Microsoft cancels developer registration fees, now you can publish an app in the Microsoft Store for free
Microsoft has taken an important step towards independent developers: now publishing free apps in the Microsoft Store no longer requires a registration fee. Previously, developers had to pay $19 for an individual account or $99 for a corporate account, even if their app was free. Now, these barriers have been removed - at least for those who do not plan to monetise their product.
This decision is especially important for students, enthusiasts, and the open-source community who want to test their ideas or share useful tools without financial costs. Microsoft notes that the changes have already taken effect, and new accounts can be created for free if the developer does not plan to sell applications or use paid features.
However, for those who want to make money from their products - through in-app purchases, subscriptions, or sales - the registration fee remains in effect. This allows Microsoft to maintain control over the commercial part of the platform, while opening the door to non-commercial development.
The move is part of Microsoft's broader strategy to maintain an open Windows ecosystem where developers have more freedom and fewer restrictions. It could also encourage more new apps to be added to the Store, especially from independent developers.
The Misrosoft Store was launched on 26 October 2012. Despite the successful example of Apple and even Android, Microsoft failed to make its own app store sufficiently popular - many developers continued to publish apps on their own websites. Microsoft has never intended to prohibit this - the platform remains as open as possible, and applications written many decades ago continue to work properly on modern versions of Windows. Microsoft is probably trying to increase the popularity of its store in this way.
How to register and publish your own app
- Go to https://storedeveloper.microsoft.com/home and sign in with your Microsoft account, if you don't have one, sign up for one
- Proceed to registration
- If you are registering from a computer, you will be prompted to continue on your phone (it's all convenient via QR code). Your phone has a good camera, so this step is necessary to take a photo of your identification document (ID card or driver's licence) and your face. The interface has hints, so if something doesn't work out, pay attention to them carefully
- After that, go back to your computer, where algorithms will recognise the photographed document and fill in some of the data in a couple of minutes. All that's left is to add your email, phone number, address, and nickname. That's it, registration is complete and you can add your own apps.
Source: blogs.windows.com
