Your own paid Apple Developer account
What annual membership unlocks, what it does not, and how to manage devices, profiles, and certificates.
Owning the paid account is the conventional route with the most control. Apple currently charges 99 USD per membership year in the US, with local pricing where available (Apple Developer).
What membership adds
- Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles management.
- More capabilities than a Personal Team.
- App Store Connect and TestFlight distribution.
- Ad hoc registered-device distribution.
- Longer-lived profiles than free seven-day provisioning.
- Up to 100 registered devices per product family per membership year.
What it does not add
- Permission to distribute software you do not own.
- Every restricted entitlement automatically.
- Immunity from certificate revocation.
- A guarantee that modified IPAs work.
- Automatic on-device signing or updates.
- Unlimited device-registration churn.
Protect the account
Apple treats credentials and distribution certificates as sensitive assets and says certificates should not be shared outside the organization (Apple Developer). Prefer local signing, minimum team roles, and scoped automation keys. Do not hand an Account Holder credential to a web signer.
Device and profile strategy
Disabling a device does not restore its annual slot. At renewal, review the list before carrying it forward. Use explicit App IDs when capabilities require them and regenerate profiles after changing capabilities.
If your goal is simply to keep a few personal apps installed, a reputable on-device certificate workflow may be cheaper and easier. If your goal is control, development, many devices, or precise capabilities, owning membership is the better foundation.