Microsoft SQL Server

Enterprise-grade relational database management system

As of 30 August 2026, Microsoft SQL Server is free to use. Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. Softwr lists it under Databases. Microsoft SQL Server is made by Microsoft Corporation, launched in 1975, available on Windows, Linux, Self-hosted.

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Overview

What Microsoft SQL Server does

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. It supports a wide variety of transaction processing, business intelligence, and analytics applications in corporate IT environments. SQL Server offers advanced security, performance tuning, and integration with Microsoft ecosystem.

What people use it for

Transaction processing
Data storage
Application backend
Reporting
Data analytics

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Microsoft SQL Server.

Licensing and on-premises deployment costs are high compared to open-source alternatives, with Enterprise Edition exceeding $60,000 for minimum core requirements
Performance monitoring toolset is insufficient for hybrid cloud environments requiring real-time analytics across multiple deployment types
Heavy I/O resource consumption can saturate disk volumes and degrade performance when processing large transaction workloads
Always On availability groups with up to 8 secondary replicas are limited to Enterprise edition only; Standard supports only basic availability groups with 2 replicas
CPU and memory scaling is capped at 4 sockets or 32 cores on Standard edition, limiting deployments requiring higher compute capacity

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Microsoft SQL Server

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

Microsoft SQL Servervs
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL: Open-source relational database with enterprise features, strong community, and cost-effective for mission-critical workloads.
Microsoft SQL Servervs
Oracle Database
Oracle Database: Enterprise-grade relational database competing on high availability, advanced analytics, and scalability for complex deployments.
Microsoft SQL Servervs
MySQL
MySQL: Open-source relational database popular for web applications and cost-sensitive deployments with good performance.
Microsoft SQL Servervs
MariaDB
MariaDB: MySQL fork maintaining compatibility while adding open-source innovations for enterprise users avoiding vendor lock-in.
Microsoft SQL Servervs
Azure SQL
Azure SQL: Microsoft's cloud-native alternative to on-premises SQL Server offering pay-as-you-go pricing and managed infrastructure.

Pricing

What Microsoft SQL Server costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Express

Free

4 cores maximum
1.4 GB memory per instance
50 GB database size limit

Developer

Free

All Enterprise features
Non-production use only

Standard

$3,945 /per 2-core pack

32 core maximum per instance
256 GB buffer pool memory
Basic availability groups with 2 replicas

Enterprise

$15,123 /per 2-core pack

Unlimited scaling
Always On with up to 8 secondaries
Advanced security and HA features

Capabilities

Features

T-SQL
ACID Compliance
Advanced Security
In-memory OLTP
Columnstore Indexes
Always On Availability
Machine Learning Services
Azure
Integration with Azure
Power BI
Integration with Power BI
SSMS
Integration with SSMS
Visual Studio
Integration with Visual Studio
.NET
Integration with .NET

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

What is the pricing model for SQL Server?

SQL Server uses core-based licensing with per-2-core pack pricing. Enterprise Edition costs approximately $15,123 per 2-core pack (minimum 8 cores). Standard Edition costs approximately $3,945 per 2-core pack. Developer and Express editions are free. Software Assurance adds 25-35% annually for upgrades and support.

Source

Does SQL Server run on Linux?

Yes. SQL Server 2017 and later run on Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu), Docker containers, and Windows with feature parity including Always On availability groups, Active Directory authentication, and encryption.

Source

Is there a free edition of SQL Server?

Yes. SQL Server Express is free and includes all functionality of Enterprise edition for development and testing, with limits of 4 cores, 1,410 MB memory per instance, and 50 GB per database. Developer edition is also free for non-production use.

Source

Can SQL Server be deployed offline?

Yes. SQL Server can be installed from offline media on machines without internet access. Microsoft provides complete offline installation packages for SQL Server, SSMS, and supporting components, making deployment in isolated or air-gapped environments feasible.

Source

What high availability options does SQL Server provide?

SQL Server offers Always On availability groups (Enterprise only), Always On failover cluster instances, database mirroring, log shipping, and for disaster recovery, failover servers in Azure and Accelerated Database Recovery for faster recovery after failures.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Microsoft SQL Server

Company: Microsoft Corporation
Based in: Redmond, Washington

Timeline