What Is Microsoft AppSource? Complete 2026 Guide
If you have ever opened Microsoft Teams, Power BI, or Excel and noticed a "Get Apps" button, you have already used Microsoft AppSource without realizing it. AppSource is the catalog of business apps and integrations that plug into the Microsoft ecosystem: Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Teams, and the broader productivity stack.
It is not the same as Azure Marketplace, even though both are operated by Microsoft and share infrastructure. Understanding the difference matters whether you are a buyer evaluating tools, or an ISV trying to figure out where your product should live.
This guide covers what AppSource is, who uses it on both sides, how listings work, and the practical decisions you need to make if you are publishing or buying through it.
The short answer
Microsoft AppSource is Microsoft's online store for business-oriented apps that integrate with or extend Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Teams, and Outlook. It hosts over 19,000 apps as of 2026.
The audience is business users (sales managers, finance leads, HR teams, operations) rather than IT engineers. The apps are productivity tools, business workflows, line-of-business integrations, and AI assistants that sit inside Microsoft's existing UI surfaces.
Three facts make it interesting:
- It is the primary path for Microsoft 365 add-ins. If you want your Outlook or Excel add-in to be discoverable inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, AppSource is where it lives.
- Listings can be transactable. Some AppSource offers support full purchase and billing through Microsoft, including against existing Azure consumption commits.
- It feeds Microsoft's co-sell motion. Apps published on AppSource can become co-sell eligible, meaning Microsoft sellers can sell them alongside Microsoft products.
Who uses Microsoft AppSource
Buyers
Three buyer profiles consistently use AppSource:
Business unit owners searching for apps that fix specific workflow gaps. Examples: a sales manager looking for a Dynamics 365 add-on for sales forecasting, an HR lead looking for a Teams app for employee surveys.
IT administrators approving and deploying business apps for their organizations through the Microsoft 365 admin center. They lean on AppSource because the apps have gone through Microsoft's compliance review, which makes IT approval faster.
Power users and citizen developers browsing for Power Platform connectors, Power BI templates, and pre-built solutions that accelerate Power Apps and Power Automate work.
Sellers
Two seller profiles dominate:
Microsoft partners and ISVs building business apps that sit on top of the Microsoft stack. Examples: a CRM extension for Dynamics 365, an Excel add-in for AI-powered analytics, a Teams app for project management.
Software companies seeking distribution to the 400 million+ Microsoft 365 users worldwide. AppSource is a discovery channel they could not reach as cost-effectively through paid acquisition.
What lives in AppSource
Five major categories make up the catalog:
Apps for Microsoft 365 and Teams. Add-ins for Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Teams. Most are productivity boosters or AI assistants embedded in workflows users already have open.
Dynamics 365 apps. Extensions for the Dynamics CRM and ERP suite. Sales productivity tools, marketing automation extensions, finance and operations modules.
Power Platform solutions. Power Apps templates, Power Automate flows, Power BI custom visuals, and connectors. Many are no-code starting points for citizen developers.
Business SaaS apps. Full SaaS apps that integrate with Microsoft business apps but run independently. Marketing platforms, HR tools, project management, customer success.
Industry-specific solutions. Healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail. Microsoft has pushed industry verticals heavily since 2024.
How AppSource differs from Azure Marketplace
This is the most common question people ask, and the answer is more nuanced than "one is for business and one is for IT."
| Dimension | Microsoft AppSource | Azure Marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Primary buyer | Business users, line-of-business owners | Developers, IT, platform engineers |
| Primary product type | Business apps, M365 add-ins, Dynamics extensions | Infrastructure, SaaS, VMs, container apps |
| Deployment | Mostly into Microsoft 365 / Dynamics tenant | Into Azure subscription |
| Buying motion | Self-serve plus IT approval | Self-serve plus procurement approval |
| Discoverability surface | Microsoft 365 admin center, Office apps "Get Apps" | Azure portal Marketplace tab |
| MACC eligible | Some offers (growing) | Most SaaS offers |
| Typical deal size | Smaller, per-user-per-month | Larger, enterprise commit deals |
The split is real but the catalogs increasingly overlap. ISVs can publish a single offer through Partner Center that appears in both. Microsoft is unifying them under the "Microsoft Commercial Marketplace" umbrella but the user-facing storefronts remain separate.
Rule of thumb for ISVs: if your buyer logs into the Microsoft 365 admin center or opens Teams to find your product, AppSource is the primary store. If your buyer opens the Azure portal, Marketplace is.
For a deeper comparison, see Microsoft AppSource vs Azure Marketplace.
How to list on Microsoft AppSource
The high-level path for an ISV:
- Join the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. Free entry tier opens access to Partner Center.
- Create a Commercial Marketplace account in Partner Center. This is the same account used for Azure Marketplace, which is why publishing to both stores from a single setup is feasible.
- Pick an offer type. Most common: SaaS, Dynamics 365 apps, Office add-ins, Teams apps, Power BI apps.
- Build the offer. This includes the marketing assets (logo, screenshots, descriptions in multiple languages), technical artifacts (the actual app package), pricing model, and support resources.
