Answer 8 questions to determine whether Core-based or Server+CAL licensing is more cost-effective for your SQL Server deployment.
$15K
EE 2-Core Pack
8
Questions
3 min
To Complete
Question 1 of 8Microsoft SQL Advisory
Question 1 of 8
💾
Which SQL Server edition do you primarily use?
Enterprise Edition is significantly more expensive than Standard. Many workloads can run on Standard.
Standard Edition only
$3,945 per 2-core pack
Mix of Standard and Enterprise
Mostly Enterprise Edition
$15,123 per 2-core pack
Enterprise everywhere — never evaluated downgrade
Question 2 of 8
🖥️
How many physical cores host SQL Server across all environments?
Core-based licensing requires a minimum of 4 core licences per server. More cores = higher cost.
Under 16 total cores
16-64 cores
64-256 cores
256+ cores
Question 3 of 8
👥
How many users or devices access SQL Server?
Server+CAL licensing charges per server plus per user/device. Fewer users can make this cheaper than core-based.
Under 25 users/devices
Server+CAL likely cheaper
25-100 users/devices
100-500 users/devices
500+ or internet-facing
Core-based is almost certainly required
Question 4 of 8
⚙️
Do you run SQL Server in virtual environments (VMware, Hyper-V)?
SQL Server virtualisation licensing is notoriously complex. Enterprise Edition + SA offers unlimited virtualisation rights.
Physical servers only
Hyper-V with correct Standard/Datacenter host licensing
VMware — licensing reviewed and validated
VMware — licensing not reviewed
High compliance risk
Question 5 of 8
🔄
Do you use SQL Server features exclusive to Enterprise Edition?
Key EE features: Always On Availability Groups (multi-database), compression, partitioning, advanced security. Many workloads run fine on Standard.
No EE-exclusive features used
Strong candidate for Standard downgrade
A few features used on some instances
Key features in use across many instances
Heavily reliant on EE features
Question 6 of 8
☁️
Are you considering migrating SQL Server to Azure SQL or Azure VMs?
Azure SQL Managed Instance and AHUB can significantly change the cost equation for SQL Server licensing.
Yes — active migration to Azure SQL
Evaluating Azure SQL for some workloads
On-premises for now, cloud considered long-term
No cloud plans for SQL Server
Question 7 of 8
📅
When does your SQL Server SA or licence agreement renew?
SA renewal is the key decision point for optimisation. Letting SA lapse loses AHUB eligibility and version upgrade rights.
More than 12 months away
6-12 months away
3-6 months away
Imminent or SA already expired
Question 8 of 8
📊
Have you compared your current SQL licensing cost against alternatives?
Alternatives include PostgreSQL, MySQL, Azure SQL Database (PaaS), and AWS RDS. Comparison provides negotiation leverage.
Yes — alternatives evaluated and compared
Partially — aware of alternatives
No — SQL Server is the assumed platform
Never considered alternatives
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