code inserted into some 1.5 million sites worldwide.

The composition of those sites can have a bearing on what figures we see, and moreover, this way of tracking isn't counting devices, but the use of Windows PCs visiting websites. In other words, if, say, Windows 10 machines are being used disproportionately more than Windows 11 computers in terms of visits to those sites, they have more 'market share'. Which is to say this isn't purely about device numbers – as Microsoft records – but devices used online, where the period of time of usage (and multiple recorded visits) are also a factor.

I don't want to get too far into the weeds here, but these are important differences, so it's not surprising that these stats reflect rather different pictures of the world of Windows across the globe.

On top of that, if you were thinking that Microsoft has hit a billion with Windows 11 seemingly out of nowhere, that's not actually the case. In fact, this is no real surprise given that the firm said it was close to the billion mark back at Ignite in November 2025 (in a keynote by Pavan Davuluri, who heads up Windows). How close Windows 11 was to this milestone wasn't clarified at the time, and we can only guess at that.

Still, it's another reasonable assumption to guess that Microsoft probably did well for PC sales over the holiday period, which would've spiked Windows 11 user numbers. Given the RAM crisis, and predictions of hiked PC prices in 2026, I'm betting some consumers decided it was time to upgrade to a new Windows 11 PC before such an endeavor became a more pricey proposition.

Moreover, businesses may be upgrading for the same reason – with costs multiplied when talking about fleets of PCs – and due to the end of Windows 10 support. This is another key point when talking about different sources of stats: there's a heavy enterprise user base for Windows, and Statcounter is more picking up on consumer website visits. (Some business PCs may not even be online at all, or they rarely visit the array of sites that the analytics firm uses to compile its data).

It's a complex picture, then, but what we have here is something of a reality check that Windows 11 is not faring nearly as badly as you might think if you look at certain stats, or take in a lot of the negative opinions which are prevalent in online forums. On the latter point, it's also worth remembering that complaints are keenly aired online, but satisfied customers, well, they tend to remain quieter.

Windows 11 reaching a billion users is a wake-up call, then, to remember that it's still a colossus of a desktop operating system – in case you had forgotten, which is easily enough done given all the flak fired at Microsoft in recent times.

All that said, Microsoft still needs to be careful with its desktop operating system. As I've observed, the enterprise space is a big factor with Windows 11, and detractors will point out that a lot of companies are locked into Microsoft's ecosystem for one reason or another (legacy software or systems). And all the negativity about Windows 11 that's floating around online forums – from everyday users, and IT admins alike – is there for a reason. And a big part of that stems from people feeling they aren't being listened to – on the subject of AI being crammed into every corner of Windows 11, and those bugs, and the fundamentals of the OS still seeming way too shaky for such a behemoth product.

Microsoft may have welcomed another OS into the billion-plus user club, which is clearly a major achievement – but it's equally clear that there's still a lot to be done in terms of making this product work better at a foundational level.

The best laptops for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best laptops
1. Best overall:
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4
2. Best budget:
Asus Chromebook CM14
3. Best Windows 11 laptop
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
4. Best gaming:
Razer Blade 16
5. Best for pros
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro)

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