- Submit for certification. Microsoft runs a security, compliance, and quality review. For Office and Teams add-ins, this includes manifest validation and a manual review of the app behavior.
- Go live. After approval, the listing publishes on AppSource and can be installed by anyone with the appropriate Microsoft 365 license.
The slow part is the certification process for Office and Teams add-ins, which can stretch to 3-4 weeks for new submissions. The hard part is making the SaaS transactable so customers can subscribe and pay through Microsoft's commerce platform.
Transactable offers and billing
Standard AppSource listings are free or link out to your own signup flow. Transactable offers allow Microsoft to handle the entire purchase: invoice, payment processing, and tax handling. For ISVs, transactable offers unlock:
- Counting against the buyer's MACC commit (if eligible)
- Simpler enterprise procurement (one Microsoft invoice instead of vendor PO)
- Co-sell incentive eligibility
- Faster deal velocity in Microsoft-loyal accounts
The work to make an offer transactable is the heaviest part of AppSource publishing. You need a working subscription webhook, landing page integration with Microsoft's token system, SSO for first-run experience, and proper handling of subscription state changes.
This is also the part that most ISVs underestimate or outsource. Try WeTransact → handles transactable SaaS infrastructure as a managed service, which is the path most growth-stage SaaS companies pick once they realize how much engineering the in-house version requires.
Pricing models on AppSource
For transactable offers, Microsoft supports:
- Flat-rate monthly or annual. Simple subscription pricing.
- Per-user pricing. Scaled by seat count.
- Metered pricing. Usage-based billing tracked through Microsoft's metered service.
- Free. No charge, used for freemium or contact-sales models.
Choose based on how your buyers want to budget. Enterprise procurement teams strongly prefer flat-rate annual pricing because it slots into existing budget approvals. Per-user pricing scales well for departmental deployments. Metered fits data-heavy or AI products where usage drives cost.
Co-sell and incentives
The biggest non-obvious benefit of AppSource publishing is access to Microsoft's co-sell motion. Co-sell means Microsoft field sellers can sell your product alongside Microsoft products and earn incentives for doing so.
To unlock co-sell, an ISV typically needs:
- A transactable AppSource (or Marketplace) offer
- Co-sell ready status in Partner Center (requires customer references and product readiness)
- Solutions Partner designation (a Microsoft partner tier)
Co-sell deals are usually larger and faster than direct outbound deals, because Microsoft sellers already have the buyer relationship and trust. Setting up co-sell properly turns AppSource from a passive catalog into an active sales channel.
Common mistakes to avoid
After watching ISVs publish, four mistakes keep showing up:
Picking AppSource when Marketplace is the better fit. If your buyer is an IT engineer running infrastructure, Marketplace is the discoverability surface they actually use. AppSource will get you almost no traffic for that buyer profile.
Listing without a clear deployment story. Buyers click "Get it now" and expect a frictionless install. If your app requires a multi-step manual setup, the install conversion rate drops sharply.
Skipping localization. AppSource serves Microsoft customers globally. Listings with German, French, Japanese, and Spanish translations consistently outperform English-only listings in those markets.
Treating it as static. A live AppSource listing is the start of distribution, not the end. ISVs who actively run AppSource as a channel (with co-sell motion, customer reviews, regular updates) see far more traffic than ISVs who publish once and walk away.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft AppSource free for buyers?
The store is free to browse. Individual apps have their own pricing, ranging from free to enterprise-tier paid subscriptions.
Do I need a Microsoft 365 license to use AppSource?
Browsing is free. Most apps require an active Microsoft 365 or Dynamics 365 license to actually install and use.
How do I get my app listed?
Sign up for the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, create a Commercial Marketplace account in Partner Center, build your offer, and submit for Microsoft certification. The free entry to the partner program is the gateway.
How long does AppSource certification take?
For new SaaS offers: 7-15 business days typically. For Office and Teams add-ins: 14-28 days because of the manual review. Re-submissions move faster.
Can my AppSource listing also show up on Azure Marketplace?
Yes, if you publish a single offer through Partner Center and tag it correctly. SaaS offers can surface in both stores simultaneously.
What's the Microsoft transaction fee?
3% on transactable SaaS offers, the same as Azure Marketplace. Free listings have no fee.
Do AppSource purchases count toward Azure commit?
For some transactable offers, yes. Microsoft maintains the "MACC eligible" flag on each offer. Confirm on the listing before assuming commit drawdown.
Final word
Microsoft AppSource is a quietly important distribution channel that gets overlooked because it lives inside Microsoft's broader commercial marketplace ecosystem. For ISVs whose buyers live inside Microsoft 365, Dynamics, or Teams, it is not optional. For business-app buyers, it is faster than evaluating vendors one at a time.
If you are publishing for the first time:
- Build the listing and the SaaS offer right (transactable, with co-sell-ready status)
- Plan for 8-16 weeks of engineering on the commerce side if you do it in-house
- Or use a managed service like WeTransact that handles the technical setup, certification, and ongoing operations end-to-end
The catalog has matured into a real sales channel. The work to be there is real, but the alternative (manually selling against IT-approved Microsoft-stack tools without being in the catalog) is harder.
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