Individual developers can now publish apps in the Microsoft Store without having to pay any fees. Microsoft announced the change this week in a Windows Developer blog post. The change also means that a credit card is no longer needed to publish apps in the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft, which until recently charged individual developers a one-time fee of $19, already had lower fees than other tech giants. Google has a one-time fee of $25. Apple charges individual developers $99 per year.
“Eliminating registration fees for individual developers isn’t just a technical decision: it’s a statement of respect for those who create from the periphery, with limited resources but powerful ideas. Thank you for opening this door: not just for me, but for an entire community that can now dream out loud,” said Freddy Castillo, an independent developer.
In its blog post, Microsoft highlighted that the Microsoft Store has over 250 million monthly active users. Microsoft’s Chetna Das also discussed how removing the requirement for a credit card opens the store to more developers:
“Developers will no longer need a credit card to get started, removing a key point of friction that has affected many creators around the world. By eliminating these one-time fees, Microsoft is creating a more inclusive and accessible platform that empowers more developers to innovate, share and thrive on the Windows ecosystem.”
To register, you need to navigate to Microsoft’s store developer page. There, you’ll be able to select “Get Started” and select your account type (company accounts still require a one-time $99 fee). To complete the process you’ll need a Microsoft account, an ID and a selfie to verify your identity, and to provide some details to Microsoft.
Microsoft Store improvements
The Microsoft Store first launched in 2012 alongside Windows 8. At the time it was called the “Windows Store,” and it was not well received. It lacked major apps, did not perform as well as expected, and limited what types of apps could be published.
Microsoft worked to improve its store over the years, including a rebrand to the “Microsoft Store” in 2021. The tech giant also removed barriers for developers, paving the way for classic desktop apps to appear in the store.
The Microsoft Store now supports publishing Win32, UWP, PWA, .NET MAUI, or Electron apps.
Several other changes made the Microsoft Store a more desirable place to publish apps, such as allowing developers to host apps on their own servers. Performance of the Microsoft Store has improved tremendously over the years.
Eliminating registration fees for individual developers isn’t just a technical decision: it’s a statement of respect for those who create from the periphery.
Freddy Castillo, Independent developer
Now, the Microsoft Store includes big-name apps such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Discord, Slack, and Spotify. Newer apps like ChatGPT are also there. Several of the best apps for power users can also be downloaded through the Microsoft Store.
It’s a shame that Microsoft took over a decade to get its store to an acceptable level. I fear Microsoft may have missed its chance to convert users. There’s a good chance many will never default to using the Microsoft Store to find and download apps.
But the Microsoft Store is genuinely a useful tool that continues to improve. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden called the Microsoft Store a must-use app store and encouraged people to give it a chance.
With the removal of a registration fee for indivudal developers, we may see another wave of apps enter the Microsoft Store.
