I bought from Steam because I'm already a Steam user, and the fewer companies that have my billing information, the better.

I have the Steam version and unlike most Steam titles, MSFS installs itself with Steam just providing the loader to get it going. My MSFS folder location was choosen by me ( E:/Games/MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR/) instead of being installed in steamapps/common like normal steam games. Steam provides the loader and then MSFS provides all the files for the install. It's the same marketplace inside MSFS.

 

The only difference that I know of is that Microsoft stated that MS version would be part of the Xbox/PC experience (where you can play on both) while the Steam version would be PC only.

I didn't like all the humidity that came with Steam so I bought from M$, or is it Micro$oft.

Steam works fine for me but yes an option to run it outside/without any steam stuff would be welcome. So basically only have steam as online library.

11 hours ago, Jordan85 said:

Question I have - I’m pulling my hair out deciding whether to purchase from Steam or Microsoft. Are there any advantages to either?

Buying through MS will get you the Xbox edition when it comes out, if you're at all interested in running on the console.

I bought from steam due to past issues with the Windows Store.  No regrets, everything works fine.

Steam for me---gives me better flexibility in where I put things, and without the double-secret locked content folders that come with M$ apps.

 

I bought it on Steam because I wanted access to the exe and I did not want any issues with encrypted files that sometimes occurs with the MS store. 

On 9/3/2020 at 6:26 AM, tangerine said:

As far as i know...you have access to the .exe file with the Steam Version.

You can as well with the Microsoft store version, but you need to take ownership of the Windows Apps folder first (you need to have admin permissions in your PC). Changing the folder permissions alone will not do it. But why would you want to access the .exe file anyway?

I bought via Steam. The only very slight advantage I've seen is that it was slightly cheaper for me because I didn't have to pay tax on Steam whereas on the MS store I would have. That will likely vary region to region.

Once the game is launched, everything goes through the MS servers for login, marketplace, updates, etc.

As mentioned, there was a short period right after launch where Steam users had no access to their premium content. To be fair, last weekend it seemed everyone, regardless of purchase platform, lost access for a day or so. There must be some requirement to check digital ownership every so often or something to have caused that. I would guess that if you are online, it will check these types of things. If you fly with no internet connection maybe you might avoid these things, but that's a total guess and also limits what you have access to while simming.

If you're in Canada, Steam doesn't charge tax (unless you're in Quebec)