The
Mac Developer Program is a way developers for
Apple's Mac OS X operating system can distribute their
apps through the
Mac App Store. It costs
USD $99/year. Unlike
iOS, you are not required to sign up for the program in order to distribute or test your applications. Mac applications can freely be distributed via the developer's website and/or any other method of distribution excluding the
Mac App Store. Apple provides
Xcode for free to developers to
code, build, and test their apps. The Mac Developer Program provides you with many resources to help you distribute your Mac applications.