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Microsoft SQL Server β€” SPLA & Indirect Partner

Buy Official Microsoft SQL Server License

OBHost is an authorized Microsoft SPLA Partner and Indirect Partner. We offer genuine SQL Server licenses β€” SPLA monthly for VPS and hosted environments, and Indirect perpetual/annual for on-premise servers.

SQL Server 2022 SQL Server 2019 SQL Server 2017 Enterprise Standard Web Edition Per-Core Server+CAL
  • Guaranteed genuine Microsoft SQL Server licenses
  • SPLA monthly billing β€” ideal for VPS and hosting providers
  • Indirect perpetual β€” one-time license for on-premise servers
  • Enterprise, Standard, and Web Edition available
  • Per-Core and Server+CAL licensing models
  • Instant delivery after order confirmation
  • Expert guidance β€” choose the right edition & model for your workload
View All Editions & Pricing Full MS Licensing β†’

Needs a server? View our VPS plans β†’ or See all Microsoft products β†’

SQL Server 2022
SQL Server 2019
SQL Server 2017
LATEST VERSION
SQL Server 2022
Azure-connected Β· AI-ready
Trustpilot
4.4 / 5 Β· 9,840+ reviews
200,000+ Customers since 2014
πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ Germany Servers
βœ“ Microsoft SPLA & Indirect Partner
SQL Server Editions

Choose the Right SQL Server Edition

Three main editions β€” Enterprise for mission-critical workloads, Standard for most business databases, and Web for hosting.

🏒
Enterprise
Mission-critical databases, OLTP, data warehousing, and BI at any scale. No limits on cores or RAM.
SPLA (per core/mo)
Contact Us for Prices 2-core min
Indirect perpetual pricing available on request (2-core pack)
  • Unlimited cores, memory, and database size
  • Always On Availability Groups (up to 9 replicas)
  • In-Memory OLTP and Columnstore indexes
  • Advanced analytics and R/Python integration
  • Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
  • Database Audit and Row-Level Security
  • Stretch Database to Azure
  • Online indexing and page/row compression
  • Resource Governor
Contact Us β†’
Most Popular
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Standard
Departmental databases and limited cloud hosting. 24-core and 128 GB memory cap.
SPLA (per core/mo)
Contact Us for Prices or Server+CAL
Indirect perpetual pricing available on request (2-core pack)
  • Up to 24 cores and 128 GB RAM
  • Basic Always On (2 replicas)
  • Basic In-Memory OLTP
  • Basic Columnstore
  • Transparent Data Encryption
  • Policy-based management
  • Basic Auditing
  • Per-core OR Server+CAL licensing
  • Log shipping and database mirroring
Contact Us β†’
🌐
Web Edition
SPLA-only for internet-facing web apps and hosting. Lowest cost per core. Cannot be used for internal apps.
SPLA ONLY (per core/mo)
Contact Us for Prices hosting-only
Not available as Indirect Perpetual
  • Per-core SPLA pricing only β€” no Server+CAL
  • Internet-facing workloads only
  • Up to 4 cores / 64 GB RAM cap
  • Basic database features for web apps
  • Cannot be used for internal business apps
  • Indirect/perpetual not available
  • No Always On availability groups
  • No advanced BI features
Contact Us β†’
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Developer & Express editions (free)

SQL Server Developer edition is free β€” includes all Enterprise features but licensed for development and testing only, not for production. SQL Server Express is also free β€” limited to 1 CPU core, 1.4 GB RAM, and 10 GB database size. Both available through Microsoft directly. Contact OBHost for production Enterprise/Standard/Web licenses.

Licensing Models

Per-Core vs Server+CAL β€” Which Model?

SQL Server Standard can be licensed in two ways. Enterprise is per-core only. Web Edition is per-core SPLA only.

πŸ”’
Per-Core Licensing
All Editions

License based on the number of physical/virtual processor cores in the server. No limit on users or devices β€” anyone can connect. Licenses are sold in 2-core packs minimum.

  • License the server β€” unlimited users can connect
  • Standard: minimum 4 cores (two 2-core packs)
  • Enterprise: minimum 4 cores (two 2-core packs)
  • Best when: many users, internet-facing, or unknown user count
  • VMs: license the virtual cores assigned to the VM
  • Only model available for Enterprise and Web Edition
πŸ‘€
Server + CAL Licensing
Standard Only

One server license per SQL instance plus a Client Access License (CAL) for each user or device that connects. CALs follow the user or device, not the server.

