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Free tool · six currencies · Microsoft list prices, September 2026
Per-core against Server + CAL, Standard against Enterprise, licensing each VM against licensing the whole host for unlimited VMs — all four priced side by side, with the 4-core minimum per instance applied, in EUR, GBP, CHF, SEK, NOK or DKK, perpetual or subscription. Passive failover replicas counted correctly. Then request an invoice.
Step 1 of 3 · Start from your situation
Pick one and the calculator below fills with a typical configuration and ticks the services that usually come with it; then change the numbers to yours. Or skip straight to the numbers →
Database hit the 10 GB cap or one CPU; Standard is the usual next step.
Load this scenario →ERP, warehouse, medical or document system; the vendor named the edition.
Load this scenario →Vendor support, security requirements or in-house Microsoft skills; the database moves too.
Load this scenario →Six line-of-business databases on the same hardware; whole-host Enterprise starts to compete.
Load this scenario →Out of support; move to 2025, or Extended Security Updates while the application catches up.
Load this scenario →SQL installed without licences, or Evaluation in production; count it properly before Microsoft does.
Load this scenario →Azure SQL cost more than the hardware; SQL Server on-premises with subscription keeps the way back open.
Load this scenario →Enterprise per core with Always On and a passive replica, plus the Power BI layer on top.
Load this scenario →Skip the presets. The calculator opens blank: one instance row, currency, licence type and payment model, and you fill in the rest.
Go to the calculator →Before buying, seven things decide the number: physical or virtual; how many processors; how many cores; how many users; Standard or Enterprise; how many VMs; on-premises or Azure. The calculator asks all seven. If you are unsure of any, ask an engineer — the licence count is usually the smallest part of what comes next.
Step 2 of 3 · Your numbers
SQL Server instances
One row per VM or physical server running SQL Server. For a VM enter its virtual cores; for a physical server, its physical cores. Minimum 4 core licences per instance.
| Name?A label for this server type so the estimate reads clearly: Hyper-V host, Domain controller, File server. It appears in the printed estimate and the invoice request. | Instances?How many separate installations of SQL Server of this type. A VM running one SQL instance is 1. Two VMs with the same spec is 2. Each is licensed separately. | Cores each?For a virtual machine: the number of virtual processors assigned to it, in Hyper-V Manager or vSphere settings. For a physical server: physical cores across all processors. Minimum 4 core licences per instance regardless of the number. | Passive replicas each?Standby copies that do no work except wait for failover: an Always On secondary that serves no queries, a log-shipping target, a mirrored server. With subscription or Software Assurance one passive replica per licensed instance is free. A replica that serves read-only queries or backups is not passive. |
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If licensing the whole host instead (Enterprise, unlimited VMs)
Enterprise with subscription or Software Assurance covers unlimited SQL VMs on a fully licensed host.
Server + CAL (Standard only)
Server + CAL needs one server licence per instance plus a CAL for every user or device that reaches any SQL Server, directly or through an application. Multiplexing does not reduce the CAL count.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to send it.
The rules this applies
The calculator prices every model that fits your inputs. These are the rules behind the numbers.
License the virtual cores of each VM running SQL Server, minimum four per VM, in 2-core packs. Standard or Enterprise. The usual model for a handful of database servers.
License every physical core of the host with Enterprise plus subscription or Software Assurance, and run as many SQL VMs on it as you like. Wins once you have many small SQL VMs on the same hardware.
Standard edition only. One server licence per instance, plus a SQL CAL for every user or device that reaches it — through an application counts, so a web app with a thousand users needs a thousand CALs. Right for a small, known user base.
With subscription or Software Assurance, one passive replica per licensed instance is free. Without it, a perpetual licence covers the active node only and the passive node is licensed in full. The calculator applies both.
Questions
Four per VM or per physical processor, sold in 2-core packs. A VM with two virtual cores is licensed as four.
When the number of users or devices reaching the server is small and known. Every user reaching SQL Server through an application still needs a CAL, so a web or line-of-business application with hundreds of users almost always costs less per core. Server + CAL is available for Standard only.
When several SQL VMs share the same hardware. Enterprise edition with subscription or Software Assurance on every physical core of the host covers unlimited SQL VMs on it. The calculator compares it against licensing each VM.
With a subscription or Software Assurance, one passive replica per licensed instance is covered at no cost. A perpetual licence without Software Assurance covers the active node only; the passive node needs its own licences.
Standard is capped at 24 cores and 128 GB of buffer pool per instance and lacks online index operations, Always On with multiple replicas, and some in-memory and partitioning features. Enterprise removes the caps at roughly 3.8 times the per-core price. Most line-of-business databases run on Standard.
Microsoft’s published list prices for the Europe region, in the currency Microsoft sets for each country, dated September 2026. Our price to you is lower and confirmed on the pro-forma invoice.
Licensing Windows Server too? Windows Server 2025 calculator → · Full price list: every subscription in six currencies →
What usually comes with this
Most SQL Server enquiries start as a licence count and become a project, because the answers to these are usually yes. Tick what applies and it is added to your request; each links to the service and its published price.
Also worth asking before you buy: does anyone reach the database through an application (every user counts for CALs); is there a reporting or BI workload on top (Power BI →); does the passive node need to serve read traffic (then it is not passive)
Also worth asking before you buy: do users connect over Remote Desktop (RDS CALs, above); are the VMs going to move between hosts (licence each host for the peak); is Microsoft 365 already in place (Entra ID join may replace an on-premises domain entirely — Intune and Entra ID →).
Step 3 of 3 · Request an invoice
The configuration above is attached to the request automatically. You get back a confirmed price — below list — and a pro-forma invoice within one business day. Nothing is billed until you approve it.
Also quote me for
Prices shown are Microsoft’s list prices for the Europe region; our price to you is lower and confirmed on the invoice. Customers in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Australia and Canada are invoiced in USD, AUD or CAD by the entity for their region — ask and we quote in that currency. Privacy.