Microsoft is much like Apple in the sort that they only make software, hence the “soft” in the latter part of the companies name. So when you buy a Windows Phone, it is actually being named that not because of the hardware (like the processor or battery) but rather the mobile operating system that you will see in it.

When a company licenses the Windows mobile operating system to put in their phone, they have to pay a royalty to Microsoft for each and every one of the sales. There has been a lot of speculation as to how much Microsoft is actually getting paid for every phone, but it seems that it has finally been pinpointed and the magic number comes in at $27.

Microsoft Royalty Breakdown

While $27 may seem like a relatively small sum for each Windows Phone sold, it is something that can add up extremely quickly. There is also more than likely additional money involved in the process than just that $27 figure for each phone that is sold.

The figure was first discovered at a London launch for ZTE, a company that is making smartphones using the Microsoft operating system. $27 is a lot of money compared to what a lot of people were speculating what it was going to cost to license the software. However, that fee seems a bit more shocking when you compare it to the costs surrounding the use of the Android operating system, which of course is free.

The two approaches that Google and Android are taking in terms of price for their OS are very different ones. Although the Windows OS is getting a lot of great reviews, it is going to probably take even more than that to take down the mighty Google Android operating system, although that has not stopped Nokia from trying.