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SQL Server 2022 Licensing Guide: Per Core vs. Server + CAL Simplified

SQL Server allows you to store data, but its licensing model seems designed to store confusion.

In 2024, if you buy the wrong license type, you could overpay by tens of thousands of dollars – or worse, failing a compliance audit.

This guide simplifies the two main licensing models for SQL Server 2022 Standard and explains why Enterprise is in a league of its own.

Model 1: The “Server + CAL” Model

  • Best for: Small businesses, internal applications, low user counts.
  • Editions: Standard Edition Only.

In this model, you buy a license for the server software itself (~$900 – $1,000), and then you buy a Client Access License (CAL) for every user or device connecting to it (~$230 each).

The Math

  • 1 SQL Server License: $900
  • 10 Users (10 x $230): $2,300
  • Total: ~$3,200

This is very affordable for small teams. However, if you have 500 users (e.g., a public web server), buying 500 CALs would cost $115,000+. That is where the Core model comes in.

Model 2: The “Per Core” Model

  • Best for: Web apps, large enterprises, external-facing servers (uncountable users).
  • Editions: Standard & Enterprise.

In this model, you do NOT buy user licenses. Instead, you license the processing power of the server.

  • Rule: You must license every physical core in the server (minimum 4 cores per processor).
  • Benefit: Once the cores are licensed, unlimited users can connect.
  • Cost: SQL Standard Core packs cost ~$3,700 per 2 cores. So a basic 4-core server costs ~$7,400.

The Breakeven Point

When should you switch from “Server + CAL” to “Per Core”?
Generally, if you have more than 30-35 users, the “Per Core” model becomes cheaper than buying individual CALs.

Enterprise Edition: The Big League

SQL Server 2022 Enterprise Edition is only available in the Per Core model. You cannot buy it with CALs.

  • Why buy it?
    • Unlimited Virtualization: Like Windows Datacenter, if you license all physical cores with Enterprise + Software Assurance, you can run unlimited SQL VMs.
    • Performance: Standard Edition is capped at 24 Cores and 128GB RAM. Enterprise uses all available resources.
    • Features: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Always On Availability Groups (Read-Scale), and advanced data warehousing.

Virtualization Rules

Licensing SQL in a VM (Virtual Machine) adds another layer.

  1. Per Virtual Core: You can buy core licenses just for the vCPUs assigned to the VM (Minimum 4 cores per VM).
  2. Per Host: If you have a very dense host (many SQL VMs), license the physical cores of the host with Enterprise Edition to get unlimited SQL VMs on that box.

Summary: Which to Buy?

  1. Small Office (< 30 Users): Buy Standard Edition (Server + CAL).
  2. Public Website / Large App (> 30 Users): Buy Standard Edition (Per Core).
  3. Mission Critical / Huge Data: Buy Enterprise Edition (Per Core).

Pro Tip: Do not mix models. If you have a Core-licensed server, you don’t need CALs. If you have a Server-licensed server, you DO need CALs. Keep your documentation clean!