Active Data Guard is a separately licensed option on Oracle Database Enterprise Edition. The standby server must be licensed like production. Read the cost model before the next true up.
Active Data Guard is a paid option on Oracle Database Enterprise Edition. The standby server it protects must carry the same license as production. Most cost surprises come from that second point, not the option price.
Active Data Guard licenses the ability to open a physical standby database for read access while it continues to apply redo from production. The base Data Guard capability is already in Enterprise Edition. The option unlocks the active features.
Oracle documents these boundaries in the database licensing manual. Read the Oracle Database Licensing Information manual before you assume a feature is free.
Basic Data Guard ships with Enterprise Edition. It keeps a mounted standby in sync and supports failover and switchover. It cannot open the standby for queries. The Oracle Data Guard product page sets out the split.
Yes. The standby server needs the same Enterprise Edition license and the same options as production. This is the rule buyers miss most often.
Oracle treats an installed and running standby as a licensable deployment. The only narrow relief is the ten day failover rule for clustered failover, which does not apply to a Data Guard standby. See our Oracle disaster recovery licensing guide for that boundary.
If production runs Partitioning, Advanced Compression, or the Diagnostics Pack, the standby that applies their redo generally needs the same options. Oracle confirms this in the Oracle Software Investment Guide.
Active Data Guard cost components at a glance
| Component | Metric | 2026 list | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Edition (standby) | Per processor | 47,500 dollars | Standby needs its own EE license |
| Active Data Guard option | Per processor | 11,500 dollars | Both production and standby |
| Annual support | 22 percent | Of net license | Compounds on renewal |
| Named User Plus path | Per user | 230 dollars option | Minimums apply per processor |
The option lists at 11,500 dollars per processor. The real number is larger once you add the standby Enterprise Edition license and support on both sides.
Verify the metric against the current Oracle Technology Price List, which Oracle updates periodically.
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Data Guard is included. Active Data Guard is paid. The split is read access on the standby.
The option earns its cost when you genuinely offload reporting to the standby, or when you need automatic block repair across a large estate. If the standby only exists for failover, basic Data Guard is enough and the option is waste.
The standard pitch from Oracle aligned resellers is that every serious enterprise should license Active Data Guard on the standby because it future proofs reporting. We disagree. In roughly 7 out of 10 estates we have reviewed, the standby was never opened for read access in production, so the option was pure shelfware bought against a hypothetical. The buyer side move is to license basic Data Guard only, prove a real reporting workload on the standby with a time boxed test, and add the paid option after the workload is confirmed, not before. Oracle records the moment you open the standby, so you cannot accidentally use it for free, which means there is no compliance reason to pre buy.
Source: Redress Compliance advisory engagement file, 2024 to 2025.
The Active Data Guard bill is rarely the option. It is the second Enterprise Edition license on a standby everyone assumed was free.
Four moves recur in well run estates.
Query the database feature usage views on both production and standby. This is the same evidence Oracle pulls in an audit.
Price the standby Enterprise Edition and the option as two line items. The option is often small next to the standby license.
If a reporting workload needs the standby, run a defined test, then decide. Do not leave real time query on by default.
Bring the usage evidence to the renewal table. A clean baseline is the strongest discount lever you hold.
No. Active Data Guard is a separately licensed option on top of Enterprise Edition. Basic Data Guard is included, but it cannot open the standby for read access. The active features require the paid option.
The list price is 11,500 dollars per processor plus 22 percent annual support, or 230 dollars per Named User Plus. The larger cost is usually the second Enterprise Edition license on the standby server.
Yes. Oracle treats an installed and running standby as a licensable deployment. It needs its own Enterprise Edition license and matching options, even when it only applies redo and serves no users.
Real time query, automatic block repair, far sync, and certain rolling maintenance workflows require the option. A mounted standby used only for failover and switchover does not.
No. The ten day rule applies to clustered failover where nodes share storage. A Data Guard standby is a separate deployment and must be fully licensed regardless of failover frequency.
Oracle reads the database feature usage statistics views. Opening the standby for read access records the option usage immediately, which is the first evidence an auditor collects.
Yes, at 230 dollars per Named User Plus, subject to Oracle processor minimums. For most disaster recovery topologies the per processor metric is simpler and often cheaper to defend.
Usually not. If the standby is never opened for reporting, basic Data Guard covers failover and switchover at no extra license cost. Buy the option only when a real read workload justifies it.
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