Purchasing, renewing, canceling, or billing

How do I purchase Visual Studio subscriptions?

Visual Studio subscriptions are available for purchase through various channels, including Volume Licensing, the Visual Studio Marketplace, and Microsoft Store.

Compare subscription benefits and pricing to understand the benefits of each Visual Studio subscription. Check out the subscription benefits page for more help deciding which subscription is right for you.

Product Offerings and Purchasing Channels

Channel / Source	Program	VS Enterprise Subscription	VS Professional Subscription	MSDN Platforms	VS Test Professional Subscription	Azure DevOps Server	VS 2026 Professional (license‑only)	VS Monthly Subscription
Microsoft Volume Licensing	Enterprise, Enterprise Subscription	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗
	Select, Select Plus, MPSA	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗
	Open Value, Open Value Subscription	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗
	Cloud Solution Provider	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓
	Campus, Enrollment for Education Solutions	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗
Retail Channel	Microsoft Store (online only)	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗
Microsoft Azure	Visual Studio Marketplace	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓

✗ Indicates that the offering isn't available on the purchasing channel.

Each Microsoft Volume Licensing program has specific rules and benefits, which the customer’s software reseller can help the customer understand so the customer can make the right choice. More information on Volume Licensing and the above programs can be found at: www.microsoft.com/licensing.

For more details, view the Microsoft Visual Studio Licensing white paper.

Microsoft Store

Retail Visual Studio subscriptions available through the Microsoft Store include:

Each of these subscriptions offers the option to make an initial purchase or to renew an existing subscription. Renewal pricing reflects a significant discount and is only available for existing subscriptions. To qualify to renew subscriptions at the discounted renewal price, subscriptions should be renewed before they expire.

If you’re looking to make a one-time purchase of Visual Studio without a subscription or any of the benefits that are included with a subscription, visit the Microsoft Store for Visual Studio Professional 2026.

Visual Studio Marketplace

With monthly subscriptions, you can rent Visual Studio and Azure DevOps without a long-term contract. Billing is handled through your Microsoft Azure subscription. If you don’t have an Azure subscription yet—it’s free to set up and you can do it while you make your first purchase.

Visual Studio Professional - monthly subscription
Visual Studio Enterprise - monthly subscription

Read more about monthly Visual Studio Subscriptions billing.

Volume Licensing

Volume Licensing subscriptions are available when an organization needs to purchase a large number of subscriptions. Read more about purchasing through Volume Licensing.

How do I view my invoice for monthly and annual subscriptions?

Monthly Visual Studio subscriptions (and annual subscriptions if purchased before December 2018) are billed through Azure and you can find your bill in the Azure portal.

To view your Visual Studio subscriptions invoice:

Sign in to the Azure portal.
Select on the Cost Management + Billing blade in the menu to find an overview, list of subscriptions, and invoices.

How do I renew Visual Studio subscriptions?

You can acquire Visual Studio subscriptions in several ways, and the process for renewing existing subscriptions depends on how you acquired them.

How to renew retail subscriptions

If you currently have a retail subscription, there are two ways to renew:

Connect to the Subscriptions page on the Subscriptions Portal and select on the 'Renew' link.
Visit the Microsoft Store and search for 'Visual Studio subscription' to see the available renewal opportunities. Here are some quick links:

Visual Studio Enterprise

Visual Studio Professional

Visual Studio Test Professional

The subscription expiration date is one year from the purchase date, not the activation date.

There's a 30-day renewal grace period—that is, the period from when the Visual Studio Subscription expires to the point where the customer loses the option to renew at the renewal price.

How to activate subscriptions

After you purchase a Visual Studio subscription, you can begin the activation process from the payment confirmation page or confirmation email you received after your purchase. For activation steps, visit How to activate subscriptions.

How to renew cloud subscriptions

Cloud subscriptions are purchased through the Visual Studio Marketplace. Both monthly and annual cloud subscriptions renew until you cancel them, so there's no action needed to renew them.

How to renew subscriptions purchased through Volume Licensing

If your subscription is provided to you by your work, it's probably purchased and renewed through your company's Volume License agreement. You can reach out to your admin using the Contact my admin button at the top right of the Subscriptions Portal.

How do I cancel monthly and annual subscriptions?

To cancel monthly and annual subscriptions purchased from the Visual Studio Marketplace, you need to sign in to the Administration Portal and set the number of subscriptions for your agreement to zero.

Follow these steps to reduce the number of subscriptions:

Sign in to https://manage.visualstudio.com
If you're an admin on more than one agreement, choose the desired agreement from the drop-down list.
Select the Overview icon at the top left to display information about your subscriptions.
Locate the entry for the subscriptions you wish to cancel, and select Change quantity. This takes you to the Visual Studio Marketplace where you can update your purchase quantity.
Set the quantity to zero (0). Your subscriptions remain in place until their scheduled billing date, but don't renew when the billing date is reached.

How do I cancel a Visual Studio subscription purchased via the Retail Channel (Microsoft Store)?

To cancel a Visual Studio subscription purchased through the Retail Channel (Microsoft Store), start by signing in to your Microsoft account portal.

To cancel your subscription, follow these steps:

To access your account settings, go to https://account.microsoft.com.
To identify the subscription you purchased, sign in with the Microsoft account used for your Visual Studio retail subscription.
To view your active products, select Services & subscriptions at the top.
To find the subscription you want to cancel, locate your Visual Studio subscription in the list.
To open its management options, select Manage.
To begin the cancellation process, choose Cancel subscription.
To finalize the cancellation, follow the on‑screen prompts.
To confirm the cancellation, look for a confirmation email.

For complete details, cancellation processes, and refund eligibility of a specific Microsoft subscription, it's best to check the respective subscription cancellation terms. You might also visit Microsoft's account support at Microsoft Store and Billing Support.

How do I cancel my Visual Studio subscriptions purchased via my Volume License Agreement?

Microsoft’s Volume Licensing program doesn't allow self service cancellation. Instead, organizations must work with the authorized reseller who sold the agreement.

If you're looking to get your Visual Studio subscription removed from your Subscribers portal, you might need to contact your agreement administrator to get it removed. Visit “Get Assistance from your subscriptions admin” for help on how to get in touch with your Administrator.

What are the licensing terms for Visual Studio subscriptions?

All Visual Studio subscriptions are licensed on a per-user basis. Each licensed user might install and use the software on any number of devices to design, develop, test, and demonstrate their programs. Visual Studio subscriptions also allow the licensed user to evaluate the software and to simulate customer environments in order to diagnose issues related to your programs. Each extra person who uses the software in this way must also have a license.