How to Install Python on Windows 11 — Complete Step-by-Step Guide

I’m Mark Thompson, a Toronto-based IT pro who has spent the last decade getting Python onto Windows machines for developers, data analysts, and absolutely petrified accounting students. In one corporate rollout last year I installed Python on roughly 180 Windows 11 laptops in a single week, and I’m going to save you every headache I hit along the way.

This guide is for Windows 11 (any edition, 22H2 or 24H2) on a standard x64 machine. If you’re on an ARM-based Surface or a Snapdragon X laptop, I’ll flag the differences.

Why does the Windows 11 Python install trip people up?

Honestly? Two reasons. First, Microsoft ships its own stub python.exe with Windows 11 that opens the Microsoft Store the moment you type “python” in PowerShell. Confusing as heck. Second, the official installer hides the “Add to PATH” checkbox in a place where about half the trainees I’ve worked with miss it entirely.

Skip the Microsoft Store version unless you’re a casual learner. For real development you want the python.org build — it ships with pip, IDLE, and the official documentation.

Which Python version should you install in 2026?

Stick with Python 3.13.1 (released October 2025) for new projects. It’s the current stable release as of this writing. If you’re joining an existing dev team, check their requirements.txt or ask a senior developer — a lot of production projects are still on 3.11 or 3.12 because of library compatibility.

• Python 3.13.x — best for new learners, most current features
• Python 3.12.x — safest bet for joining most existing teams
• Python 3.11.x — only if a specific tutorial or job requires it
• Python 2.7 — end-of-life since 2020, do not install

Step-by-step: install Python 3.13 on Windows 11

Step 1. Download the installer from python.org

Go to python.org/downloads/windows and grab the latest 64-bit installer. For Intel/AMD machines it’s labeled “Windows installer (64-bit)”. For ARM laptops grab the “Windows installer (ARM64)” build.

The file is about 27 MB. Save it somewhere obvious like your Downloads folder.

Step 2. Run the installer as administrator

Right-click python-3.13.1-amd64.exe and choose Run as administrator. Windows 11’s UAC will pop up — click Yes.

Step 3. Check the two critical boxes

This is where 90% of installs go sideways. Before clicking “Install Now”:

• Check “Use admin privileges when installing py.exe”
• Check “Add python.exe to PATH” at the bottom of the window

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve remote-supported a dev who couldn’t run pip from PowerShell because they missed that PATH checkbox. Don’t be that person.

Step 4. Choose Install Now (recommended) or Customize

“Install Now” gets you Python, pip, IDLE, the standard library, and a clean PATH entry. That’s what I pick for 95% of installs. Choose Customize only if you want to change the install directory or skip components.

Step 5. Disable the Windows path length limit

At the end of the install, you’ll see a button called “Disable path length limit”. Click it. Some Python libraries (like a few in data science) ship deeply nested folders that break the old 260-character Windows path limit.

Step 6. Verify the install in PowerShell

Open Windows Terminal or PowerShell and run:

python --version
pip --version

You should see Python 3.13.1 and pip 24.x. If PowerShell instead opens the Microsoft Store, the PATH checkbox got missed — see the troubleshooting section below.

How do you fix the “Python opens Microsoft Store” problem?

This drove me up the wall the first time I hit it. Windows 11 ships an “app execution alias” for python.exe that hijacks the command. Here’s the fix:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Advanced app settings → App execution aliases
2. Scroll down and toggle OFF both App Installer (python.exe) and App Installer (python3.exe)
3. Close PowerShell entirely and reopen it
4. Run python --version again

How do you set up VS Code for Python development?

Once Python’s running, you’ll want a real editor. Visual Studio Code is free and what I install on every dev workstation.

1. Download VS Code from Microsoft (also available in the Microsoft Store)
2. Install the Python extension by Microsoft from the Extensions panel
3. Install Pylance for fast IntelliSense and type checking
4. Open a folder, hit Ctrl+Shift+P, type “Python: Select Interpreter”, pick your 3.13 install

The Python extension is free and works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Available in both the US and Canadian Microsoft Store regions.

How do you create your first Python virtual environment?

Virtual environments are how you keep one project’s dependencies from breaking another. Mandatory habit for anything beyond toy scripts.

cd C:\Users\YourName\Projects\myapp
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

If PowerShell refuses to run the activate script, you need to allow local scripts once:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Now pip install only affects this project, not your whole system.

Comparison: python.org installer vs. Microsoft Store vs. winget

Method	Best For	PATH Setup	pip Included
python.org installer	Developers, students learning Python	Manual checkbox (recommended)	Yes
Microsoft Store	Casual learners, sandboxed install	Automatic	Yes
winget install Python.Python.3.13	Power users, scripted setup	Automatic	Yes
Anaconda	Data scientists, ML/AI work	Conda-managed	Yes + conda

For my IT trainees in Toronto I default to python.org. For data analytics students at a community college I helped set up last fall, we used Anaconda because they needed Jupyter and pandas pre-bundled.

Common errors and how I fix them

“python is not recognized as an internal or external command” — PATH wasn’t set. Reinstall and tick the box, or manually add C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313 to your User PATH.

“pip install” fails with SSL error — Common on corporate networks. Add --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org to your pip command, or talk to your IT admin about the proxy.

“ModuleNotFoundError” right after installing a package — You probably have multiple Python versions and pip installed to the wrong one. Use py -3.13 -m pip install package_name to be explicit.

Internal reading

• Looking to speed up a slow Windows 11 laptop before you start coding? Worth doing first.
• Picking a browser to research libraries — see my Chrome vs Firefox vs Edge comparison.
• If you’re new to AI helpers, my free ChatGPT guide shows how to use it for coding help.
• Already on Python? Check the best free antivirus for Windows 11 so your dev box stays clean.

FAQ

Do I need to uninstall older Python versions before installing 3.13?
No, Windows handles multiple Python versions cleanly through the py launcher. Run py -0 to see all installed versions. I keep 3.11 and 3.13 side-by-side on my main Toronto workstation for testing.

Is the Microsoft Store Python version any good?
It’s fine for absolute beginners who just want to run scripts. But it’s sandboxed, which can break libraries that touch system folders or hardware. For any real work I push people to the python.org installer.

How much disk space does Python 3.13 use on Windows 11?
The base install is about 100 MB. Once you add common packages like NumPy, pandas, and Matplotlib, expect 500 MB to 1.5 GB depending on your stack. Data science setups with PyTorch or TensorFlow can hit 8+ GB easily.

Will Python 3.13 run on my older Windows 10 machine?
Yes — Python 3.13 supports Windows 10 (version 1809 and later) as well as Windows 11. Microsoft is ending mainstream Windows 10 support in October 2025, though, so I’d plan a Windows 11 upgrade soon.

Should I install Python from winget instead?
If you’re comfortable with the command line, yes — winget install Python.Python.3.13 is one line and handles PATH automatically. I script every dev laptop rollout this way. For first-time installs I still recommend the GUI installer so you see what’s happening.