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Windows Server Licensing Calculator 2026
Enter your hosts, sockets, cores and Windows VMs. The calculator counts the core licences you need and prices Standard, Datacenter and Azure Arc pay-as-you-go at Microsoft's suggested prices, with the arithmetic shown for every line.
Last updated
32 licensed cores per host (all 32 physical cores), 2 hosts, 24 VMs in total.
Cheapest: Windows Server 2025 Datacenter, 27,084 USD. Per-VM licensing is not priced, so it is not compared.
Pay-as-you-go costs more than Datacenter (27,084 USD) from month 9.
Core licences and cost by option
| Option | Cores | Packs | Cost over 3 years, USD | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 Standard Microsoft suggested price, perpetual, 6 full licensings per host | 384core licences | 24 x 16-core0 x 2-core | 28,224 | |
| Windows Server 2025 Datacenter cheapestMicrosoft suggested price, perpetual, unlimited VMs per licensed host | 64core licences | 4 x 16-core0 x 2-core | 27,084 | |
| Per-VM licensing (virtual cores) lockedneeds Software Assurance or subscription licences, not priced | Locked. Microsoft allows licensing by VM only with subscription licences or active Software Assurance. Tick the box under the table to see the core count. | |||
| Pay-as-you-go through Azure Arc Microsoft suggested price per core per month, Windows Server 2025 only, each VM licensed separately | 96billed cores | n/a | 116,052.483,223.68 per monthIncludes base CAL rights | |
CALs are not included. Every user or device needs one for Standard and Datacenter. Microsoft lists no stand-alone price for Windows Server User or Device CALs, so enter your own CAL price. Enter it above to add a CAL line.
Pay-as-you-go includes CAL rights for base functionality, per Microsoft, so no base CALs are added. Remote Desktop Services CALs are still needed. It has no unlimited virtualisation: each VM is licensed on its own and the physical host is not priced here. It needs Windows Server 2025 on an Azure Arc-enabled server.
Optional: Software Assurance and CALs
Windows Server support dates
Dates as the data states them, ISO format. Microsoft gives each end date as a timestamp at the end of that day, US Pacific time, and the table shows the US Pacific calendar date. A phase runs to the end of its end date.
| Release | Start | Mainstream support end date | Extended support end date | Status on 2026-10-11 (data date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2016 | 2016-10-15 | 2022-01-11 | 2027-01-12 | |
| Windows Server 2019 | 2018-11-13 | 2024-01-09 | 2029-01-09 | |
| Windows Server 2022 | 2021-08-18 | 2026-10-13 | 2031-10-14 | |
| Windows Server 2025 | 2024-11-01 | 2029-11-13 | 2034-11-14 |
Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 are past mainstream support on 2026-10-11. Source: Microsoft lifecycle pages, S10, S11, S12, S13.
Assumptions, exclusions and sources
- Prices are the Microsoft suggested price (MSRP) for Windows Server 2025 on its pricing page, in USD, retrieved 2026-10-11: Standard 1,176 USD and Datacenter 6,771 USD per 16-core pack. The page names no price level and Microsoft says prices vary by country. The Open License programme was retired on 2021-12-31, so these are not Open price levels. No taxes, no volume discounts, no Software Assurance.
- Licensed cores per host = every physical core, at least 8 per processor and at least 16 per server, in steps of 2. Hyper-threads are not counted (physical cores only; Microsoft defines a physical core and a hyper-thread separately but does not state the exclusion in one sentence).
- Core licences are sold in 2-packs and 16-packs. Microsoft publishes no 2-pack price and states that 8 2-packs and one 16-pack are priced the same, so a 2-pack is priced at 1/8 of a 16-pack. Per core that is 73.5 USD for Standard and 423.1875 USD for Datacenter. Cost = core licences x pack price / 16, rounded to the cent once, at the end.
- Standard covers 2 VMs per full licensing of the host (plus the host OS if it only hosts and manages the VMs). Each further 2 VMs relicenses all of the host's cores (stacking). VMs are the same on every host, with no failover headroom: a cluster that must survive a host failure is licensed for its worst-case host.
- Datacenter covers any number of VMs on a licensed host. The break-even is the smallest VM count at which full licensings x the Standard price exceeds the Datacenter price. Both scale with the core count, so it does not depend on host size.
