Apple Developer account cost 2026: free or $99 a year?

An Apple Developer account means a membership in the Apple Developer Program. It costs $99 a year, charged in your local currency when you enroll, and it's what unlocks App Store Connect, TestFlight and distribution certificates. Without it, your app can run on your iPhone, but it can't be published on the App Store.

To enroll, you need an Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on, your real identity, and a choice of entity type: individual or organization. That choice matters. It decides which name shows up as the seller on the App Store and which documents you'll be asked for. The rest of this guide walks through each step, the timelines, and above all the moment when paying is actually worth it.

I publish my own iOS apps, including Solys, an alarm clock with mini-games, and TradaZen, a trading simulator. Everything related to publishing goes through this account. It's the first administrative building block of any app project, and the one beginners most often get wrong.

How much does an Apple Developer account cost in 2026

The official price is simple: the Apple Developer Program costs 99 USD per membership year. Apple notes that prices may vary by region and are shown in local currency during enrollment.

A few useful details before you pull out your card:

• It's an annual subscription. If you enroll through the Apple Developer app, your membership renews automatically, and the fee is non-refundable if you cancel.
• Apple gift cards aren't accepted to pay for the membership in the app (except in India, according to Apple).
• A fee waiver exists, but it's for nonprofits, accredited educational institutions and government entities, not indie developers.
• If you don't renew, your apps are no longer available for download and you can't ship updates anymore. They keep working for people who already installed them.

That last point matters if you sell a subscription: letting your account expire means shutting down your storefront. The $99 is part of your app's fixed costs, just like your domain name. For the full budget picture, read how much an iOS app costs.

What the free account already lets you do

This is the part a lot of people miss: you don't need to pay to get started. According to Apple's official membership comparison, a plain Apple Account already gives you access to Xcode, beta releases, the forums and testing on your own device.

There are limits. With the free personal team, provisioning profiles expire after 7 days, you can register up to 3 devices and install up to 3 apps per device. In practice, you relaunch your test app from Xcode every week. That's annoying for a real product, but more than enough to learn and build your first version.

What's reserved for paid members:

• App Store Connect, the tool you use to create your app's listing and its custom product pages, upload builds, set up subscriptions and track sales.
• TestFlight, to install your test builds without a cable and let other people try them.
• Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, full management of distribution certificates.
• Xcode Cloud and code-level technical support.

If you work with Expo and React Native, the logic is the same: you can develop and test for a long time without a membership, and the account becomes essential when it's time to sign a build for TestFlight or the App Store.

Individual or organization: the choice that matters

When you enroll, Apple asks in what capacity you're joining. The two options don't have the same requirements, and changing your mind later takes paperwork.

Criterion	Individual	Organization
Name shown as seller	Your legal name	The legal entity name
What you need	Apple Account in your name	Company, D-U-N-S, website
Timeline	Usually within 24 hours	7 business days (D-U-N-S)
Typical case	French micro-entreprise or testing	Company already set up

Enrolling as an individual

This is the shortest path. According to the enrollment help page, if you're an individual or a sole proprietor, your legal name appears as the seller on the App Store. In France, a micro-entreprise is a sole proprietorship, so you enroll as an individual, and it's your first and last name that show up under your app's title.

Apple stresses a detail that often causes delays: your Apple Account must use your legal name. A handle, a nickname or a company name in the first and last name fields will hold up approval.

Enrolling as an organization

If you have a company (in France, an SAS, SARL or another legal entity), you can enroll in the company's name. The legal entity name then shows up as the seller. The requirements are heavier:

• A legal entity that can sign a contract with Apple. DBAs, trade names and branches aren't accepted.
• A D-U-N-S Number, assigned by Dun & Bradstreet, which lets Apple verify the entity's identity and status.
• The authority to bind the company: you must be the founder, an executive, or have been granted that authority.
• A work email address on the organization's domain, and a public website running on that same domain.

The D-U-N-S Number, step by step

The D-U-N-S Number is free in most countries. Apple offers a tool to check whether your company already has one. If not, you request it online from Dun & Bradstreet. The official timelines:

• up to 5 business days to receive your number;
• then up to 2 business days for Apple to receive your information.

Apple points out that paying to expedite the number doesn't shorten this wait. So leave plenty of margin if you're aiming for a launch date.

Identity and two-factor authentication

Whatever your entity type, the basics are the same: an Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on and the age of majority in your country.

If you enroll through the Apple Developer app on iPhone, Apple asks you to verify your identity with an official ID: a driver's license or other photo ID, with passports accepted in most regions. Apple says it checks the document's authenticity and extracts your name and address from it, without keeping the image.

