Microsoft will soon let developers publish apps to the Microsoft Store for free, aiming to boost engagement and support indie creators
Microsoft announced on Monday at its Build 2025 conference that it will eliminate developer enrollment fees for the Microsoft Store on Windows, the digital distribution platform for its flagship operating system.
Individual developers can register and publish applications to the Microsoft Store without paying for an account starting in June 2025. In the past, Microsoft assessed a registration fee of approximately $19.
The Microsoft Store’s app publishing fees are being waived in response to the significant legal pressure Apple is currently facing to eradicate specific developer fees it imposes on the App Store.
Apple continues to impose an annual charge of $99 on developers who publish to the App Store even though those fees are commissions. In the interim, Google imposes a one-time fee of $25 for Google Play, the Android app store.
Microsoft intends to maintain its practice of charging developers who utilize its commerce platform and have applications available on the Microsoft Store a 12% fee for games and a 15% fee for applications. Developers who implement their commerce system retain 100% of the revenue generated by non-gaming applications.
