SQL Server Edition Feature Comparison

The most well known differences between SQL Express and other editions are the caps on database size (10GB) and lack of a SQL Agent feature. There are many other differences though, some of which can be extremely important for some application and architecture requirements.

Due to the rarity of SQL Server Business Intelligence, SQL Server Web Edition, SQL Server Datacenter, and other versions, they will not be included in the below comparisons.

The features included below are selected base on overall popularity and value, and do not represent every feature of SQL Server nor all of the parity between editions.

Windows Edition Features

• 2022
• 2019
• 2017
• 2016
• 2014
• 2012
• 2008 R2

Linux Features

Some features of SQL Server, regardless of edition, are unsupported in Linux.

• Linux 2022
• Linux 2019
• Linux 2017

Also see the Feature Comparison FAQ for clarification on terminology.

SQL Server Windows 2022

The complete listing for SQL Server 2022 Express features is available from on Microsoft Docs' Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2022.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	OS Max.	Lesser of 4 sockets / 24 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores
Max. Buffer Pool Memory (per instance)	OS Max.	128GB	1410MB	1410MB
Max. Columnstore Cache Memory (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. Memory-Optimized Data Size (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AlwaysOn AG	Yes	No	No	No
Basic Availability Groups	Yes	Yes (2 nodes)	No	No
Encrypted Backups	Yes	Yes	No	No
Stretch Database	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Buffer Pool Extension	Yes	Yes	No	No
Compression	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fine Grained Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dynamic Data Masking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Always Encrypted w/ Secure Enclaves	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Transparent Database Encryption	Yes	Yes	No	No
Contained Databases	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication to Azure	Yes	Yes	No	No
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Full Text Search	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
UTF-8	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Java Runtime Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Polybase Compute Node	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Master Instance for Big Data Cluster	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Acceleterated Database Recovery	Yes	Yes	No	No
Intelligent Database: automatic tuning	Yes	No	No	No
Intelligent Database: batch mode for row store	Yes	No	No	No
Intelligent Database: row mode memory grant feedback	Yes	No	No	No
Intelligent Database: approximate count distinct	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intelligent Database: table variable deferred compilation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intelligent Database: scalar UDF inlining	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Windows 2019

The complete listing for SQL Server 2019 Express features is available from on Microsoft Docs' Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2019.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	OS Max.	Lesser of 4 sockets / 24 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores
Max. Buffer Pool Memory (per instance)	OS Max.	128GB	1410MB	1410MB
Max. Columnstore Cache Memory (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. Memory-Optimized Data Size (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AlwaysOn AG	Yes	No	No	No
Basic Availability Groups	Yes	Yes (2 nodes)	No	No
Encrypted Backups	Yes	Yes	No	No
Stretch Database	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Buffer Pool Extension	Yes	Yes	No	No
Compression	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fine Grained Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dynamic Data Masking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Always Encrypted w/ Secure Enclaves	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Transparent Database Encryption	Yes	Yes	No	No
Contained Databases	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication to Azure	Yes	Yes	No	No
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Full Text Search	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
UTF-8	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Java Runtime Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Polybase Compute Node	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Master Instance for Big Data Cluster	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Acceleterated Database Recovery	Yes	Yes	No	No
Intelligent Database: automatic tuning	Yes	No	No	No
Intelligent Database: batch mode for row store	Yes	No	No	No
Intelligent Database: row mode memory grant feedback	Yes	No	No	No
Intelligent Database: approximate count distinct	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intelligent Database: table variable deferred compilation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Intelligent Database: scalar UDF inlining	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Windows 2017

The complete listing for SQL Server 2017 Express features is available from on Microsoft Docs' Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2017.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	OS Max.	Lesser of 4 sockets / 24 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores
Max. Buffer Pool Memory (per instance)	OS Max.	128GB	1410MB	1410MB
Max. Columnstore Cache Memory (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. Memory-Optimized Data Size (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AlwaysOn AG	Yes	No	No	No
Basic Availability Groups	Yes	Yes (2 nodes)	No	No
Encrypted Backups	Yes	Yes	No	No
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Buffer Pool Extension	Yes	Yes	No	No
Compression	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fine Grained Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dynamic Data Masking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Always Encrypted	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Contained Databases	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication to Azure	Yes	Yes	No	No
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Full Text Search	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Windows 2016

The complete listing for SQL Server 2016 Express features is available from on Microsoft Docs' Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2016.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	OS Max.	Lesser of 4 sockets / 24 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores
Max. Buffer Pool Memory (per instance)	OS Max.	128GB	1410MB	1410MB
Max. Columnstore Cache Memory (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. Memory-Optimized Data Size (per instance)	Unlimited	32GB	352MB	352MB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	No	No	No
AlwaysOn AG	Yes	No	No	No
Basic Availability Groups	Yes	Yes (2 nodes)	No	No
Encrypted Backups	Yes	Yes	No	No
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)
Compression	Yes	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	Yes	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)
Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fine Grained Auditing	Yes	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)	Yes (SP1+)
Contained Databases	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Full Text Search	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Windows 2014

The complete listing for SQL Server 2014 Express is available from on MSDN 's Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2014.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	OS Max.	Lesser of 4 sockets / 16 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores
Max. Memory (per instance)	OS Max.	128GB	1GB	1GB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	No	No	No
Basic AlwaysOn	Yes	Yes	No	No
Encrypted Backups	Yes	Yes	No	No
No. of Instances per Server	50	50	50	50
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	No	No	No
Compression	Yes	No	No	No
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	Yes	No	No	No
Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Contained Databases	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Full Text Search	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Windows 2012

The complete listing for SQL Server 2012 Express is available from on MSDN 's Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2012.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	OS Max.	Lesser of 4 sockets / 16 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores	Lesser of 1 socket / 4 cores
Max. Memory (per instance)	OS Max.	64GB	1GB	1GB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	No	No	No
AlwaysOn	Yes	No	No	No
Encrypted Backups	No	No	No	No
No. of Instances per Server	50	50	50	50
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	No	No	No
Compression	Yes	No	No	No
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	No	No	No	No
Basic Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fine Grained Auditing	Yes	No	No	No
Contained Databases	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Backup Encryption	No	No	No	No
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Windows 2008 R2

The complete listing for SQL Server 2008 R2 Express is available from on MSDN 's Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2008 R2.