  • SQL Server Standard license per instance: ~$899
  • Plus User CAL per person: ~$209 each
  • Plus Device CAL per device: ~$209 each
  • Best when: small/known number of users
  • Cannot be used for internet-facing/external users
  • Available for Standard only β€” not Enterprise or Web
Which model is cheaper for you?
⚑ Choose Per-Core when...
  • You have many users (100+)
  • It's an internet-facing application
  • Users are external customers
  • You're running Enterprise edition
  • User count is hard to track
πŸ’° Choose Server+CAL when...
  • Small team (under 25 users)
  • Internal users only (no external access)
  • Using Standard edition
  • User count is stable and known
  • Low-core server with many fewer users
Detailed Pricing

SQL Server Complete Pricing Table

All prices are indicative partner pricing. Contact us for exact quote β€” final pricing depends on quantity, license type, and server configuration.

Product Edition License Type Model Type Notes Pricing (Single / Bulk) Action
SQL Server 2022 β€” Latest Version (Released Nov 2022)
SQL Server 2022 Standard Edition Standard Perpetual Per Core Indirect Perpetual
$24.00/mo
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $21.12
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server 2022 Standard Perpetual Server+CAL Indirect 1 User CAL
$24.00/mo
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $21.12
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server License Packs & Subscriptions
SQL Server Standard Standard 1 Year Commit Per Core Pack Indirect 1 year
$24.00/mo
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $21.12
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server Enterprise Enterprise 3 Year Commit Per Core Pack Indirect Subscription
$24.00/mo
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $21.12
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server 2022 Standard Core Standard Subscription Per Core Pack Indirect Perpetual
$24.00/mo
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $21.12
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server 2022 Enterprise Core Enterprise Subscription Per Core Pack Indirect 2 Core License Pack
$24.00/mo
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $21.12
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server Standard Standard 3 Year Commit Per Core Pack Indirect Subscription
$99.60/yr
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $87.65
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
SQL Server Enterprise Enterprise 1 Year Commit Per Core Pack Indirect Subscription
$99.60/yr
Bulk Price
(Estimated) $87.65
Buy Now Single License Request Quote Bulk/Bundle
What You Get

SQL Server 2022 β€” Key Features

SQL Server 2022 is Microsoft's most Azure-connected, AI-ready release with built-in intelligence and hybrid capabilities.

Azure Synapse Link

Directly query operational data in Azure Synapse Analytics without ETL pipelines. Zero-impact analytics on your live SQL Server database.

Ledger for Blockchain-like Trust

Built-in ledger tables create tamper-evident records β€” cryptographically verifiable audit trail for compliance without third-party blockchain.

In-Memory OLTP (Enterprise)

Memory-optimized tables and natively compiled stored procedures deliver extreme transaction throughput β€” up to 30x faster than disk-based OLTP.

Intelligent Query Processing

Adaptive joins, memory grant feedback, interleaved execution, and batch mode on rowstore β€” the query optimizer gets smarter over time.

Always Encrypted + Secure Enclaves

Encrypt sensitive columns at rest and in use. Secure enclaves allow queries on encrypted data β€” protecting against even privileged DBAs.

Azure Arc & Hybrid Connectivity

Manage on-premise SQL Server through Azure Arc. Synchronize data to Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Synapse, or Azure Blob Storage.

When Do You Need Which Edition?

SQL Server Use Cases & Right Edition

Match your workload to the right SQL Server edition and licensing model.

🌐
Web Application Database

Hosting a website's backend database on a VPS or cloud server. Use Web Edition SPLA β€” the most cost-effective option at ~$15/core/mo, designed specifically for internet-facing workloads.

SPLA Web Edition
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Small Business ERP/CRM

Running an ERP (Dynamics, SAP) or CRM for 20–50 users. SQL Server Standard with Server+CAL model is usually the cheapest option β€” one server license plus CALs per user.

Indirect Standard + CALs
🏒
Enterprise Mission-Critical DB

High-availability databases for banking, healthcare, or manufacturing. SQL Server Enterprise with Always On AG β€” 9 replicas, unlimited cores, In-Memory OLTP for maximum performance.

Indirect Enterprise Per-Core
☁️
Hosted Database Services (DBaaS)

Offering SQL Server databases to customers as a service on your VPS infrastructure. Requires SPLA licensing β€” billed monthly per core based on actual usage.

SPLA Standard or Enterprise
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Business Intelligence & Analytics

Running SSRS reports, SSAS cubes, or a data warehouse for analytics. SQL Server Standard covers basic BI. Enterprise adds Columnstore indexes, unlimited memory, and advanced analytics.

Standard or Enterprise
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Development & Testing

Building and testing applications that use SQL Server. Use SQL Server Developer edition β€” it's completely free and includes all Enterprise features, but only for dev/test, not production.

Developer (Free)
Version Comparison

SQL Server 2022 vs 2019 vs 2017

We recommend SQL Server 2022 for all new deployments β€” best performance, Azure integration, and longest support lifecycle.

