Pricing and licensing for Windows Server 2016

Choose from three primary editions of Windows Server based on the size of your organization, as well as virtualization and datacenter requirements.

Pricing and licensing overview

To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multi-cloud environments, we’re transitioning from processor-based licensing to core-based licensing with Windows Server 2016 Datacenter and Standard editions. For specific pricing, contact your Microsoft reseller.

Pricing and licensing support by Windows Server SKU.
Windows Server 2016 edition Ideal forLicensing modelCAL requirements[1]Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Datacenter[2]Highly virtualized and software-defined datacenter environmentsCore-basedWindows Server CAL$6,155
Standard[2]Low density or non-virtualized environmentsCore-basedWindows Server CAL$882
EssentialsSmall businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devicesSpecialty servers (server license)No CAL required$501
Pricing and licensing support by Windows Server SKU.
Windows Server 2016 edition
Datacenter[2]
Ideal for
Highly virtualized and software-defined datacenter environments
Licensing model
Core-based
CAL requirements[1]
Windows Server CAL
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
$6,155
Windows Server 2016 edition
Standard[2]
Ideal for
Low density or non-virtualized environments
Licensing model
Core-based
CAL requirements[1]
Windows Server CAL
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
$882
Windows Server 2016 edition
Essentials
Ideal for
Small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices
Licensing model
Specialty servers (server license)
CAL requirements[1]
No CAL required
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
$501
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]
Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements[1]
Pricing Open NL ERP (USD)[3]

  • [1]CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server. See the Product Use Rights for details.

  • [2]Datacenter and Standard edition pricing is for 16 core licenses.

  • [3]Pricing is shown in USD and may vary from country to country. Please contact your Microsoft representative for a quote.

Windows Server 2016 feature differentiation

Feature support keyFeature not available Feature not available    Feature available Feature available   
Compare Windows Server 2016 feature support by Windows Server SKU.
FeatureDatacenterStandard
Core functionality of Windows Server Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition Included in Windows Server Standard edition
OSEs / Windows Server containers with Hyper-V isolationUnlimited2
Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolationUnlimitedUnlimited
Host Guardian Service Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition Included in Windows Server Standard edition
Storage features including Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition Feature unavailable in Windows Server 2016 Standard
Shielded Virtual Machines Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition Feature unavailable in Windows Server 2016 Standard
Networking stack Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition Feature unavailable in Windows Server 2016 Standard
Compare Windows Server 2016 feature support by Windows Server SKU.
Feature
Core functionality of Windows Server
Datacenter
Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition
Standard
Included in Windows Server Standard edition
Feature
OSEs / Windows Server containers with Hyper-V isolation
Datacenter
Unlimited
Standard
2
Feature
Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation
Datacenter
Unlimited
Standard
Unlimited
Feature
Host Guardian Service
Datacenter
Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition
Standard
Included in Windows Server Standard edition
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Storage features including Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica
Datacenter
Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition
Standard
Feature unavailable in Windows Server 2016 Standard
Feature
Shielded Virtual Machines
Datacenter
Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition
Standard
Feature unavailable in Windows Server 2016 Standard
Feature
Networking stack
Datacenter
Included in Windows Server Datacenter edition
Standard
Feature unavailable in Windows Server 2016 Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Feature
Datacenter
Standard

Additional Windows Server purchasing resources

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