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Express	Express w/ Advanced Services
Max. Compute Capacity (per instance)	8	4	1	1
Max. Memory (per instance)	2TB	64GB	1GB	1GB
Max. database size	524PB	524PB	10GB	10GB
Log Shipping	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mirroring	Yes	Yes	As Witness	As Witness
Backup Compression	Yes	Yes	No	No
Database Snapshots	Yes	No	No	No
AlwaysOn	No	No	No	No
Encrypted Backups	No	No	No	No
Table/index Partitioning	Yes	No	No	No
Compression	Yes	No	No	No
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No
In-Memory OLTP	No	No	No	No
Basic Auditing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fine Grained Auditing	Yes	No	No	No
Contained Databases	No	No	No	No
Backup Encryption	No	No	No	No
Change Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Merge Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Transactional Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
Snapshot Replication	Yes	Yes	As Subscriber	As Subscriber
P2P Transactional Replication	Yes	No	No	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dedicated Admin Connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerShell SMO Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CLR Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Import/Export Wizard	No	No	No	No
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	No	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes	No	No

SQL Server Linux 2022

Category	Feature	Supported
Database engine	Merge replication	No
Database engine	Stretch DB	No
Database engine	Polybase	Yes
Database engine	Distributed query with 3rd-party connections	No
Database engine	Linked Servers	No (Yes to only SQL Server sources)
Database engine	System extended stored procedures	No
Database engine	Filetable, FILESTREAM	No
Database engine	CLR assemblies with the EXTERNAL_ACCESS or UNSAFE permission set	No
Database engine	Buffer Pool Extension	Enterprise/Standard only
SQL Server Agent	Subsystems: CmdExec, PowerShell, Queue Reader, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS	No
SQL Server Agent	Alerts	No
SQL Server Agent	Log Reader Agent	Yes
SQL Server Agent	Managed Backup	No
High Availability	Database Mirroring	No
Security	Extensible Key Management	No
Security	AD Authentication for Linked Servers	No
Security	AD Authentication for Availability Groups	No
Services	SQL Server Browser	No
Services	SQL Server R services	No
Services	StreamInsight	No
Services	Analysis Services	No
Services	Reporting Services	No
Services	Data Quality Services	No
Services	Master Data Services	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes

SQL Server Linux 2019

Category	Feature	Supported
Database engine	Merge replication	No
Database engine	Stretch DB	No
Database engine	Polybase	Yes
Database engine	Distributed query with 3rd-party connections	No
Database engine	Linked Servers	No
Database engine	System extended stored procedures	No
Database engine	Filetable, FILESTREAM	No
Database engine	CLR assemblies with the EXTERNAL_ACCESS or UNSAFE permission set	No
Database engine	Buffer Pool Extension	No
SQL Server Agent	Subsystems: CmdExec, PowerShell, Queue Reader, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS	No
SQL Server Agent	Alerts	No
SQL Server Agent	Log Reader Agent	Yes
SQL Server Agent	Managed Backup	No
High Availability	Database Mirroring	No
Security	Extensible Key Management	No
Security	AD Authentication for Linked Servers	No
Security	AD Authentication for Availability Groups	No
Services	SQL Server Browser	No
Services	SQL Server R services	No
Services	StreamInsight	No
Services	Analysis Services	No
Services	Reporting Services	No
Services	Data Quality Services	No
Services	Master Data Services	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes

SQL Server Linux 2017

Category	Feature	Supported
Database engine	Merge replication	No
Database engine	Stretch DB	No
Database engine	Polybase	No
Database engine	Distributed query with 3rd-party connections	No
Database engine	Linked Servers	No
Database engine	System extended stored procedures	No
Database engine	Filetable, FILESTREAM	No
Database engine	CLR assemblies with the EXTERNAL_ACCESS or UNSAFE permission set	No
Database engine	Buffer Pool Extension	No
SQL Server Agent	Subsystems: CmdExec, PowerShell, Queue Reader, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS	No
SQL Server Agent	Alerts	No
SQL Server Agent	Log Reader Agent	No
SQL Server Agent	Managed Backup	No
High Availability	Database Mirroring	No
Security	Extensible Key Management	No
Security	AD Authentication for Linked Servers	No
Security	AD Authentication for Availability Groups	No
Services	SQL Server Browser	No
Services	SQL Server R services	No
Services	StreamInsight	No
Services	Analysis Services	No
Services	Reporting Services	No
Services	Data Quality Services	No
Services	Master Data Services	No
Parallel Query Processing	Yes	Yes

FAQ

What is the difference between Basic Auditing and Fine Grained Auditing?

These terms are only used in Microsoft feature comparison documents, but not SQL Server documentation, so their use is often unclear to many. Basic auditing refers to server level audits while fine grained auditing refers to audits at the database level.