Microsoft Charges $1.50 Per Core Monthly for Windows Server 2025 Security Updates

If you want security updates to be installed on your Windows Server 2025 without requiring a restart, then you should know this.

Microsoft has announced a significant change in how businesses will access security updates for Windows Server 2025. Starting soon on July 1, 2025, Microsoft will implement significant changes to its update and licensing policies in conjunction with the upcoming release of Windows Server 2025.

Under the new policy updates, Microsoft will introduce hotpatching as a premium feature, which enables security patches to be applied without requiring a system reboot. This technical feature allows security patches to be effectively utilized while the Windows Server remains online, which will reduce downtime and maintain operational continuity.

Now, Microsoft will implement this new policy for all businesses that are required to pay $1.50 per month per CPU core for hotpatching, according to the new license agreement.

What Is Hotpatching?

Hotpatching is a technical feature that allows security patches to be installed on Windows Server without requiring a system reboot. This premium feature is designed to minimize downtime, reduce maintenance windows, and ensure no disruption during the operations of businesses. As of now, Microsoft has offered hotpatching free for users of Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. From July 1, 2025, businesses that use Windows Server 2025 Standard or Datacenter editions on their own hardware will have to pay the monthly fee to access this premium feature from Microsoft.

Why Is Microsoft Introducing This New Pricing Model?

Microsoft is introducing a new hotpatching licensing model with Windows Server 2025 on July 1, 2025, to reduce downtime in the operation of business and improve overall security features. This change by Microsoft will enhance system availability, promote regular security patches, and encourage cloud adoption. These are the key reasons behind the changes,

Enhanced Security Compliance

If you enroll in the new licensing policy from Microsoft, it offers security updates with virtually no downtime. If you install security patches through premium hotpatching services, it can boost efficiency and potentially reduce security vulnerabilities across business environments.

Cloud and Azure

The new model will encourage the adoption of Azure or hybrid solutions, where hotpatching features may be included in service bundles. This will encourage businesses to migrate more workloads to the cloud, which offers integrated update management and reduces the complexity of on-premises maintenance.

Reducing Downtime

Businesses like banks, hospitals, retail, and other 24/7 companies face major challenges when they apply security patches to their servers that require reboots. Hotpatching features will eliminate the need for scheduled downtime.

How Will the New Pricing Work?

Microsoft has introduced a monthly based fee for hotpatching features based on the number of physical CPU cores that are applicable for Windows Server 2025 only.

Key Pricing Details:

Rate: $1.50 per physical CPU core, per month.
Minimum Fee: A base charge will apply even for low-core systems (exact amount not mention).
Scope: This price is only for Windows Server 2025 and future versions, that do not to include previous versions such as Windows Server 2019 or 2022.

For example :

A single server with 16 cores will cost:
16 cores × $1.50 = $24/month → $288/year
A data center with 100 servers, each with 32 cores will cost:
100 × 32 × $1.50 = $4,800/month → $57,600/year

Impact on business

The new fee model my increase lead the costs for companies that have a large number of servers infrastructure, especially to those that operate high-core-count systems. Now big companies should evaluate the financial and architectural impact of this change if maximum uptime and continuous security patching are essential to their business activities.

FAQs: Microsoft’s Windows Server 2025 Hotpatching Fee

What is the new hotpatching fee for Windows Server 2025?

Starting soon on July 1, 2025, Microsoft will impose a $1.50 per physical CPU core per month fee for the use of hotpatching, which is the ability to perform updates without requiring a restart of the server.

Is hotpatching required?

No, it is Optional. You always have the choice of using the traditional model (which requires reboots) at no additional fee.

Can I obtain hotpatching on earlier releases of Windows Server?

No, hotpatching is exclusive to Windows Server 2025. Previous editions, such as 2022 or 2019, will not support this feature.

Will this fee be applied to VMs?

Yes, the fee is based on CPU cores, physical or virtual. However, licensing models for VMs may vary depending on deployment.

Conclusion: Microsoft’s Windows Server 2025 Hotpatching Fee

Microsoft introduces a new $1.50 monthly fee per CPU core for Windows Server 2025 security patches, which reflects the shift to usage-based pricing. While this may increase the cost for high-core servers, it promotes some businesses to consider cloud solutions.
For other businesses, particularly those that are 24/7 operational, this will allow for the uninterruptible and frequent application of security patches. However, for some small companies, it represents yet another incremental licensing expense in an already expensive ecosystem.

What I suggest, as this world is becoming more connected digitally and at risk of digital threats, is that the further investment into seamless security updates transforms from being optional into essential.

Still confused or stuck about Windows Server 2025? Leave your questions in the comments or call me at +1- 844-405-0212. I am here to help!

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