Look on forums like Embroidery Legacy or Digitized Embroidery Network for users selling older but still usable versions (ES 16 works well on Windows 10).
A budget-friendly alternative that reads many formats and runs without a dongle. wilcom 9 single setup download
: Supports advanced motifs, custom splits, and "Photo Flash" for converting images into embroidery. 3. Installation and Compatibility Challenges Look on forums like Embroidery Legacy or Digitized