Feature SQL 2022 ⭐ SQL 2019 SQL 2017
Mainstream Support End Jan 2028 Jan 2025 Oct 2022
Extended Support End Jan 2033 Jan 2030 Oct 2027
Azure Synapse Link βœ“ βœ— βœ—
Ledger Tables βœ“ βœ— βœ—
Intelligent QP (all features) βœ“ Partial βœ—
Always Encrypted + Enclaves βœ“ βœ“ βœ—
In-Memory OLTP βœ“ βœ“ βœ“
Always On AG (Enterprise) 9 replicas 9 replicas 9 replicas
Basic AG (Standard) βœ“ βœ“ βœ“
Big Data Clusters βœ— βœ“ βœ—
Azure Arc Integration βœ“ Limited βœ—
JSON Support βœ“ (enhanced) βœ“ βœ“
Graph DB βœ“ βœ“ βœ“ (basic)
Linux Support βœ“ βœ“ βœ“

* Support dates as of Microsoft's official lifecycle policy. SQL Server 2019 mainstream support ended Jan 2025 β€” extended support (security patches only) continues until Jan 2030.

Common Questions

SQL Server Licensing β€” FAQ

Everything about buying, activating, and choosing the right SQL Server edition and licensing model.

Get a Quote β†’

Enterprise: unlimited cores and RAM, all features including Always On AG (9 replicas), In-Memory OLTP, advanced analytics, TDE, and all BI features. For mission-critical workloads. Standard: limited to 24 cores and 128 GB RAM, basic versions of Enterprise features. Per-core or Server+CAL licensing. For departmental and small-to-medium workloads. Web Edition: per-core SPLA only, limited to internet-facing workloads. Cheapest option (~$15/core/mo). Cannot be used for internal applications. Available through SPLA only β€” no perpetual license.

SPLA (Service Provider License Agreement) allows hosting companies to offer SQL Server to their customers on a monthly subscription basis. Instead of paying a large upfront perpetual cost, you pay per-core per-month based on how many SQL Server instances your customers are using. OBHost is an authorized SPLA partner β€” we can provide SPLA SQL Server licenses for deployment on OBHost VPS and dedicated servers. SPLA covers Enterprise, Standard, and the exclusive Web Edition. Monthly billing means you can scale up or down easily.

It depends on your user count and server core count. Per-Core: license the server by its cores β€” unlimited users can connect. Standard requires a minimum of 4 cores. Enterprise and Web Edition are per-core only. Best for internet-facing apps, many users (100+), or unknown user counts. Server+CAL (Standard only): one server license (~$899) plus a Client Access License per user (~$209) or per device (~$209). Best for small internal deployments with fewer than 25 users. Cannot be used for external/internet users. Quick rule: if (user count Γ— CAL price) > (core count Γ— per-core price), choose per-core.

No. SQL Server Web Edition is strictly licensed for internet-facing/external-facing workloads only. It cannot be used for internal company databases, ERP systems, CRM, or any application where only employees/internal users connect. Using Web Edition for internal apps violates Microsoft's licensing terms. For internal applications, you must use Standard or Enterprise edition. Web Edition is only available through SPLA β€” not as a perpetual/Indirect license.

For physical servers: count all physical cores on the processors running SQL Server. Minimum 4 cores per instance (two 2-core packs). For virtual machines (VMs): count the virtual cores (vCPUs) assigned to the VM β€” minimum 4 cores per VM. If the VM has 2 vCPUs, you still need to license minimum 4 cores. Hyper-Threading does not affect the core count β€” only physical cores (or virtual cores for VMs). Licenses are sold in 2-core packs. So a server with 8 physical cores needs 4 Γ— 2-core packs (4 licenses).

We recommend SQL Server 2022 for all new deployments. It has the longest support lifecycle (mainstream support until Jan 2028, extended until Jan 2033), best performance with Intelligent Query Processing improvements, Azure Synapse Link for analytics, new Ledger feature for audit compliance, and Azure Arc integration. SQL Server 2019: mainstream support ended Jan 2025 β€” only security patches now. Still fine for existing workloads but not recommended for new deployments. SQL Server 2017: extended support only until Oct 2027. Avoid for new deployments.
πŸ—„
βœ“ Microsoft SPLA Partner βœ“ Microsoft Indirect Partner

Need a SQL Server License?
Get the Right Edition at the Right Price.

Enterprise Β· Standard Β· Web Edition Β· 2022 Β· 2019 Β· Per-Core Β· Server+CAL Β· SPLA Β· Indirect

Monthly SPLA for hosting providers Β· Perpetual Indirect for on-premise Β· Genuine Microsoft licenses

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