| | Home Basic | Home Premium | Business | Enterprise | Ultimate |
| Key Features for All Users |
| Welcome Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User Account Control | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Security Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Defender | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Firewall | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Explorer 7 Fix My Settings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-phishing in Internet Explorer 7 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-phishing in Windows Mail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Update | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Service Hardening | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Performance self-tuning and hardware diagnostics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Experience Index | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Next-generation TCP/IP stack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IPv6 and IPv4 support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows ReadyDrive | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ad hoc backup and recovery of user files and folders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled backup of user files | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup of user files to a networked PC or device | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Incremental backup | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic backup scheduling | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Complete PC Backup and Restore (image based) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shadow Copy (restore previous versions of your documents) | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Vista Basic user interface | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Aero user experience (glass, dynamic windows, and a smoother-performing desktop) | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Instant Search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File tagging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stacking and Group By View. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Explorer 7 with RSS feed support, tabbed browsing, and integrated search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| .NET Framework 3.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows CardSpace | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows SuperFetch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows ReadyBoost | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| I/O prioritization | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic hard disk defragmentation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 64-bit processor support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum RAM supported with 32-bit system | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Maximum RAM supported with 64-bit system | 8 GB | 16 GB | 128+ GB | 128+ GB | 128+ GB |
| Two processors (two processor sockets) support | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Years of product support | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 |
Key Features for Home Users |
| Windows Mail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Sidebar | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Photo Gallery—for organizing, editing, printing, and sharing photos and videos | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Themed slide shows | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Media Player 11 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Native DVD playback | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Media Center—for music, photos, videos, live and recorded TV, and online entertainment | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Media Center—for recording and watching high-definition TV (U.S. and South Korea only) | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Media Center—CableCard support (U.S. only) | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Support for Media Center Extenders, including Xbox 360 | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows Movie Maker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Movie Maker HD | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Windows DVD Maker (Video DVD Authoring and Burning) | | Yes | | | Yes |
| Games Explorer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Updated games | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New premium games | | Yes | Yes* | Yes* | Yes |
| Parental Controls | Yes | Yes | | | Yes |
| Universal game controller support | Yes | Yes | Yes* | Yes* | Yes |
| Speech Recognition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accessibility Settings and Ease of Access Center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Features for Business Users |
| XPS Document support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Small Business Resources | | | Yes | Yes* | Yes |
| Windows Fax and Scan | | | Yes | Yes* | Yes* |
| Network and Sharing Centre | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Diagnostics and troubleshooting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved wireless networking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless network provisioning | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved peer networking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved VPN support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved power management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simultaneous SMB peer network connections | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Windows HotStart | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Mobility Centre | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync Centre | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Folder support | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC with integrated pen/digital ink input | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC touch screen support | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC handwriting recognition improvements | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Tablet PC usability and navigation improvements | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows SideShow | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Meeting Space | View only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Improved file and folder sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ad hoc backup and recovery of user files and folders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled backup of user files | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup of user files to a network device | | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Features for IT Professionals |
| System image–based backup and recovery | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypting File System | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop deployment tools for managed networks | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Policy-based quality of service for networking | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) Client | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Control over installation of device drivers | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network Access Protection Client Agent | | | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pluggable logon authentication architecture | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Support for simultaneous installation of multiple user interface languages | | | | Yes | Yes |
| All worldwide user interface languages (36 languages total) available | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Subsystem for UNIX-based applications | | | | Yes | Yes |
| Application Compatibility features | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File-based image format (WIM) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
