Microsoft Store
Ranked 9 of 14 app stores by recommenders
Preinstalled on Windows, handles signing and updates for free software, and fees are reduced. Critics cite walled-garden lock-in, forced Microsoft logins and unreliable installs.
Preinstalled on Windows, handles signing and updates for free software, and fees are reduced. Critics cite walled-garden lock-in, forced Microsoft logins and unreliable installs.
57 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 44
- approval share
- 23%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Lower publishing fees and one-time signing fee
“in recent years they've relaxed it a lot (you can just publish EXEs and MSIs now, fees reduced/abolished)”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Apple is increasing my cortisol levels” “Good thing is you don't have to use their ecommerce and pay anything per license.”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Apple is increasing my cortisol levels” “you can only pay a one-time $100 fee there for code-signing”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “The Anatomy of a macOS App” Single place to find and update apps
“I like the idea. A single place to search for common apps, that also keep them updated.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Why Microsoft Store Discontinued Support for Office Apps” “leaning into winget/store is the right call”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Executable installer will stop being released with Python 3.16” Store handles code signing
“The MS store takes care of signing, but there are other trade-offs.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Why Microsoft Store Discontinued Support for Office Apps” “you can only pay a one-time $100 fee there for code-signing”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “The Anatomy of a macOS App”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Walled garden and platform lock-in
“But it was bought on Microsoft's Store (a walled garden) on a Microsoft platform, so the ultimate responsibility towards the customer lays on Microsoft.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “PlayStation can delete all your digital games after 3 years of inactivity (EU)” “Valve regards Microsoft's flirtations with walled gardens (MS Store) as an existential threat”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “Nintendo, Epic, Microsoft, & Sony have all failed to do well what Steam has gotten better at”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Resetting Xbox” Restrictive approval rules and SDK limits
“Only via some Windows Store voodoo dance with approvals, signatures and "security" that made WinRT for developers essentially a dead-on-arrival technology.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Hasn't Had a Coherent GUI Strategy Since Petzold” “The Microsoft Store only supported a new half-baked SDK that limited what applications were capable of.”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “Phone is about to stop being yours” Store model poorly fits free software
“That makes sense for a store where you buy apps with money, but not for a package manager for free software like Notepad++.”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Notepad++ supply chain attack breakdown” “That makes sense for a store where you buy apps with money, but not for a package manager for free software”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Notepad++ supply chain attack breakdown” Requires Microsoft account login
“it really looks like you need to, are they still showing the login modal dialog that you have to close before it installs?”
Comment from 28 Mar 2026 in “People inside Microsoft are fighting to drop mandatory Microsoft Account” “with the unfortunate consequence that you need to log in with a Microsoft account in order to get free software”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Notepad++ supply chain attack breakdown”
Other app stores people recommend
The four most recommended other app stores, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-Droid | 230 | 91 | 72% | 12 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Apple App Store | 75 | 483 | 13% | 12 | 10 yrs4 owners | — |
| Google Play | 62 | 353 | 15% | 11 | 5 yrs5 owners | — |
| Aurora Store | 61 | 20 | 75% | 11 | 11 mo4 owners | Approved |
| Microsoft StoreThis page | 13 | 44 | 23% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 62 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“banning a VPN from the Microsoft store doesn't prevent you from installing one directly from the developer”
“games could only be installed from the Microsoft Store”
“But it was bought on Microsoft's Store (a walled garden) on a Microsoft platform, so the ultimate responsibility towards the customer lays on Microsoft.”
“Nintendo, Epic, Microsoft, & Sony have all failed to do well what Steam has gotten better at”
“Xbox/Microsoft Store Auth is used for a ton of logins, not just games.”
“the existence of the Microsoft Store was had me looking for the exit”
“Good thing is you don't have to use their ecommerce and pay anything per license.”
“it forces you to its simplified licensing/trial model, typically not compatible with B2B software”
“it's free and easy to link customers there”
“It does look a lot less dreadful than it did.”
“in recent years they've relaxed it a lot (you can just publish EXEs and MSIs now, fees reduced/abolished)”
“I hate having to put my software through arbitrary store review processes”
“One of the things which Microsoft screwed up on Microsoft Store and MSIX packages.”
“leaning into winget/store is the right call”
“The Microsoft Store only supported a new half-baked SDK that limited what applications were capable of.”
“the store is unreliable: at least in my experience, the installation can get messed up and it won't self repair”
“I think it's mostly "modern" applications that mess this up. Like the MS Store, Teams (obviously).”
“Only via some Windows Store voodoo dance with approvals, signatures and "security" that made WinRT for developers essentially a dead-on-arrival technology.”
“The Windows Store thing was so terrible that I would argue the only good thing that came out of it”
“Every time I tried to use it I was prompted to log in to a Microsoft account.”
“it really looks like you need to, are they still showing the login modal dialog that you have to close before it installs?”
“Microsoft store try's to dark pattern you to think you need to log in though”
“the Microsoft Store is the worst offender when it comes to hosting straight-up scams”
“This is why Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store have such a hard time.”
“That makes sense for a store where you buy apps with money, but not for a package manager for free software like Notepad++.”
“with the unfortunate consequence that you need to log in with a Microsoft account in order to get free software”
“That makes sense for a store where you buy apps with money, but not for a package manager for free software”
“MS doesn't look like they're in any hurry to integrate even their own store”
“I like the idea. A single place to search for common apps, that also keep them updated.”
“The MS store takes care of signing, but there are other trade-offs.”
“It's telling that even Microsoft itself doesn't believe in the Microsoft Store.”
“I suffered through this Store pain recently, after buying a $$ game from Microsoft”
“One could get that impression from the Windows Store/Microsoft Store.”
“It's basically a package manager with a minimal jank. It's there on a new install and it works.”
“Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's gaming division, has also opined that Microsoft Store "sucks".”
“you can only pay a one-time $100 fee there for code-signing”
“same thing happened to a friend of mine with the entirety of the microsoft store”
“That's still higher than what seems reasonable for a simple store front”
“the Microsoft store was the biggest single impediment to success the project ever had”
“Valve regards Microsoft's flirtations with walled gardens (MS Store) as an existential threat”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.