Pricing for Desktop OS and Related Items

The chart below lists the various licenses and subscriptions associated with the Windows desktop OS and the highest price a business customer would pay through a volume purchasing program. (The Open Business program price is used unless an item is not offered through this program.)

The two Vista Upgrade packages listed are for transitioning a PC with an older desktop OS, most likely Windows XP, to the stated edition of Vista. Full version prices are for packages sold in the retail channel, which are most commonly used to license PCs that were shipped from the manufacturer without an OS license or to license virtual machines. By far the most economical and common way to acquire full version licenses is via an OEM at the time of PC purchase. Microsoft does not publicly disclose OEM prices.

A Vista Enterprise Edition price is not listed because it is an exclusive benefit of Software Assurance (SA). To obtain rights to run Vista Enterprise on a new PC, a customer must purchase Vista Business along with an SA subscription for the Windows desktop OS. Note that purchase of an SA subscription is a prerequisite for two other subscriptions, the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack and the Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop for SA.