A better Partner Center: StoreFast vs updating your app by hand
Partner Center is where your developer account lives, and you'll keep it. For the updates you ship every few weeks, StoreFast is quicker. Here's the same update done both ways.
For every update after your first release, use StoreFast. It's the same update with a fraction of the clicking, in every language at once.
- An update is one page in StoreFast instead of a submission with a Store listing page for every language.
- You write What's new once and it's translated into every listing language, in the tone your app already uses.
- The package name and version are checked the moment you drop the file, before anything uploads.
- Nothing is created in Partner Center until you press Submit, so an update you give up on leaves no half-made draft behind.
- Downloads, installs, ratings and reviews for every app are on the page you open anyway.
The same update, both ways
Say you're shipping version 1.4 of an app with English, German, French and Japanese listings. Here's what that takes in each.
| Step | Partner Center by hand | StoreFast |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Open the app and start a new submission | Open the app |
| Package | Upload it on the Packages page | Drop it anywhere on the page. The name and version are checked first |
| What's new in English | Open the English Store listing and paste it in | Write it once in the update dialog |
| Other languages | Translate it somewhere else, then open each listing and paste it in | Press Translate all, then read and adjust |
| Submit | Submit to the Store | Submit for review |
| Follow certification | Check the submission in Partner Center | Watch the tracker on the app’s page |
The by-hand version gets longer with every language. Microsoft's listing docs put it plainly: you edit each language separately unless you export your listings to a CSV file, edit them offline and import them again. With four languages that's four pages, and with twelve it's twelve.
In StoreFast the languages come from your live listing, so the list is already there when you open the update. Last release's notes show up as a starting point. Each translation is counted against the 1,500 character limit for What's new, and if you change the English afterwards, the translations are marked as out of date so you don't send old text by mistake.
What you still do in Partner Center, once
You create the app, reserve its name and do the first submission with the age ratings questionnaire, which Microsoft requires for every app. Then you connect StoreFast. StoreFast handles every update after that.
What's not in StoreFast yet
- Scheduled releases. Coming.
- Gradual rollout. Coming.
- Crash reports. Coming.
- Replying to reviews. Microsoft's reviews API is documented as not working right now, so no tool can reply through it. Replies happen in Partner Center.
- Package flights and pricing are still in Partner Center.
StoreFast next to Partner Center
| Feature | StoreFast | Partner Center |
|---|---|---|
| Publish an MSIX update | Yes | Yes |
| What's new translated from one English draft | Yes | Noyou write each language |
| Writing style learned from your listing | Yes | No |
| Package checked before upload | Yes | After uploaderrors show on the Packages page |
| Downloads, installs, ratings and reviews | Yes | Yes |
| Reviews in English | Yestranslated during the sync | Yeswith a Translate reviews toggle |
| Edit description, screenshots and keywords | Yesscreenshots once for every language | Yes |
| Gradual rollout | Nocoming | Yes |
| Price | From $12 a month | Comes with your developer account |
Who it's for
StoreFast is a good fit if
- You update an MSIX app every few weeks and the clicking adds up.
- Your listing has several languages and What's new is the part you rewrite every time.
- You want to check how your apps are doing without digging through reports.
Look elsewhere if
- You change prices on most releases. Pricing stays in Partner Center.
- You rely on package flights for every update.
- Your app ships as an EXE or MSI. That support is coming.
Questions
- Can I keep using Partner Center?
- Yes. Everything you do there keeps working, and StoreFast reads your live submission every day. If Partner Center already has an update in progress for an app, StoreFast tells you before you upload a new one.
- Does StoreFast change the rest of my listing?
- Only if you change it on the Store listing page. Otherwise an update sends the new package and What's new, and everything else carries over.
- Is my Partner Center key safe?
- Your key is encrypted before it's stored, it's never shown again or sent back by StoreFast, and you can remove it whenever you want.
- How much is it?
- $12 a month for one app, $24 for three and $59 for ten, with two months free if you pay yearly. The 7-day trial needs no card.
Do your next update in StoreFast
Connect Partner Center once and your apps show up with their numbers. Try it free for 7 days, no card needed.
Sources
Facts about Microsoft's tools were checked against these pages on October 2, 2026.