Recently I had a hand in finally trying out compiling a plugin for Maya. Here's a bit of information regarding the setup. I am using Maya 2014, Windows 7 and Visual Studio Express 2013. 

So Visual Express 2013 is a free version of Studio Express and for a lone developer, it is free from Microsoft. Kudos to Microsoft because I have to say that they are changing for the better and the userbase is starting to benefit. 

You can get Studio Express here:
Studio Express 2013

And here is another interest...
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