Koopgids
· 6 min leestijd· Bijgewerkt op 2026-02-28SQL Server Standard vs Enterprise
Enterprise costs roughly 4× Standard. The features that justify the gap are narrow but important. Decide with our cheat sheet.
- SQL Server
- Licensing

The Enterprise-only features that matter
Both editions ship the same database engine, the same T-SQL, the same DMVs. The difference is scale ceilings and high-availability features.
| Capability | Standard | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Max cores | 24 | Unlimited |
| Max buffer pool memory | 128 GB | OS max |
| Always On Availability Groups | Basic (2 replicas) | Up to 9 replicas |
| Online index rebuild | — | ✓ |
| In-memory OLTP | Limited | Full |
| Transparent Data Encryption | ✓ | ✓ |
| ColumnStore segment cache | Limited | Unlimited |
| Resource Governor | — | ✓ |
- SQL Server 2025 Standard1,859 $
- SQL Server 2025 Enterprise7,128 $ · ≈4×
Decision checklist
Run down this list. If you don't tick any item, Standard is the right pick.
- · Need >24 cores or >128 GB buffer pool? → Enterprise.
- · Need multi-replica Always On with active-active reads? → Enterprise.
- · Need online index rebuilds on a 24/7 OLTP system? → Enterprise.
- · Public-facing app with anonymous users and very large data volume? → Enterprise (and per-core licensing).
- · ERP back-end, 50 internal users, single server? → Standard + CAL.
Veelgestelde vragen
- Can I downgrade Enterprise to Standard later?
- Yes, by detaching/attaching databases. Features unique to Enterprise (e.g. partitioned columnstore indexes) may need to be removed first.
- What about Developer edition?
- Free, full Enterprise feature set, licensed for development and test only. Never run production on it.
Aanbevolen licenties
SQL Server 2022 Standard
Perpetual · Server + CAL or Per-Core
Mainstream SQL Server 2022 for departmental and small-business workloads.
SQL Server 2022 Enterprise
Perpetual · Per-Core
Enterprise SQL 2022 — unlimited scale, full HA, advanced analytics.
SQL Server 2025 Standard
Perpetual · Server + CAL or Per-Core
Newest SQL Server 2025 Standard — AI-ready, vector search built in.
SQL Server 2025 Enterprise
Perpetual · Per-Core
SQL 2025 Enterprise — unlimited scale, AI vectors, full Always On.
Verwante gidsen
- SQL Server — Server+CAL vs Per-Core
Decide between SQL Server's two licensing models with a clear break-even calculation and worked examples.
- Windows Server licensing — the plain-English guide
Cores, CALs, Standard vs Datacenter, virtualization rights — Windows Server licensing demystified with real-world examples.
Alle gidsen
- Which Office version should you buy?
Office 2021, 2024 or Microsoft 365? A practical guide to picking the right Office edition by use case, hardware and budget.
- Windows Server licensing — the plain-English guide
Cores, CALs, Standard vs Datacenter, virtualization rights — Windows Server licensing demystified with real-world examples.
- SQL Server — Server+CAL vs Per-Core
Decide between SQL Server's two licensing models with a clear break-even calculation and worked examples.
- OEM vs Retail Windows keys
OEM Windows keys are cheap but tied to one motherboard. Retail keys are transferable. Here's exactly what changes and which you should buy.
- How to activate Windows 11
Step-by-step guide to activating Windows 11 with a retail product key — fresh install, upgrade from Windows 10, troubleshooting.
- How to install Office 2024
Complete step-by-step guide to installing Office 2024 from your product key, including the Office Deployment Tool route for Pro Plus.
- Office 2024 vs Microsoft 365 — which is better?
Head-to-head comparison of Office 2024 (one-time purchase) and Microsoft 365 (subscription) — total cost of ownership, cloud storage, multi-device support and feature differences.
- Windows 10 vs Windows 11 — upgrade decision guide
Windows 10 hit end-of-support in October 2025. Here's whether to upgrade in-place, buy a Windows 11 key, or stay on 10 with ESU.
- Windows 11 Home vs Pro — the honest comparison
BitLocker, Hyper-V, Remote Desktop, domain join — the seven Pro-only features that decide whether you should pay the upgrade.
- Office 2024 vs Office 2021
Three years of feature backports separate Office 2024 from Office 2021. Here's what's actually new and whether the price gap justifies the jump.
- Microsoft 365 Family vs Personal
M365 Personal covers one user. Family covers six and includes 6 TB of pooled OneDrive. The math, the catches and which you should buy.
- Best Office for students in 2026
Free Microsoft 365 from your university, perpetual Office 2024 Home & Student, or LibreOffice — the right pick by budget and degree.
- Transfer your Windows license to a new PC
Move your retail Windows 10 or 11 key to a new computer in 10 minutes — deactivate the old PC, link to your Microsoft account, reactivate on the new hardware.
- Fix activation error 0x80072F8F
Error 0x80072F8F means Windows can't reach Microsoft's activation servers over TLS. Here's exactly how to fix the root cause in 5 minutes.
- Office Deployment Tool walkthrough
Use the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) to install Office 2024 with the exact apps, language and update channel you need. Full XML reference inside.
- Windows 11 TPM bypass: the real risks
You can install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware by bypassing TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot — here are the real risks Microsoft warns about.
- Choose a Microsoft 365 Business plan
Microsoft sells four Business plans. Here's the decision tree, real per-user prices and the security cliff between Standard and Premium.
- Back up your Windows product key
Recover your Windows 10/11 product key from the registry, BIOS or Microsoft account — and save a copy somewhere safer than the sticker on the laptop.
- Uninstall old Office cleanly before Office 2024
Office 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365 can leave activation conflicts when you install Office 2024. Here's the clean-uninstall procedure that always works.
- Upgrade to Windows Server 2025
Supported in-place upgrade paths to Windows Server 2025, the version-skip rules, downtime expectations and rollback options.
- Set up Outlook 2024 with IMAP
Add a Gmail, iCloud or generic IMAP account to Outlook 2024 in under 5 minutes — including the app-password workaround Google and Apple now require.
- Enable BitLocker on Windows 11 Pro
Turn on BitLocker drive encryption without losing your data — pre-flight checks, the TPM-only vs PIN modes, and recovery-key best practices.
- Activate Office without internet
No internet on the target PC? Activate Office 2024 (or any perpetual Office) by phone using the Microsoft activation IVR. Step-by-step.
- Windows 10 Extended Security Updates
Windows 10 reached end-of-support in October 2025. Extended Security Updates buys 1–3 more years of patches. Here's the price, the rules and the alternatives.