What is the difference between a company vs. individual account for the Windows Store?

When you register to develop apps for the Windows Store, you have the option to register for a company or an individual account.  What are the major differences between them? 

  • Cost.  An individual account costs $49/year and a company account costs $99/year. 
  • Verification.  Company accounts require a little more verification, to ensure that you're authorized to create an account on the company's behalf.
  • Desktop applications.  Only company accounts can submit desktop applications to the Windows Store; individual accounts cannot. 
  • Different capabilities.  There are 3 capabilities that can be used only by applications submitted from a company account.  (For more information on capabilities, see App capability declarations).  They are:
    1. enterpriseAuthentication. Uses your Windows credentials for access to a corporate intranet.
    2. sharedUserCertificates. Allows the use of software and hardware certificates or a smart card to identify users in the app.
    3. documentsLibrary. Allows access to a user's documents library, including the capability to add, change, or delete files.
  • Processing for taxes.  Individuals will reflect earnings based on their Social Security number (in the US), and company accounts will use the VAT identification number or EIN.
  • Email address.  The developer email address must be a company domain, not generic (live, gmail, etc.) for registration as a company. 

For more information, see Registering for a Windows Store developer account.