Microsoft is raising the price it charges PC manufacturers for Windows 11 OEM licenses. The hike took effect in July 2026 and lands between 7 and 10 percent. 

This only affects manufacturers building new PCs with Windows 11 preinstalled, not people who already own a Windows 11 machine or anyone buying a standalone retail license, which stays unchanged for Home and Pro. But manufacturers rarely absorb costs like this. Some portion of that increase typically gets passed straight through to retail prices, arriving at the worst possible moment, right as an ongoing RAM shortage is already pushing PC prices up.

This is a good moment to remember that none of this applies if you're not buying into the Windows ecosystem at all. Linux distributions carry no licensing fee, and several strong European-made options exist. So instead of using Windows save costs and increase data sovereignty:

**Linux**: Doesn't need any introduction I think. it's the OG.

**openSUSE** (Germany): backed by SUSE, mature, stable, and widely used in enterprise environments, with the Leap and Tumbleweed branches covering both stability-focused and rolling-release use cases

**Linux Mint**: It is the most beginner-friendly distribution for anyone coming straight from Windows, with a familiar desktop layout and minimal learning curve

**Zorin OS**: built specifically to feel like Windows or macOS out of the box, making it one of the smoothest transitions for former Windows users who don't want to relearn their workflow

The RAM shortage is already making PCs pricier. Now Microsoft adds a 10% Windows licensing hike on top of it. It's finally time to switch to better alternatives. Choose yours: