Windows, Office and antivirus software key price tracker

What is a software licence key?

A software key is an activation code for a program — Windows and Windows Server, Microsoft Office, Corel, and antivirus from Avast, Norton and Panda. You redeem it in the product itself or in the publisher's account page rather than on a game platform, and most of this shelf is a licence you keep rather than a subscription.

The software is the publisher's own build. What differs between a cheap key and an expensive one is the licence behind it, which is the thing worth reading carefully.

What to check before you buy a software key

The edition. Home, Pro, Professional Plus and Server are different products at very different prices, and the features people actually need — domain join, Remote Desktop, the full Office set — sit above the cheapest tier.

The version and the year. This shelf carries several generations at once. A 2019 licence will not activate a 2022 install, and the older row is cheaper for that reason rather than by accident.

Lifetime or term. A lifetime licence is bought once; antivirus is usually one or three years and then renews at a higher price. Compare the yearly cost, not the sticker.

How many machines, and whether it moves. A licence covers a set number of devices and may bind to the first one it activates on. If you reinstall often, that matters more than a few euros.

How to actually pay less on software

Buy the edition you need, not the one above it. The most common overspend here is Professional bought for a feature that is already in Home.

Watch the price rather than the sale. Discounts run on a cycle, and a licence that is 40% off today may be 70% off in two months. We record every price change we see, so each product page shows what it has actually cost over time rather than just what it costs now.

We're not a store. We don't hold stock, we don't take payment, and we earn a commission when you buy through a link here — which never changes the price you pay.