- Per-VM licensing (added 2022-10): 8 core licences per VM at least, 16 per customer at least, one virtual OSE per licence. It needs subscription licences or active Software Assurance. The checkbox only reveals the core count. Microsoft publishes no Software Assurance price, so nothing is priced and the option is left out of the cheapest comparison.
- Pay-as-you-go through Azure Arc costs 33.58 USD per core per month (the pricing page; the Azure meter agrees at 0.046 USD per core per hour). Same price for both editions, no core minimum, Windows Server 2025 only. It gives no VM rights, so here every VM is its own instance billed on its virtual cores. The physical host is not priced. Microsoft includes base CAL rights; RDS CALs are still required.
- Months are 12 per year. The one-off perpetual cost is the same at any term; pay-as-you-go grows with the term.
- CALs: every user or device needs one, and a CAL covers the same or an earlier server version. Remote Desktop Services CALs are extra. Microsoft lists no stand-alone price for Windows Server User or Device CALs, so enter your own CAL price. The tool adds a CAL line only when you enter a price. It is added to Standard and Datacenter and not to pay-as-you-go.
- Not covered: Essentials (OEM only, 25 users, 10 cores), Software Assurance prices, External Connectors, Azure Hybrid Benefit, volume agreements, OEM pricing, other currencies.
- Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. The share link carries only the input values.
Sources
| Key | Publisher | Title | Published | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S01 | Microsoft | Windows Server 2025 Licensing & Pricing (pricing page) | not stated | 2026-10-11 |
| S02 | Microsoft (Commercial Licensing) | Windows Server 2025 Licensing Guidance | not stated | 2026-10-11 |
| S03 | Microsoft (Licensing Resources) | Microsoft Windows Server (product licensing page and FAQ) | not stated | 2026-10-11 |
| S07 | Microsoft Learn | Configure Windows Server Pay-as-you-go with Azure Arc | 2025-06-27 (ms.date), updated 2025-09-15 | 2026-10-11 |
| S08 | Microsoft Learn | Billing service for Windows Server pay-as-you-go (Azure Arc) | 2024-11-01 (ms.date), updated 2025-06-25 | 2026-10-11 |
| S09 | Microsoft (Azure Retail Prices API) | Az Arc Pay As You Go Windows Server meters | effectiveStartDate 2024-10-01 | 2026-10-11 |
| S10 | Microsoft Learn (Lifecycle) | Windows Server 2025 lifecycle | 2024-11-04 (ms.date) | 2026-10-11 |
| S11 | Microsoft Learn (Lifecycle) | Windows Server 2022 lifecycle | 2024-06-04 (ms.date) | 2026-10-11 |
| S12 | Microsoft Learn (Lifecycle) | Windows Server 2019 lifecycle | 2024-06-04 (ms.date) | 2026-10-11 |
| S13 | Microsoft Learn (Lifecycle) | Windows Server 2016 lifecycle | 2024-06-04 (ms.date) | 2026-10-11 |
| S15 | Microsoft (Licensing Resources) | Getting Software Assurance | not stated | 2026-10-11 |
How it works
Enter hosts, sockets per host, physical cores per socket, Windows VMs per host and virtual cores per VM.
The calculator counts core licences with Microsoft's minimums of 8 per processor and 16 per server.
It then prices Windows Server 2025 Standard, Datacenter and Azure Arc pay-as-you-go at Microsoft's suggested prices, as retrieved on 2026-10-11, the data date at the top of the calculator. With JavaScript on, Show opens the arithmetic for each row.
On load the results show the defaults: 2 hosts, 2 sockets, 16 cores per socket, 12 VMs per host, 4 virtual cores per VM and a 3-year term.
Questions about this tool
Is anything I enter sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and stores or sends none of your inputs. The share link holds only your input values.
Standard or Datacenter: which is cheaper for my host?
It depends on how many VMs run on the host. Standard covers two VMs per full licensing of the host's cores and is stacked for more; Datacenter covers any number. The break-even line under the results gives the point for the host you entered.
Are CALs included?
No. Microsoft lists no stand-alone price for Windows Server User or Device CALs, so the calculator adds a CAL line only when you enter your own count and price under Optional.
Why is the per-VM option locked?
Microsoft allows licensing by VM only with subscription licences or active Software Assurance. Tick the Software Assurance box to show it. No Software Assurance price is added, because Microsoft publishes none.
Can I embed the calculator?
Yes. The embed code is on the data and methodology page, under Embed this calculator. Keep the attribution line under the frame; it is the only condition of use.
Sources, the full methodology and the embed code: data and methodology.