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How to Install pip on Python (Windows 10 and 11): 3 Methods

How to Install PIP in Python on Windows 10 and 11 - Tutorial Guide

To install pip on Windows 10 or 11, run python -m ensurepip --upgrade in Command Prompt — pip ships with Python 3.4 and newer, and ensurepip restores it if it is missing. If that fails, download get-pip.py from https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py and run python get-pip.py. Verify with pip --version.

Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Python 3.4 and newer | Last updated: May 4, 2026

How to Install PIP in Python on Windows 10 and 11 (Step-by-Step Guide)

Key Takeaways

  • pip is bundled with Python 3.4+ — if you installed Python with default settings on Windows, pip is already there. Run pip --version in Command Prompt to confirm.
  • The fastest fix when pip is missing is python -m ensurepip --upgrade — this restores pip from Python’s bundled copy without an internet download.
  • If ensurepip fails, use get-pip.py from the official PyPA bootstrap URL. This is the official manual install fallback.
  • “pip is not recognized” almost always means PATH is the problem, not pip itself. Reinstall Python with Add Python to PATH ticked, or use python -m pip instead of pip.
  • Upgrade pip with python -m pip install --upgrade pip after a successful install.

Quick Steps

  1. Open Command Prompt (search cmd in the Start menu).
  2. Check if pip is already installed: pip --version
  3. If you get a “not recognized” error, run: python -m ensurepip --upgrade
  4. If ensurepip is also missing or fails, download get-pip.py with: curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
  5. Install pip from that file: python get-pip.py
  6. Upgrade pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip
  7. If pip still does not run on its own, add Python and its Scripts folder to PATH.

In This Guide

Check if pip Is Already Installed

Before installing anything, confirm you actually need to install pip. Open Command Prompt by searching for cmd in the Start menu, then run:

python --version
pip --version

The first command should return something like Python 3.13.2. The second should return a line like pip 25.0 from C:\Python\Lib\site-packages\pip (python 3.13). If both work, pip is already installed and you only need the upgrade section below — skip the install methods entirely.

If python --version fails with “not recognized as an internal or external command,” Python itself is not on your PATH. Reinstall Python from the official Python installer and tick Add Python to PATH on the first installer screen. That single checkbox saves an hour of debugging later.

If python --version works but pip --version does not, your Python install is missing pip. Use Method 2 (ensurepip) below — it is the cleanest fix.

Method 1: Tick the pip Box During Python Installation

If you are still installing Python, this is the easiest path. Run the Python installer, click Customize installation, and on the Optional Features screen make sure pip is checked. Both the standard installer and the customize installer have it ticked by default — but it is worth verifying.

Python installer Optional Features screen with the pip checkbox highlighted.

Also tick Add Python to environment variables on the next screen — that is the same as “Add Python to PATH” and prevents the “not recognized” error later.

For a full walkthrough of installing Python from scratch, including which version to pick, see my guide to downloading and installing Python on Windows 10 and 11.

Method 2: Restore pip With ensurepip

Python 3.4 and newer ship with a module called ensurepip that contains a bundled copy of pip. If pip is missing, ensurepip can restore it without an internet connection. This is the cleanest method when Python is installed but pip somehow is not.

Run this in Command Prompt:

python -m ensurepip --upgrade

The output looks something like this: Looking in links: ...; Successfully installed pip-25.0. Then verify it worked:

pip --version

If pip now responds with a version number, you are done.

Tip: Run Command Prompt as Administrator if ensurepip reports a permission error. Right-click Command Prompt in the Start menu and choose Run as administrator.

Method 3: Manual Install With get-pip.py

If ensurepip fails (rare, usually because the bundled wheel was deleted or your Python install is corrupt), the official manual installer is get-pip.py. PyPA hosts this script at a stable URL and it has been the recommended fallback for years.

Download the script using curl (built into Windows 10 and 11):

curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py

Then run it with Python:

python get-pip.py
Command Prompt running python get-pip.py with pip install output.

