Use cases
SQL Server for startups
Standard Edition with Server+CAL licensing is the cheapest production path for teams of 5–25 developers and 10–100 named users.
Who it is for
Seed-stage to Series-A SaaS startups, B2B vertical SaaS, internal tools teams.
Why this works
- Standard handles 128 GB RAM and 24 cores — plenty for early product
- Always On basic availability groups included
- Pairs with Visual Studio Professional
- Same TSQL as Azure SQL — easy lift later
Recommended licences
Alternatives worth considering
- SQL Server 2025 Enterprise — Only above 24 cores or for online indexing / TDE / unlimited virtualisation.
Things to know before you buy
- Every named user querying SQL needs a CAL — count developers, BI users and app-server service accounts (only one CAL per multiplexing app server).
- Free SQL Server Developer Edition is fine for staging — same code base as Enterprise.
Other use cases you might explore
sql-server
SQL Server for enterprise workloads
Enterprise unlocks unlimited virtualisation, Always On AGs with multiple secondaries, Transparent Data Encryption and online index operations — required for OLTP above 24 cores.
office
Office for students — best value in 2026
Word, Excel and PowerPoint cover 95% of coursework. Students don't need Outlook, Teams or Access on day one — buying the right edition saves €80+ vs Microsoft 365.
office
Office for small business (1–10 staff)
Owners under 10 employees usually overpay for Microsoft 365 Business when a perpetual Office Home & Business covers email and meetings without the per-user recurring cost.
office
Office on Apple Silicon Macs
Native ARM64 builds of Office 2021 and 2024 run on M1/M2/M3/M4 with no Rosetta penalty. Here is the right edition for each Mac workflow.
Why these recommendations are safe to follow
We earn nothing extra by recommending a more expensive licence — our margin is identical across editions. Every recommendation has been re-validated against the current Microsoft EULA, the latest Office and Windows update, and our own returns data from the past 12 months.