Microsoft Store pricing, free trials and markets for your app

How do I set my app's price?

In the Pricing section you pick a base price, which is either Free or one of the price tiers. Microsoft's pricing docs say tiers start at 0.99 USD and go up in steps like 1.09 and 1.19 USD, with bigger steps as the price gets higher. The same tiers apply to add-ons.

Each tier has a matching value in each of the more than 60 currencies the Store offers, so one base price sets a comparable price everywhere. Select view conversion table to see them all, or Review price per market to check the local prices before you publish. The tier you pick may include sales tax or VAT that customers pay.

Microsoft doesn't change your prices without your approval. When its recommended prices move with exchange rates, Partner Center shows a warning, and it's up to you whether to update.

• One market. You can override the base price with a different tier or a free-form price in that market's currency, within a minimum and maximum. A free-form price never adjusts for exchange rates until you submit a new one.
• A market group. You can give several markets their own tier together. Free-form prices don't work for groups, and a market can only be in one group.
• Later. You can schedule a price change for a date and time, for all markets or per market.

How do free trials work?

Trials use the Store's built-in trial support. The Free trial setting is No free trial by default, and there are two kinds.

By default the trial is offered as soon as the app is published and never stops. You can set start and end dates in UTC or local time, and customize them per market. Your app checks the license to know whether it's running as a trial, which Microsoft covers in implement a trial version. Store policy also asks you to be clear about the scope and terms of any trial.

If you'd rather have people try a build before it's public, that's a different tool. See how to beta test a Microsoft Store app.

How do I put my app on sale?

A sale lowers the price for a set time, and customers see a strikethrough price on your listing. A scheduled price change doesn't show that. You create one in the Sale pricing section of a submission.

1. Select Show options, then New sale, and choose the markets for the sale.
2. Pick a lower price tier, or a percentage off that applies in every currency. Free is allowed too.
3. Choose who gets it: everyone, owners of one of your other published apps, or a known user group.
4. Set the start and end in UTC or local time, then save and submit.

A few rules from Microsoft's docs are worth knowing before you plan one.

• A sale on an app that's already live needs a new submission, even if the sale is the only change. Editing or cancelling one needs another submission too.
• Once a sale has started you can't change its start date.
• Picking markets for a sale doesn't make the app available in those markets.
• Sale pricing isn't supported for subscription add-ons.
• In France, the base price shown has to be the lowest price you've charged in the last 30 days.

Which markets is my app available in?

All of them, unless you change it. Microsoft's market selection docs say the Store reaches customers in over 200 countries and regions, and by default your app is offered in every market, including any Microsoft adds later, at its base price. Select Show options in the Markets section to unselect markets or start from none.

Removing a market only stops new customers there. People who already have the app can keep using it, but they won't get your updates. Local laws and age rating requirements can still keep an app out of some markets even when you select all of them, and meeting local legal requirements is your job.

The Visibility section is separate from markets. It can keep the app out of search and browsing so only people with a direct link can find it, or stop new acquisitions altogether, in which case you can't set a price.

How much does Microsoft take?

It depends on whose commerce handles the payment. When a purchase goes through Microsoft's commerce engine, section 6(b) of the App Developer Agreement (version 8.11) sets the Store Fee.

In some markets, payments by gift card or mobile operator billing add a Commerce Expansion Adjustment on top of the Store Fee. Microsoft lists the countries, payment methods and percentages on the market selection page, so check it if you price for those markets.

Can I use my own commerce instead?

For a non-game app on Windows PCs, yes. Store policy 10.8 lets non-game products on PC use either a secure third-party purchase API or the Microsoft Store in-product purchase API for digital items used in the app, and either a third-party API or Microsoft's recurring billing for subscriptions. Purchases on a third-party commerce engine aren't subject to the Store Fee. A common setup is a free Store listing with your own checkout inside the app.

If you go that way, the policy and agreement set some conditions.

• Note that you use a secure third-party purchase API in Partner Center when you submit.
• At checkout, name the payment provider, authenticate the user and get their confirmation. Card payments have to meet PCI DSS.
• Registration or payment at install has to happen inside the app. After install, you can send people to a browser to finish.
• Say in your Store description that the app offers in-app purchases.

Games, and any app or game on Xbox consoles, have to use Microsoft's commerce engine for the purchase and for in-app products.

What StoreFast does and doesn't do here

StoreFast doesn't read or change pricing, trials, sales, markets or visibility. Set those in Partner Center. An update you send from StoreFast starts as a copy of your last published submission, so your pricing and markets stay as they are, and if you change them in Partner Center that's a separate submission.

What StoreFast can show you is where the downloads come from. Each app's page lists its top markets by downloads for the last 7, 30 or 90 days, or all time on Indie and Studio, next to its reviews. A coding agent connected over MCP can also filter reviews by market. More on that in Microsoft Store analytics. If you haven't set up a developer account yet, start with the developer account guide.

Questions

What is the Microsoft Store revenue share for apps?

Under the App Developer Agreement (version 8.11), the Store Fee is 15% of net receipts for apps and 12% for games when you use Microsoft's commerce engine. Purchases made through a third-party commerce engine aren't subject to the Store Fee. Xbox console sales and a few older cases have a 30% fee.

Can I sell my app on the Microsoft Store with my own payment system?

If it's a non-game app on Windows PCs, yes. Store policy 10.8 lets it use a secure third-party purchase API or Microsoft's for in-app purchases and subscriptions, and those purchases don't pay the Store Fee. You have to note the third-party API in Partner Center when you submit and say in your description that the app has in-app purchases. Games and anything on Xbox consoles have to use Microsoft's commerce engine.

How long can a Microsoft Store free trial be?

A time-limited trial can be 1, 7, 15 or 30 days. You can also pick Unlimited, where people use the trial for as long as they like and your code limits what it can do.

What's the lowest price I can charge?

Apart from Free, price tiers start at 0.99 USD and go up in steps like 1.09 and 1.19. For a single market you can also type a free-form price in that market's currency, within a minimum and maximum.

Do I need a new submission to change the price or run a sale?

Yes. Pricing, sales and markets are part of a submission, so a change goes through certification like any other. Microsoft says this even if the sale is the only thing you're changing.

Does StoreFast change my price or markets?

No. StoreFast doesn't read or change pricing, trials, sales or markets. Set them in Partner Center, and updates you send from StoreFast keep what's there, since each new submission starts as a copy of your last published one.