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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes—Microsoft really removed the Microsoft Store’s individual developer registration fee on September 10, 2025. The original change eliminated the former one-time $19 charge and the credit-card requirement for individual accounts in nearly 200 markets. Microsoft later removed the former $99 company-account fee as well. Under the current onboarding flow, both individual and company registration are free, although identity checks, certification, taxes, payments and the costs of operating an app still apply.
What is free now?
| Account type | Current registration fee | Identity used |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | $0 through the new Store flow | Personal Microsoft account and personal identity verification |
| Company | $0 through the new Store flow | Legal business identity; Microsoft Entra ID is supported for company onboarding |
Microsoft’s current Partner Center documentation says there are no registration fees for either account type when signup begins through the Store developer site. That removes the upfront account-opening charge; it does not make every part of publishing or selling software free.
How the policy changed
September 10, 2025: individual registration became free
Microsoft announced that individual developers could register without an onboarding fee or credit card, with availability in nearly 200 markets. The former individual charge was reported as a one-time $19 fee. Identity verification using a government-issued ID and selfie replaced payment as the key account-integrity step. See Microsoft’s announcement at Windows Developer Blog.
May 7, 2026: company registration became free
Microsoft’s redesigned onboarding removed the former $99 company-account fee and added Microsoft Entra ID support for organizations using work accounts. Older articles that say company registration still costs $99 are therefore out of date. The change is described in Microsoft’s May 2026 announcement.
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Other onboarding improvements
In February 2026, Microsoft said it had cut the time and effort required to create an individual account by half: Microsoft’s update.
Individual or company account?
Choose Individual if
- You publish under your own name.
- You are a student, hobbyist, solo developer, freelancer or open-source maintainer.
- The project is personal, educational or being tested before a business is formed.
- You do not need organizational ownership or team administration.
Choose Company if
- The Store listing should belong to a registered legal business.
- Multiple people need organizational access.
- The company, rather than an individual, should own the publisher identity and app relationship.
- You need business verification or work-account administration.
Decide before registering: Microsoft says an Individual account cannot be converted to a Company account in Partner Center. Forming a business later may require creating a new company account and arranging any app or listing transfer separately.
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- OEM IS TO BE INSTALLED ON A NEW PC WITH NO PRIOR VERSION of Windows installed and cannot be transferred to another machine.
- OEM DOES NOT PROVIDE PRODUCT SUPPORT | To acquire product with Microsoft support, obtain the full packaged “Retail” version.
How to register without the old fee
- Open storedeveloper.microsoft.com.
- Select Get started.
- Choose Individual or Company based on the identity that should own the Store presence.
- For an individual account, sign in with a personal Microsoft account. Work-account onboarding is for company registration.
- Complete the requested identity verification, including a valid government-issued ID and selfie for individual onboarding.
- Enter the required developer-profile details and finish onboarding.
- In Partner Center, create or associate the app, add metadata and screenshots, upload the package, and submit it for certification.
Start at the Store developer marketing site rather than an old Partner Center, Xbox or Visual Studio bookmark. Microsoft warns that those routes can expose a legacy flow that still displays outdated fee instructions. If a fee prompt appears, return to storedeveloper.microsoft.com and begin again.
Free registration does not mean anonymous registration
Individual onboarding still requires accurate personal information and identity verification. Use a current, readable document and make sure your name, country and profile details match. Mismatches, expired documents, poor images or unsupported document types can delay verification. Do not create multiple accounts to bypass a verification or enforcement problem; follow Microsoft’s prompts or support process instead.
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- Make the most of your screen space with snap layouts, desktops, and seamless redocking.
- Widgets makes staying up-to-date with the content you love and the news you care about, simple.
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What remains conditional or potentially costly?
- Certification: Every app must meet Microsoft Store policies and pass review. Account approval and app certification are separate decisions.
- Packaging: Your app may need MSIX or another accepted package, signing, architecture declarations and Store-specific configuration.
- Privacy and safety: Provide accurate metadata, age ratings, privacy disclosures, permissions and data-handling information.
- Commercial setup: Monetized apps can require tax information, payout details, pricing, commerce disclosures and compliance with subscription or in-app-purchase rules.
- Operating costs: Development tools, cloud services, hosting, advertising, customer support, testing, accessibility, security and third-party APIs can still cost money.
Microsoft has said certification reporting is becoming faster and more transparent, with information such as crash logs, policy guidance and screenshots: the May 2025 developer update. Faster review does not guarantee acceptance.
Which Windows apps can be submitted?
Microsoft lists Win32, WPF, WinForms, UWP, progressive web apps, .NET MAUI and Electron among the supported technologies. Microsoft says these can be published without code changes in suitable cases, but “no code changes” does not mean no preparation: installers, packaging, signing, privacy URLs, metadata and supported Windows-version testing may still need work.
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- OEM IS TO BE INSTALLED ON A NEW PC with no prior version of Windows installed and cannot be transferred to another machine.
- OEM DOES NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT | To acquire product with Microsoft support, obtain the full packaged “Retail” version.
- PRODUCT SHIPS IN PLAIN ENVELOPE | Activation key is located under scratch-off area on label.
- GENUINE WINDOWS SOFTWARE IS BRANDED BY MIRCOSOFT ONLY.
What the Store can provide
Microsoft highlights Windows Search discovery, Microsoft-hosted distribution for supported MSIX packages, free signing for supported packages, automatic MSIX updates, analytics, sales-funnel information and enterprise distribution through tools such as Microsoft Intune. Non-game apps may also use their own in-app commerce system under Microsoft’s stated rules. These are platform capabilities, not promises of installs, conversion or revenue.
Microsoft reports more than 250 million monthly active Store users. That is Microsoft’s own platform figure—not an independently audited forecast, a count of purchasers or a guarantee that a new app will be seen.
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Should you use the Microsoft Store?
| Channel | Good fit | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Store | Managed installation, updates, signing, Windows discovery and enterprise distribution | Certification, Store policies and platform-dependent commerce |
| Direct website | Custom installers, existing customers and control over checkout, licensing and telemetry | You handle hosting, signing, updates, discovery and trust signals |
| GitHub Releases | Open-source projects, technical users and frequent prereleases | Not a consumer storefront with one-click discovery |
| WinGet and package managers | Command-line installation, developer tools and repeatable deployment | Different manifests, metadata and acceptance processes; limited graphical discovery |
| Steam | PC games and game-focused communities | Usually unsuitable for ordinary productivity or business utilities |
| itch.io | Indie games, experiments and creator-led releases | Not a substitute for Store integration or enterprise deployment |
Many developers can use more than one channel: the Store for managed distribution and direct or open-source releases for audiences that need specialized installers or earlier builds.
What the fee removal means for your budget
The immediate saving is the account-opening charge—first the reported $19 individual fee, and now the former $99 company fee. The larger financial question is ongoing economics: acquisition, support, infrastructure, payment processing, taxes, revenue share, licensing control and update labor. Free registration lowers the barrier to experimenting with a Store listing; it does not guarantee a profitable app or eliminate business costs.
Bottom line
Microsoft removed individual Store registration fees on September 10, 2025, and company registration fees followed on May 7, 2026. Registration is now free for both account types through the new Store flow, but identity verification, account ownership decisions, app certification, packaging, policy compliance and commercial obligations remain. Choose the publisher identity carefully, start at storedeveloper.microsoft.com, and treat the Store as one distribution channel—not a guarantee of reach or revenue.
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