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Depending on whether you want to upgrade from an older version to Windows 10 or simply do a clean install, there are several ways to buy a product key to activate your copy of the operating system. All of these are legitimate licenses, but some sites offer discounts when selling retail copies of Windows. Based on your requirements, you can check out any of these options for buying a Windows 10 product key to activate Windows 10.
This is the official Microsoft site to purchase all Windows and Office licenses, but don't expect any deals or offers. Microsoft is currently offering Windows 10 Home at $139 and Windows 10 Pro at $199. The Pro version comes with additional features like BitLocker, Remote Desktop and Windows Defender Antivirus. In addition, you can use Azure Active Directory to virtually connect with a network like your office or school. One important feature is the ability to defer Windows 10 updates so you get to choose when they download and install, instead of being forced to accept random and untimely updates.
Once you click the option to buy a product key, you will have a choice of a direct download or a USB drive containing bootable Windows 10. The USB option comes with free shipping, or you can opt to pick it up at a store near you. Once you click on Checkout, you'll be asked to sign into your Microsoft Account. You can then review and confirm your order, after which you will need to enter your shipping address for physical delivery. Payment methods include credit or debit card, PayPal and Dell Preferred Account, so you can use any of those to process payment.
There are also other places where you can get a Windows 10 product key, sometimes at a discounted price.
Sites like Amazon and eBay also offer OEM licenses for Windows 10 Home and Pro, for both 32-bit and 64-bit architecture. You'll see a lot of price variance from different sellers. For example, the lowest current price for Windows 10 Pro 64-bit is about $192, slightly lower than Microsoft's own pricing. However, the 64-bit version of the Windows 10 Home edition is available for around $109, so that's significantly cheaper than the full price at the Microsoft Store.
Depending on where you live, Amazon offers various payment methods, including Amazon Pay, credit and debit cards, gift cards and gift vouchers. You may also see a cash-on-delivery option if the product is eligible for it.
Once you input your shipping address and billing address, you can proceed to make the payment. The product is available both as a digital download or a physical copy on disk or drive sent to your shipping address, but this depends on the seller. Similar deals are also available on marketplace sites like eBay, and you'll see a similar variance in pricing from different sellers. This is a good way to get it cheap, but most of them won't issue refunds, so you're basically buying it at your own risk. If you're willing to take that risk, then this is probably the cheapest way to get a genuine Windows 10 product key to activate your copy of the operating system.
This method is a little tricky because you actually have to be an enrolled student at an eligible school or educational institution. Sites like OnTheHub offer student upgrades at zero cost, but you have to go through a verification process. It's the same even if you buy it directly from Microsoft. The Student edition of Windows 10 usually has to be activated manually by calling Microsoft support helpline and authenticating the fact that you are a student or teacher.
The good thing about getting your product key this way is that the license itself is perpetual, and you don't have to remain a student in order to keep using Windows 10. The disadvantage is that you can't switch over to other editions like Home or Pro unless you purchase a retail copy of Windows 10.
There are several software aggregator sites like Softpedia where you can get a copy of Windows 10. Unfortunately, you won't be buying the product key, but rather getting the ISO file using which Windows 10 can be installed on your computer. For the product key, you will be redirected to the Microsoft Store in most cases.
Some websites offer the ISO installer and offer to activate your copy with a generic product key. While this might save you some money or even be yours for free, remember that this won't be a genuine copy. The key you receive is one that will work with multiple systems, and it is only intended to avoid the conflict on Microsoft's activation servers once the license is activated.
To be honestly, there are a lot of users who switched to Windows 10 looking for a way to activate Windows 10 for free like they did it in Windows 7 or Windows 8. However, it no longer works well in Windows 10 as Microsoft has changed the activation algorithm and each license code can be used one time only. So when you copied a license key online, the Windows server will check if it was used before. If yes, the registration could fail and you have to find another key instead. And repeat this again and again unless a brand new key was found.
Another way is by using free tools like KMS, a well-known tool for activiting Windows and office for free. However, the success rate is much lower due to recent Windows 10 security updates. You have to activiate the copy from time to time when the Windows 10 activation watermark pops up. In addition, the tool could be masked as virus by Windows Defender or other anti-virus software, making it hard to be in real effect.