Do u have to pay for an Xbox live account?

No, you don't have to pay for an Xbox Live account. But you DO have to pay for whats called Xbox Live Gold. Which enables you to play online and talk with other people, watch Netflix and YouTube, use Xbox Video & Xbox Music, get monthly free games, etc.

$25 for a 3 month membership.

$60 for a year.

And something around $40 for 6 months.

You can also be billed monthly by credit card.

Or you can pick up activation cards at almost any store. Much like an iTunes redeem card.

Just make sure you're buying an Xbox Live card and not Microsoft Points. They look similar other than one of the cards is white and the other is green. Though I can't remember which is which.

There are 2 types of Xbox Live accounts.

Live Silver is free. You can use it to send messages to friends or access the Microsoft store.

Live Gold is $60/year. You will need this to play games online, and also use other features like Netflix. As a Live Gold member you will also have the chance to download free games each month or purchase games or DLC at discounted prices.

Everyone anwered your question. But heres a tip: xbox has promotions every now and then on xbox live gold membership. I was able to pay $35.99 for a 12 month gold membership. Regular price is $60. But if you are new to xbox live they normally give you a month membership for $9.00. Or cheaper, So keep an eye out.

the account/profile itself....no

the subscription so you can do stuff online with it (like play mulitplayer) yes