Do you have to pay a licensing fee to program for iPhone/iOS?
The tools are free, but you need to register with Apple. You can then do most of your development for free.
However, to test on a device (as opposed to simulator), or submit the app to the App Store, you need to pay a $100 fee. (Here is the iOS Developer Program's homepage: iphone how can i get month name from month number?)
Also, since you are thinking of getting started, you should know that you must have a Mac to run the iOS developer tools.
As others have pointed out:
- You can signup as an Apple developer for free
- The development IDE (Xcode) is free and available on every Mac.
- You do need to register to publish your app on the App Store. The registration cost is $99 per year.
- As of Xcode 7, you can install apps you've developed to your iOS device without paying a registration fee.
Also, keep this in mind:
- If you are going to develop enterprise applications (i.e. your app is not going to be sold in the App Store), the registration cost is $299 per year.
- There are some ancillary costs- mainly source control.
I use Versions by Sofa. The cost there is $53.
Hope that helps!
$99 is the price you have to pay to generate needed certificates to test your apps on your device(s) and to submit apps to the App Store. You can test and develop your apps for free on the iOS simulator, but I would highly discourage you from this as its just a simulator and not a real device.