Compare each version of Microsoft SQL Server
Each edition of Microsoft SQL Server supports different performance, runtime, and pricing requirements based on your application needs. Installation depends on your specific requirements, with SQL Server Express available as a free download. But there is a maximum database size of 10GB and other limitations. That’s more than the paid version.
| Feature | Express | Web | Standard | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max. compute capacity used by a single instance | Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores | Lesser of 4 sockets / 16 cores | Lesser of 4 sockets / 24 cores | OS Max. |
| Max. memory for buffer pool per instance | 1410MB | 64 GB | 128GB | OS Max. |
| Max. memory for Columnstore segment cache per instance | 352MB | 16 GB | 32GB | Unlimited |
| Max. memory-optimized data size per database | 352MB | 16 GB | 32GB | Unlimited |
| Max. relational database size | 10GB | 524PB | 524PB | 524PB |
| Log shipping | ||||
| Database mirroring | ||||
| Backup compression | ||||
| Database snapshot | ||||
| Always On availability groups | ||||
| Basic availability groups | ||||
| Encrypted backup | ||||
| Stretch database | ||||
| Table and index partitioning | ||||
| Buffer pool extension | ||||
| Data compression | ||||
| Resource governor | ||||
| In-Memory Database: In-Memory OLTP | ||||
| Data classification and auditing | ||||
| Dynamic data masking | ||||
| Always Encrypted with Secure Enclaves | ||||
| Transparent data encryption (TDE) | ||||
| Contained databases | ||||
| Merge replication | ||||
| Peer to peer transactional replication | ||||
| Snapshot replication | ||||
| SQL Server change tracking | ||||
| Transactional replication | ||||
| Transactional replication to Azure | ||||
| SQL Server Agent | ||||
| Dedicated admin connection | ||||
| PowerShell scripting support | ||||
| Full-text and semantic search | ||||
| Common Language Runtime (CLR) Integration | ||||
| Import/export of industry-standard spatial data formats | ||||
| Database mail | ||||
| UTF-8 support | ||||
| Java Language Runtime Integration | ||||
| Master instance for big data cluster | ||||
| Accelerated database recovery | ||||
| Intelligent Database: automatic tuning | ||||
| Intelligent Database: batch mode for row store | ||||
| Intelligent Database: row mode memory grant feedback | ||||
| Intelligent Database: approximate count distinct | ||||
| Intelligent Database: table variable deferred compilation | ||||
| Intelligent Database: scalar UDF inlining | ||||
| Parallel query processing on partitioned tables and indexes |
The properties in a table are not all SQL Server properties. If you want to see other features can be viewed at SQL Server 2022 Features