Can I really develop on ASP.NET MVC for free?

Question

I'm currently developing a web app on Django/Python, and I consider moving to ASP.NET MVC. I downloaded the Visual Web Developer Express edition, read NerdDinner, and I'm ready to go. I will probably keep working on MySQL.

One of the reasons I chose Django+MySQL in the first place was that it was free of charge. I'm bootstrapping a business and can't afford to pay for expensive software, even for deployment (storage and bandwidth are the exception).

My question is: can I develop on the express edition and get my product to production without having to pay to Microsoft? This is both a legal question and a practicality question (Assume I'll use open source version control, build server, etc).

I'm not experienced in Microsoft's different licenses, I wondered if anyone has any experience in driving a product to the web based solely on the express editions (I know you guys are not lawyers, but some of you are probably working at companies paying lawyers to help with such decisions...)

Answer 1

Yes, the Express editions are really free.

Answer 2

yes, you can develop on the free versions of microsoft software. you will have to pay for the os license of the development and hosting servers though. for a business you may want to investigate the bizspark program which can give you up to three years of everything, including hosting.

Answer 3

Point 7 in the "Express" FAQ probably answers it best:

Can I use Express Editions for commercial use?

Yes, there are no licensing restrictions for applications built using Visual Studio Express Editions.

Other then that, reading the EULA should confirm that there is no "products built with this software is for private use only" clauses.

Answer 4

It is absolutely possible to develop and deploy ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC applications without having to pay to Microsoft. I see no any limitations/differences (both legal and practical) in deployment of ASP.NET applications, developed in express/full versions of VS. Personally I would recommend to buy VS2008 Pro (or maybe wait for VS2010) - it's much more powerful then VWD Express. Yes, It is expensive but I think it is worth its money.

UPDATED:

Reliable Dedicated/VPS hosting is expensive for both Linux/Windows platforms. So if your site will grow quickly - yor main costs will be hosting not tools

Answer 5

Not only can you develop ASP.NET MVC for free, you can do it on Linux using Mono, as Miguel points out and Michael explains... so in addition to no license fees for the runtime or IDE, you can host on free operating systems too!

You can also use MonoDevelop on Mac OS-X and although I'm pretty sure Windows users will prefer Visual Web Developer Express, they are getting MonoDevelop running on Windows, too.

When you've made your first million dollars, then you can 'upgrade' to Visual Studio 2010 :)

Answer 6

You've asked two questions here, so let's take a look at both.

From a legal standpoint the answer is pretty straightforward: yes, Visual Web Developer Express is provided free of charge and there is no limitation regarding using it commercially.

Your second question has to do with the practicality of using Express editions commercially. The short answer is: yes. The longer version of the answer sounds a little more like "yes, but...".

Although Visual Studio Express editions are fantastic -- especially when you consider their price -- you should be aware that they do lack functionality. To me, the most important things Express editions lack are --

• Extension support. There's a healthy Visual Studio add-in ecosystem out there that you'll be locked out of. Not a fatal flaw, for sure. Just something to keep in mind.
• Ability to create setup projects. Again, not fatal. You can do it manually or using some external solution. Also, if you are developing something for use on one customer (or for yourself) this is a complete non-issue.
• Native 64-bit support. This is the one I can't work around. If you need to work on 64-bit environments and use some 64-bits controls, you're in a pickle.
• Support for test projects. If you are into test-driven development, this is a very cool feature you'll miss on the Express editions.

Also, they have no class designer, some (small) limitations on debugging and most development tools you'll find that work with Visual Studio won't work with the Express editions.

All in all, you can definitely develop with VS Express. Compared to the tools you probably had for Django+Python, Visual Studio Express is a big leap forward anyway IMHO.

Also, you can always go with the Express edition for now and upgrade later if necessary.

Answer 7

in development yes it is free visual studio express is really free but when it comes to deployment you will really need Windows server 2003 or 2008 you might also need another edition of SQL server if express doesn't meet the requirement :)

Answer 8

There is no need to settle for the Express editions or open source. If you are a legitimate startup, you can join Microsoft's relatively new BizSpark program and get a free MSDN subscription, which includes full editions of all the software for development purposes (e.g. Windows Server, SQL Server, etc).

Plus for web apps you get licenses to deploy the software in production, which I think makes BizSpark unique versus other MS partner programs. It doesn't include free hosting however.

Check out the site for eligibility requirements and restrictions.

(sorry Matt I know you mentioned Bizspark, but I wanted to provide more info and emphasize how relevant this is for the question).