Upgrade from Monterey to Ventura

Yes, macOS updates are always free.

You can always go to, macOS Ventura Preview - Apple, to see which MacBooks will be supported.

jeffreythefrog wrote:

macOS upgrades have always been free as far back as I can remember.

Just to refresh your memory, OS X Mavericks was the first free upgrade. Released in 2013. 😎

macOS upgrades have always been free as far back as I can remember.

yes

Yes.

I don't know either…

Version 10.9: "Mavericks"

"OS X Mavericks was released on October 22, 2013, as a free update through the Mac App Store worldwide.[61] It placed emphasis on battery life, Finder enhancements, other enhancements for power users, and continued iCloud integration, as well as bringing more of Apple's iOS apps to the OS X platform. iBooks and Apple Maps applications were added. Mavericks requires 2GB of memory to operate. It is the first version named under Apple's then-new theme of places in California, dubbed Mavericks after the surfing location.[62][63] Unlike previous versions of OS X, which had progressively decreasing prices since 10.6, 10.9 was available at no charge to all users of compatible systems running Snow Leopard (10.6) or later,[64] beginning Apple's policy of free upgrades for life on its operating system and business software"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS_version_history

dialabrain wrote:

Just to refresh your memory, OS X Mavericks was the first free upgrade. Released in 2013. 😎

are you sure about 2013? because my first iMac came with snow leopard installed and I have never had to pay for any upgrades all the way to high Sierra. that was the the last supported macOS that machine could run.

https://www.geekwire.com/2013/pay-mac-os-upgrade-apple-cfo/

ok, well I don't know what I did to get free upgrades prior to mavericks. but after snow leopard, I got lion and then mountain lion. both were free. and I upgraded with software updates, not some nefarious 3rd party. and I know for sure they were free. I'm such a cheapskate, I never would have paid. if it wasn't free, I would have stayed with snow leopard.

my first iMac was gifted to me. was it maybe possible for them to pay upfront for "free" upgrades back then?

My mac came with Snow Leopard, and I recall missing some upgrades because they definitely were not free.