Visual Studio Pricing
Visual Studio subscriptions, which used to be MSDN subscriptions, provides access to developer tools, cloud services, software, support and training. It’s a complete package to build your next great app for any platform with the power of Visual Studio IDE and the rich resources in your subscription.
Cloud subscriptions
With our new cloud subscriptions, you can rent Visual Studio, Azure DevOps, and the subscriber benefits you need without a long-term contract. Billing is handled through your Microsoft Azure subscription, supporting credit card payment, purchases through the Enterprise Agreement contract*, and Cloud Solution Provider partners. If you don’t have an Azure subscription yet, no worries—it’s free to set up and you can do this while you make your first purchase.
Microsoft no longer offers Visual Studio Professional Annual Subscription and Visual Studio Enterprise Annual Subscriptions in Cloud Subscriptions. There will be no change to existing customers experience and ability to renew, increase, decrease, or cancel their subscriptions.
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Monthly Subscriptions |
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Visual Studio Enterprise |
Visual Studio |
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Price per user |
$250/mo
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$45/mo
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Newest version for PC & Mac (2022) |
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(access to features on any Azure DevOps organization) |
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Server license |
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User client access license (CAL) |
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All prices are in US dollars.
* Using your Enterprise Agreement will require the removal of spending limits, as monetary commitments cannot be used to purchase Visual Studio Cloud subscriptions.
Additional information
Compare Visual Studio IDE features
Visual Studio licensing white paper
Visual Studio licensing white paper (Japanese)
Visual Studio cloud subscription purchasing FAQ
Visual Studio subscription documentation
Standard subscriptions
While we’ve recently dropped the “with MSDN” from the names of our main Visual
Studio subscriptions, these are the same subscriptions that we’ve offered for years through software resellers
on multi-year Microsoft Volume Licensing contracts, and directly through the Microsoft Store online. In most
cases for standard subscriptions you will be buying Visual Studio, not renting.
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Standard subscriptions |
Standard subscriptions |
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Visual Studio |
Visual Studio |
MSDN |
Visual Studio |
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Microsoft Store (retail)
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New, per user |
$5,999/ first year
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$1,199/ first year
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N/A |
$2,169/ first year
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Renewal, per user |
$2,569/yr
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$799/yr
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N/A |
$899/yr
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Newest version for PC & Mac (2022) |
No Visual Studio IDE included in subscription, but |
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(access to features on any Azure DevOps organization) |
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Server license |
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User client access license (CAL) |
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Subscriber benefits
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Cloud Services |
$150 credit per month |
$50 credit per month |
$100 credit per month |
$50 credit per month |
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Windows Virtual Desktop |
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Microsoft 365 Developer subscription (admin + 24 users) |
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Windows Store developer account (for publishing apps) |
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Software for dev/test |
Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Project, Visio |
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Windows, Windows Server, Windows Embedded, Microsoft SQL Server, R Server |
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Sharepoint, Exchange, Dynamics & other Microsoft server software |
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Software for production use |
Microsoft 365 apps for enterprise |
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Office Professional Plus 2019 (for use on one device) |
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Training & Education |
Full subscription for 6 months |
Full subscription for 3 months |
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Pluralsight training |
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Full subscription for 3 months |
Full subscription for 3 months |
Full subscription for 3 months |
Full subscription for 3 months |
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(print or digital access) |
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Support
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4 incidents |
2 incidents |
2 incidents |
2 incidents |
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Visual Studio partner offers |
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Parasoft – Virtualize/SOAtest Professional Desktop |
Full subscription for 6 months |
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WhiteSource – |
6 months unlimited scans |
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All prices are in US dollars.
Additional information
Compare Visual Studio IDE features
Visual Studio licensing white paper
Visual Studio licensing white paper(Japanese)
Visual Studio cloud subscription purchasing FAQ
Visual Studio subscription documentation
Cloud vs. Standard subscriptions
Standard and cloud subscriptions differ in only a few ways:
Standard |
Cloud |
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Purchasing |
New vs. renewing subscription price |
First subscription term (New) costs significantly more than later (Renewal) terms |
Same price each term |
Committed subscription term |
Typically 36 months for most 24 months for Open License program purchases 12 months for Microsoft Store purchases |
Monthly |
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Purchased using your Azure account, with or without other Azure services |
No |
Yes |
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Purchased via Resellers or via Microsoft Store |
Yes |
No |
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Purchased via Cloud Solution Providers (CSP) |
No |
Yes |
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Benefits |
Includes subscriber benefits |
Yes |
No |
After the subscription expires, can use the software that was available during the active subscription term (“perpetual” use rights) |
Yes in most cases No when purchasing through Enterprise Subscription Agreement, Open Value Subscription, Campus Agreement, or other “subscription” contracts |
No |
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Experience |
Modes of unlocking Visual Studio from trial (Visual Studio Professional and Enterprise are always installed as a trial to start) |
Sign in or enter a product key to unlock |
Sign in only |
Must connect to the Internet to check license status at least once every 30 days |
No, when a product key is used to unlock Yes, when signed in to unlock |
Yes |
All prices are in US dollars.
Additional information
Compare Visual Studio IDE features
Visual Studio licensing white paper
Visual Studio licensing white paper (Japanese)
Visual Studio cloud subscription purchasing FAQ
Visual Studio subscription documentation
Standalone License
If all you need is the current version of Visual Studio Professional, you can make a one-time standalone license purchase. If you need new versions of Visual Studio Professional, access to Azure DevOps, or have short-term needs then the Visual Studio Professional monthly subscription may be a better option.
Visual Studio Professional 2022 standalone license |
Visual Studio Professional monthly subscription |
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Price per user |
$499
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$45/mo
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Newest version (2022) |
PC only |
PC & Mac |
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(access to features on any Azure DevOps organization) |
Not included (but every Azure DevOps organization includes 5 free users) |
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Server license |
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User client access license (CAL) |
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Subscriber Benefits |
Not included |
Not included |
All prices are in US dollars.
Additional information
Compare Visual Studio IDE features
Visual Studio licensing white paper
Visual Studio licensing white paper (Japanese)
Visual Studio cloud subscription purchasing FAQ
Visual Studio subscription documentation
Visual Studio Community 2022
Free, fully-featured IDE for students, open-source and individual developers
Visual Studio Professional 2022
Professional developer tools, services, and subscription benefits for small teams
Visual Studio Enterprise 2022
End-to-end solution to meet demanding quality and scale needs of teams of all sizes