Two practical tips:

1. Use an Apple Account dedicated to your business if you plan to have one, or at least an account you'll still control ten years from now. It's the one that will own your apps.
2. Check your name and address before paying. Apple rejects P.O. boxes as addresses, and any inconsistency delays approval.

How long does account activation take

For an individual, it's quick once your identity is verified and the payment goes through. Apple says that if you haven't received a membership confirmation within 24 hours of your purchase, you should contact support. So don't sit around waiting for weeks.

For an organization, add the D-U-N-S timeline (up to 7 business days total before you can enroll), then verification of the entity and your signing authority. Depending on the region, Apple may also ask for certified business documents.

Once the account is active, you're not done. To sell a subscription, you still need to sign the Paid Apps Agreement in App Store Connect and enter your banking and tax information. And to distribute in the European Union, Apple requires you to declare your trader status under the Digital Services Act: if you're a trader, your address, phone number and email are displayed on your app's listing. Better to know that before you choose which address to declare.

The common mistake: paying too early, or under the wrong entity type

With beginners, enrollment mistakes almost always come down to one of these two.

Enrolling too early

Paying $99 on day one, before you have an app that holds together, starts the clock on a membership year while you're still learning Xcode or Expo. Nothing stops you, but nothing forces you either: the free account is enough to build and test on your iPhone.

The right time is when you need what only the paid account gives you:

• installing your test build on your phone through TestFlight, without relaunching Xcode every week;
• letting other people try it;
• creating your App Store Connect listing, age rating included, and setting up your subscriptions, which takes time and is worth starting before the very end.

In practice, enroll once your app's core feature works on your phone. If you're setting up a company, request your D-U-N-S a bit earlier so an administrative delay doesn't block your launch.

Enrolling under the wrong entity type

The opposite mistake is just as common: enrolling as an individual "to go faster" when you plan to create a company, or creating a company just so your name isn't displayed. In the first case, your apps are tied to your personal name and switching to an organization will take paperwork. In the second, you add costs and delays before you even have a single user.

My rule: pick the entity type that matches your situation on the day you enroll, not the one you imagine in two years. A micro-entreprise or a first test app? Individual. An existing company that will own the app? Organization, with the D-U-N-S sorted out beforehand.

What comes after enrollment?

The account is just the front door. Next come the App Store listing, the screenshots, the privacy policy, subscriptions and submitting to Apple. I've detailed the launch steps in publishing an app on the App Store, and what happens once your build is uploaded in App Store review times. If you're starting from scratch, begin with creating an iPhone app instead.

If you want a foundation for your first app

Once the account is open, you still need to build the app, hook up subscriptions and publish it: that's the four-step path of the iOS Kit, with the starter code from my apps, to follow at your own pace.

Before paying the $99, you can check where your project stands with the free diagnostic: it tells you what's really blocking you and which step to tackle first. The homepage sums up the path to create your mobile app, from idea to launch.

The $99 for the Apple Developer account is on you and is paid directly to Apple. And even without the kit, this guide is enough to set up your account correctly.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an Apple Developer account cost?

An Apple Developer account costs $99 a year, charged in your local currency when you enroll. Apple notes that the price may vary by region. It's an annual subscription: if you don't renew, your apps are no longer available for download. For an app's full budget, read how much an iOS app costs.

How do you get an Apple Developer account?

You need an Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on, your real identity and a choice of entity type: individual or organization. If you enroll through the Apple Developer app on iPhone, Apple asks you to verify your identity with an official ID. Then you pay the $99 yearly membership.

What is the Apple Developer Program?

The Apple Developer Program is Apple's paid membership for publishing apps, not to be confused with the Apple Developer Enterprise Program, which is reserved for internal apps at large organizations. It costs $99 a year and unlocks App Store Connect, TestFlight and distribution certificates. Without it, your app can run on your iPhone, but it can't be published on the App Store.

Do you need to pay for an Apple Developer account to start an app?

No. A free Apple Account is enough to build and test your first version on your iPhone, with limits: provisioning profiles expire after 7 days, and you can register up to 3 devices and install up to 3 apps per device. Enroll in the Apple Developer Program once your app's core feature works on your phone and you need TestFlight or App Store Connect.

Should you enroll as an individual or an organization?

Pick the entity type that matches your situation on the day you enroll. A French micro-entreprise or a first test app: individual, and your legal name shows up as the seller on the App Store. An existing company that will own the app: organization, with a D-U-N-S Number requested beforehand, and the legal entity name is what shows up.

How long does it take to activate an Apple Developer account?

For an individual, Apple asks you to contact support if you haven't received a membership confirmation within 24 hours of your purchase. For an organization, allow up to 7 business days to get the D-U-N-S Number before you can enroll. After that comes verification of the entity and your signing authority.