Once the install finishes, confirm pip is working:

pip --version

Delete the get-pip.py file from your working directory afterwards — pip is now installed inside Python and the bootstrap script is no longer needed.

Upgrade pip to the Latest Version

pip releases new versions every few months. Installing packages with an outdated pip occasionally throws warnings or fails on newer wheel formats. The recommended upgrade command is:

python -m pip install --upgrade pip

Notice the python -m pip form — that runs pip as a Python module, which is the only way to upgrade pip safely. Running pip install --upgrade pip directly can fail on Windows because pip would be trying to overwrite itself while running. Using python -m pip sidesteps that.

If pip is already on the latest version, you will see Requirement already satisfied: pip. Otherwise pip downloads and installs the new version automatically.

Fix “pip Is Not Recognized” by Adding Python to PATH

The most common pip problem on Windows is not actually pip at all — it is PATH. If pip --version reports “not recognized as an internal or external command,” Windows cannot find the pip.exe file because the folder it lives in is not on your system PATH.

The two folders that need to be on PATH are the Python install folder itself, and the Scripts subfolder inside it. If you installed Python to C:\Python, you need both:

  • C:\Python (for python.exe)
  • C:\Python\Scripts (for pip.exe)

To find your Python install folder, open File Explorer and look in C:\Python, C:\Program Files\Python313, or %LocalAppData%\Programs\Python\Python313 (the exact path depends on which version you installed and whether you chose “Install for all users”).

Once you know the path:

  1. Search the Start menu for Edit the system environment variables and open it.
  2. Click Environment Variables at the bottom of the System Properties window.
  3. Under System variables, select Path and click Edit.
  4. Click New and paste the Python install path (e.g. C:\Python).
  5. Click New again and paste the Scripts path (e.g. C:\Python\Scripts).
  6. Click OK on every dialog to save.
Edit environment variable window showing Python and Python Scripts folders added to PATH.

Close any open Command Prompt windows and open a fresh one — PATH changes only apply to new Command Prompt sessions. Run pip --version again and it should work.

Workaround: If you do not want to edit PATH, you can always run pip via python -m pip instead of pip directly. As long as python works, python -m pip install requests works too.

What to Install With pip First

Once pip is working, the standard install command is:

pip install requests

Replace requests with whatever package you need. For Python development on Windows, the most common starter packages are requests (HTTP library), pandas (data analysis), numpy (numerical computing), and virtualenv (project-isolated Python environments). All of those install in seconds with pip.

If you are using Python in VS Code, my VS Code setup guides walk through configuring extensions and the Python interpreter. For Jupyter notebooks specifically, see how to install Jupyter Notebook on Windows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to install pip separately if I have Python 3?

No. Python 3.4 and every version since have shipped with pip bundled. If you installed Python with default settings, pip is already on your system. The only time you need to install pip separately is if you used a custom install that excluded it, or if pip was deleted manually.

What does “pip is not recognized as an internal or external command” mean?

It means Windows cannot find pip.exe on your PATH. pip might still be installed — Windows just does not know where to look. Either add Python’s Scripts folder to PATH (see the section above), or run pip as a Python module with python -m pip instead of bare pip.

What is the difference between pip and pip3?

On Windows there is usually no difference — both pip and pip3 point to the same executable. The pip3 name only matters on systems where Python 2 and Python 3 are installed side by side. On a Windows PC with only Python 3, use whichever name you prefer.

How do I uninstall a package with pip?

Run pip uninstall <package-name> in Command Prompt. For example, pip uninstall requests removes the requests library. pip will ask you to confirm before removing files.

How do I see which packages I have installed?

Run pip list for a basic list, or pip freeze for a list formatted for use in a requirements file. To check a specific package, run pip show requests (replacing requests with your package name).

Why does pip warn me about running as administrator?

If you installed Python for all users in C:\Program Files\Python, pip needs admin rights to write into the system-wide site-packages folder. The cleaner solution is to install Python for the current user only (the installer’s default), or use a virtual environment with python -m venv my-env. Virtual environments install packages into a project folder you own, with no admin rights needed.

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