Difference Between Windows 10 Home and Pro

The main difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro is that Windows 10 Home is designed for regular users while Windows 10 Pro is designed to support business environments. It has advanced features such as BitLocker, Group policy management, Hyper-V, etc. and more security features.

Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft. It is a part of Windows NT family of operating systems. Home and Pro are two editions of Windows 10 OS. The user can select an edition according to the requirements. If the user wants to complete small tasks such as browsing the internet, managing files, etc. he can use Home edition. If it is necessary to use advanced features, with more security and compatibility, he can use Pro edition.   

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Windows 10 Home
     – Features and Functions
2. What is Windows 10 Pro
     – Features and Functions
3. Similarities Between Windows 10 Home and Pro
      – Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Windows 10 Home and Pro
      – Comparison of Key Differences

What is Windows 10 Home

Windows 10 Home provides various features to accomplish tasks efficiently. The timeline helps the user to find the necessary application easily. He or she can easily search and find a specific document, image, video, etc. with the help of the timeline. The “Nearby Sharing” feature helps to share videos, photos, documents. Furthermore, there is a feature called Cortana that helps the user to control and manage smart home devices.

With Windows 10 Home, there are many useful services available in Microsoft Edge.  An auto-fill feature allows users to auto-fill cards on web forms, i.e., he or she can save the address, credit card, and other relevant information on important retail sites to autofill the web payment forms. Further, the clutter-free printing allows the users to print web pages without popups and unnecessary clutter. There is also a Grammar tool to improve readability for web pages and books. It also allows updating to dark themes that better contrast with colors, text, icons, etc. These are only a few features available in Windows 10 Home.

What is Windows 10 Pro

Windows 10 Pro also share many common features with Windows 10 Home such as timeline, Cortana, and Microsoft Edge. But Pro supports several additional features.

Windows 10 Pro provides a BitLocker. It is an encryption software that helps to secure the drives from potential hackers. It also supports domain join. This OS also enables a PC to be added to a cooperate network.

Figure 2: Windows 2010 Pro Start Menu

Also, Windows 10 Pro supports Group Policy. The system administrators can configure these settings for computers joined to the same domain. Other experienced users can also use group policy editor to their own PCs. Furthermore, Windows 10 Pro allows virtualization through Microsoft Hyper-V. The remote desktop connection is another feature that it has. Moreover, PCs with Pro edition can accept or host an inbound terminal server session. These are some of the extra features available in Windows 10 Pro.

Similarities Between Windows 10 Home and Pro

• Windows 10 Home and Pro has common features such as battery saver, Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Virtual Desktop, Start Menu, and Windows Updates.

Difference Between Windows 10 Home and Pro

Definition

Windows 10 Home: A computer operating system designed by Microsoft for PCs, tablets with all consumer-directed features

Windows 10 Pro: A computer operating system by Microsoft with additional features to support business environments and power users

BitLocker

Windows 10 Home: No BitLocker

Windows 10 Pro: BitLocker available

Domain Join

Windows 10 Home: Does not support joining a domain unless there is a Microsoft Account rather than a local user account

Windows 10 Pro: Supports joining a domain

Group Policy Management

Windows 10 Home: Cannot join a domain and does not contain the group policy editor

Windows 10 Pro: Fully supports group policy

Hyper-V

Windows 10 Home: Microsoft Hyper -V is not available

Windows 10 Pro: Allows virtualization through Microsoft Hyper-V

Remote Desktop Connection

Windows 10 Home: Can start remote desktop connection sessions but only supports remote assistance

Windows 10 Pro: Can start a remote desktop session and control remotely

Conclusion

Home and Pro are two editions of Windows 10 Operating system. The difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro is that the Microsoft designed Home mainly for regular users while Pro for businesses. Overall, Windows 10 Pro provides extra features than Home. It also offers more updates for the business.

Reference:

1. “What’s New in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update.” Windows Experience Blog, 30 Apr. 2018, Available here.
2. Rodin. “MiniTool.” MiniTool Partition Software, 29 Aug. 2017, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Windows 10 Logo” By Microsoft – Converted the PNG version of the logo uploaded by Raining Flight to SVG (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview” (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr