Compare Windows 7 Editions

Compare Windows 7 Editions​

   Information

This is a comparison list of features between the Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions.

   Note

For more information on this, see also:

• Windows 7 features
• List of features removed in Windows 7
• Windows 7 Product Lifecycle

| Starter |

Home Basic​

|

Home Premium​

| Professional |

Ultimate​

|

Enterprise​

Estimated Full Retail Price​

|

OEM​

|

OEM​

|

$199.99​

|

$299.99​

|

$319.99​

|

Volume Licensing​

Estimated Upgrade Retail Price​

|

OEM​

|

OEM​

|

$119.99​

|

$199.99​

|

$219.99​

|

Volume Licensing

End of Support Life Cycle​

|

2020.01.14​

|

2020.01.14​

|

2020.01.14​

|

2020.01.14​

|

2020.01.14​

|

2020.01.14​

32-bit and 64-bit versions​

|

32-bit only​

|

Both (64-bit disc not included)​

|

Both​

|

Both​

|

Both​

|

Both​

AAC and H.264 decoding​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Accessibility​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Action Center​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Ad-hoc network (create and join)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Aero Glass Remoting​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Aero Peek​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Aero Shake​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Aero Snap​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Aero Theme​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

AppLocker​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/7840-applocker-enable-dll-rule-collection.html ||||

Create Policies, But Cannot Enforce​

|

Create and Enforce Polices​

|

Create and Enforce Polices

Audio Recording over Terminal Services​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

Backup and Restore Files​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Backup to Network​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Bitlocker Drive Encryption​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

Bitlocker To Go​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/4624-bitlocker-drive-encryption-bitlocker-go-turn-off.html |||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

Bluetooth suppport​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Branche Cache Distributed Cache​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Calculator​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Compatibility Mode​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Desktop Background Changeable​

||

Yes (No Personalization - Only with "Set as desktop background" in Context menu)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Desktop Windows Manager​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Device Stage​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

DirectAccess​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

Disk Defragmenter​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Disk Defragmenter (Automatic)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Display Language​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Dolby Digital compatibility​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Domain Join (Windows Server)​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

DVD playback​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Dynamic Disks​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Encrypting File System (EFS)​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Encrypting Offline Files​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/50718-offline-files-encrypt-unencrypt.html http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/50718-offline-files-encrypt-unencrypt.html ||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Enterprise Search Scopes​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Fast User Switching​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Federated Search​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/742-windows-7-search-federation-providers.html |||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

Gadgets​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Games Explorer with basic games (FreeCell, Hearts, Minesweeper, Purble Palace, Solitaire, Spide Solitaire)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Games Explorer with premium games (Internet Backgammon, Internet Checkers, Internet Spades, Mahjong Titans)​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes (disable by default)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes (disable by default)​

Getting Started​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Group Policy​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Guest account​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

HomeGroup​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43972-homegroup-add-computer-join.html http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43972-homegroup-add-computer-join.html |

Join Only​

|

Join Only​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

IIS Web Server​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Internet Connection Sharing​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

IE Protected Mode and DEP​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Internet Explorer​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Jump Lists​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Keyboard Input Language​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Language Packs (MUI)​

||||

Yes, purchased separately​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Libraries​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Live Explorer Previews​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Live Taskbar Previews​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Local Users and Groups Manager​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Local Security Policy Manager​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Location and other sensors support​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Location Aware Printing​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ng-automatically-switch-default-printers.html ||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Max RAM (32-bit)​

|

2GB​

|

4GB​

|

4GB​

|

4GB​

|

4GB​

|

4GB​

Max RAM (64-bit)​

||

8GB​

|

16GB​

|

192GB​

|

192GB​

|

192GB​

MPEG-2 decoding​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Multi-Display Terminal Services​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Multiple Monitors​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Multi-Touch support​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Network and Sharing Center​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Network Bridge​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Network Printing​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Offline Files​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Paint​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Parental Controls​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Personlization​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Play To​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Power Management​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

64-bit Processor Support​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Physical Processor Support​

|

1​

|

1​

|

1​

|

2​

|

2​

|

2​

Presentation Mode​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Previous Versions​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Problem Steps Recorder​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Processor Core Support​

|

Unlimited​

|

Unlimited​

|

Unlimited​

|

Unlimited​

|

Unlimited​

|

Unlimited​

Projector Connection Switching​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2019-display-projection-switch.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

ReadyBoost​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

ReadyDrive​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Remote Desktop Client​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3922-remote-desktop-connection-rdc-network.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Remote Desktop Host​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Remote Media Streaming​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

RSS support​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

SMB Network Connections​

|

20​

|

20​

|

20​

|

20​

|

20​

|

20​

Snipping Tool​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Software Restriction Policies​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Startup Repair​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Sticky Notes​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

SuperFetch​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Switch User​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Sync Center​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

System Image Backup​

|

Yes - Not to network location​

|

Yes - Not to network location​

|

Yes - Not to network location​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

System Restore​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Tablet PC support​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Taskbar Thumbnail Live Previews​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Number of TV tuners supported​

|||

4 of each type (analog, digital, etc.)​

|

4 of each type (analog, digital, etc.)​

|

4 of each type (analog, digital, etc.)​

|

4 of each type (analog, digital, etc.)​

UAC - User Account Control​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/299-user-account-control-uac-change-notification-settings.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

