{"id":12503,"date":"2026-10-08T11:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T09:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/sql\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:11:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T10:11:35","slug":"sql","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/","title":{"rendered":"SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_section content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221;][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-push-6&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;12487&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-pull-6&#8243;][vc_column_text]SQL Server 2025 Standard can be licensed in two ways \u2013 either with a combination of server and access licences (CALs), or core-based with core licences. This sounds more complicated than it is:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Licensing via combined server and access licences (CALs)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Each (!) server \u2013 physical or virtual \u2013 running SQL 2025 Standard requires a server licence.<\/li>\n<li>In addition, you need either a User CAL or a Device CAL for each user or device with access to SQL Server 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Please note that access licences (CALs) are version specific. For example, you are not allowed to access SQL Server 2025 with a 2022 CAL. However, the other way round (downward) is possible: You could access SQL 2022 with a 2025 CAL.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Licensing via core licences<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Each physical or virtual processor core must be licensed \u2013 with a minimum of 4 cores.<\/li>\n<li>Virtual instances with core licensing require an active Software Assurance (SA) or Subscription.<\/li>\n<li>There is no need for access licences, neither User nor Device CALs. Any user and end device is allowed to access SQL Server 2025.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Still got any questions? We are here to help. Contact us by\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:info@usedsoft.com\">mail<\/a>\u00a0or by phone at +49 231 9999 1000.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_section content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221;][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-push-6&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;12487&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-pull-6&#8243;][vc_column_text]SQL Server 2025 Standard can be licensed in two ways \u2013 either with a combination of server and access licences (CALs), or core-based with core licences. This sounds more complicated than it is: Licensing via combined server and access licences (CALs) Each (!) server \u2013 physical or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-know-how-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly? | usedSoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly? | usedSoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_section content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221;][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-push-6&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;12487&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-pull-6&#8243;][vc_column_text]SQL Server 2025 Standard can be licensed in two ways \u2013 either with a combination of server and access licences (CALs), or core-based with core licences. This sounds more complicated than it is: Licensing via combined server and access licences (CALs) Each (!) server \u2013 physical or [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"usedSoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-08T09:18:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-08T10:11:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/News-Beitrag-usedSoft-17.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julia Hisge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julia Hisge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/\",\"name\":\"SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly? | usedSoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/News-Beitrag-usedSoft-17.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-08T09:18:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-08T10:11:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/#\/schema\/person\/ed013b574b711d7f6147a650bbe34e46\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/News-Beitrag-usedSoft-17.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/News-Beitrag-usedSoft-17.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/\",\"name\":\"usedSoft\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/#\/schema\/person\/ed013b574b711d7f6147a650bbe34e46\",\"name\":\"Julia Hisge\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d7239d81aa35bb0f6110f0088e7a9c675043e3dba1e953c29d10674f08a1b7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d7239d81aa35bb0f6110f0088e7a9c675043e3dba1e953c29d10674f08a1b7d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Julia Hisge\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/author\/juliahisge\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly? | usedSoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.usedsoft.com\/i\/en\/sql\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SQL Server 2025: How to license correctly? | usedSoft","og_description":"[vc_section content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221;][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-push-6&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;12487&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; el_class=&#8221;vc_col-sm-pull-6&#8243;][vc_column_text]SQL Server 2025 Standard can be licensed in two ways \u2013 either with a combination of server and access licences (CALs), or core-based with core licences. 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