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. Then, explore the expanded benefits of Software Assurance
for Windows Server that’s designed to support your transition to hybrid cloud.

Performance and scalability

Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements*
Pricing Open NL ERP (US$)***
Datacenter**
Highly virtualized and software-defined datacenter environments
Core-based
Windows Server CAL
$6,155
Standard**
Low density or non-virtualized environments
Core-based
Windows Server CAL
$882
Essentials
Small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices
Specialty servers (server license)
No CAL required
$501

*CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server. See the Product Use Rights for details.
**Datacenter and Standard edition pricing is for 16 core licenses.
***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

Datacenter

Standard
Core functionality of Windows Server  ✔️  ✔️
OSEs / Windows Server containers with Hyper-V isolation Unlimited 2
Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation Unlimited Unlimited
Host Guardian Service  ✔️ ✔️
Storage features including Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica  ✔️  
Shielded Virtual Machines  ✔️  
Networking stack  ✔️