UNIX based applications subsystem​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

VHD - Boot from​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2953-virtual-hard-drive-vhd-file-create-start-boot.html |||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

VHD - Create and Attach​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/566-virtual-hard-disk-create-attach-vhd.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Enhancements​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Windows Aero Theme​

||

Partial​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Anytime Upgrade​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

||

Windows Basic Theme​

|

Yes​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Connect Now (WCN)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Windows Defender​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/6397-windows-defender-turn-off.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows DVD Maker​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Easy Transfer​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows ExperienceIndex (WEI)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Fax and Scan​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Flip​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Flip 3D​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2694-switch-between-windows-flip-3d-shortcut.html |||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Journal​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Firewall​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/522-windows-firewall-turn-off.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Media Center​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Media Player​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Media Player multimedia redirection​

|||||

Yes​

|

Yes

Windows Media Player Remote Media Experience​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Mobility Center​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/6549-windows-mobility-center-open-use.html ||

Yes (No Presentation Mode)​

|

Yes (No Presentation Mode)​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Photo Viewer​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows PowerShell and ISE​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Search​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/36599-search-windows-7-a.html |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Server domain joining​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Windows SideShow​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Windows Slideshow​

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/452-desktop-slideshow.html |||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Standard Theme​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Taskbar​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

Windows Touch​

|||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Troubleshooting​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Update​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

Windows Virtual PC support​

||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes

WordPad​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

XP Mode (Windows Virtual PC)​

||||

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

XPS Viewer |

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

|

Yes​

 

[swarfega]

Could you include virtualisation as well please.

 

[zrtom]

Since this is in progress I'm not sure if you're looking for additions but here's one that seems to have changed over the past several months (or at least not as clear as it was)....
Full Image Backup capability
(in other words, which versions allow Full Image Backups)

 

[Iknewitwin7]

Great list Brink, well done

 

[zrtom]

Perfect!

 

[myzr7]

Question

Brink,
Great post and perfect timing. Clarify this please. Will we be able to use Wau to upgrade all the way up to and including Ultimate? This chart is confusing to me. Is it a empty space because you can't upgrade to it or beyond it?

 

[Brink]

Hello Larry,

If there is not a YES there, then it means it is not supported in the specific edition of Windows 7.

You can't use WAU in the Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows 7 though.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Charles Kane]

Really the only difference between Home Premium and Pro is .... Domain Join (and therefore Location Aware Printing and Remote Desktop Host) and XP Mode.

Makes the decision pretty easy for me.

Thanks for the excellent table Brink.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Charles. Premium doesn't have EFS or Offline Files either though.

 

[Night Hawk]

Great work! Shawn And very timely as well! I think a good number of people will want to look this over carefully in the next few months in order to make the decisions on which edition they will go with.

The WAU or Windows Anytime deals are generally limited to the prebuilds with Vista presently installed with the offer of the free 7 upgrade being offered from July 1st forward. Most of the systems sold in retail outlets tend to be the less featured editions sold for general home user/consumer user where these are intended for promotional deals.

Even while you will likely be expanding on this a bit further it makes a great reference since MS has been a little slow on this. It's still a great solid reference!

(especially from what MS has on their own page. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare-editions)

 

[Aturion]

Hello

I've seen that the home premium version is priced at 49 euros (pre sale in europe) I'm lurking to buy the 64 bits version of the home premium version, will I be able to run most old 32 bits applications that used to work on xp ? (given that it doesn't have xp mode)

I've tried to read the explanations but I'm still not sure

Thanks

 

[Brink]

Hello Aturion,

XP Mode is a virtual machine for Windows Virtual PC. For your XP programs you can use Compatibility Mode with XP selected instead if they do not run properly in Windows 7 to try and have them run properly. However, even with this, there will be some XP programs that just will not run in 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Airbot]

I find it surprising that Federated Search will only be in Ultimate.

 

[davehc]

The Op has been recently updated to include what is believed to be the final full feature RTM, and prices

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp

OK. I see Brink has now updated his post.

 

[Night Hawk]

I find it surprising that Federated Search will only be in Ultimate.

That and the Enterprise edition. I suspect that's due to the promo going on now for the Bing search engine as well as the MS interest in buying out Google. The best stuff typically goes into the full featured money maker editions anyways.

 

[Aturion]

Thank you Shawn

So I'll pick up the home premium version then

 

[Sheryl]

I've also heard that the Home edition will allow a family pack -- you can use it on 3 computers. Not available on the other 2 versions. That may change before final release, though....

 

[Brink]

Hello Sheryl, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Yep, it appears that Microsoft may just release a family pack Windows 7 Home Premium edition with multiple licenses (product key numbers) included.

Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com

Shawn

 

[YupYup]

Hello Sheryl, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Yep, it appears that Microsoft may just release a family pack Windows 8 Home Premium edition with multiple licenses (product key numbers) included.

Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com

Shawn

Lol Windows 8 on your mind?

 

[Brink]

LOL, oops. Always thinking ahead.