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Free tool · six currencies · Microsoft list prices, September 2026
How many core licences you need, with the 8-per-processor and 16-per-server minimums applied, Standard against Datacenter side by side, CALs and RDS CALs included, in EUR, GBP, CHF, SEK, NOK or DKK — perpetual or subscription. Mixed hardware is fine: add a row per server type. Then request an invoice without leaving the page.
Step 1 of 3 · Start from your situation
Pick one and the calculator below fills with a typical configuration and ticks the services that usually come with it; then change the numbers to yours. Or skip straight to the numbers →
Dell, HPE or Lenovo box just arrived; domain, file server, Remote Desktop for 40 people.
Load this scenario →The vendor says Windows Server 2025 and SQL Standard; you came for the requirement, not the OS.
Load this scenario →Three hosts, VMs move between them; Standard against Datacenter is the whole question.
Load this scenario →Terminal server, home working, published applications: CALs plus RDS CALs.
Load this scenario →Support has ended; move to 2025, migrate what runs on it, or buy Extended Security Updates for a year.
Load this scenario →Evaluation editions in production, more instances than licences; get compliant at the right count, not the frightened one.
Load this scenario →Azure got expensive; on-premises again, with subscription so the licences can go back if you change your mind.
Load this scenario →Datacenter on every host, SQL Enterprise per core, and a delivery team.
Load this scenario →Skip the presets. The calculator opens blank: one server row, currency, licence type and payment model, and you fill in the rest.
Go to the calculator →Before buying, seven things decide the number: physical or virtual; how many processors; how many cores; how many users; Standard or Enterprise; how many VMs; on-premises or Azure. The calculator asks all seven. If you are unsure of any, ask an engineer — the licence count is usually the smallest part of what comes next.
Step 2 of 3 · Your numbers
Physical servers
One row per server type. If VMs move between hosts, set each host’s maximum to the peak it could carry.
| Name?A label for this server type so the estimate reads clearly: Hyper-V host, Domain controller, File server. It appears in the printed estimate and the invoice request. | Hosts?How many physical servers of this type. Count boxes, not virtual machines. Two identical Dell R760 servers in a cluster is 2. If servers differ, add a row per type instead of averaging. | CPUs per host?The number of physical processors, sometimes called sockets, in one server. On Windows: Task Manager, Performance tab, CPU, the line Sockets. On the invoice or spec sheet: 1P or 2P. Most servers have 1 or 2. | Cores per CPU?Physical cores in one processor, not threads. Task Manager, Performance, CPU shows Cores and Logical processors; use Cores. Or search the processor model, e.g. Xeon Silver 4410Y is 12 cores. Hyper-threading does not count. | Max VMs per host?The most Windows Server virtual machines that could run on one host at the same time, including after a failover. If VMs move between hosts, every host must be licensed for the peak it could carry. Bare metal with no VMs: 0. |
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Client Access Licences
Remote Desktop Services CALs are needed only for users who log on to a session host. External Connector replaces CALs for anonymous external users, one per server they reach.
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The rules this applies
Every number above comes from these six rules and the Microsoft price list. If a reseller’s quote does not follow them, ask why.
Whatever runs on the box, every core on it counts. Hyper-threading does not add cores; disabling cores in firmware does not remove them.
A single 6-core CPU is licensed as 8; a server with one CPU is licensed as 16. The minimum applies to every full set of licences, including the extra sets Standard needs for more VMs.
One full set of core licences covers the host OS plus two virtual machines. Each additional full set — same size, same minimums — adds two more. Ten VMs is five sets.
One full set of core licences, as many VMs as the hardware carries. It costs about 5.8 times Standard, so it wins once you need more than about eleven VMs per host — the calculator finds the exact point at your prices.
The pack count is the core-licence count divided by two. A 16-core pack is sold for Standard perpetual at a small discount; the calculator uses whichever is cheaper.
The same CAL covers every Windows Server the user reaches. User CALs suit staff with several devices; Device CALs suit shared machines with several users. RDS CALs are separate and additional.
Perpetual or subscription
The calculator prices all three. Here is how to read the comparison.
You own the licence for that version. No renewal, no upgrade to the next version, and passive failover rights need Software Assurance you do not have. Cheapest over five or more years on stable hardware.
Cancel or resize at each anniversary; always the current version; Azure Hybrid Benefit and failover rights included. Costs roughly half the perpetual price every year, so it overtakes perpetual in year three.
Same rights as 1-year, about a third cheaper per year, committed for three. The right answer when the hardware will outlive the term and you want the version and Azure rights that perpetual does not carry.
Windows Server 2025 prices
Microsoft’s published list prices (ERP) for the Europe region, September 2026, commercial licence type. These are the numbers the calculator uses; our price to you is lower and is confirmed on the invoice. Education and charity prices are in the calculator’s licence-type selector.
| Windows Server 2025 licence | EUR | GBP | CHF | SEK | NOK | DKK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard, 2-core pack, perpetual | EUR 157 | GBP 140 | CHF 181 | SEK 1,769 | NOK 1,817 | DKK 1,169 |
| Standard, 2-core pack, 1-year subscription | EUR 73 | GBP 65 | CHF 84 | SEK 823 | NOK 845 | DKK 543 |
| Standard, 2-core pack, 3-year subscription | EUR 188 | GBP 168 | CHF 216 | SEK 2,118 | NOK 2,176 | DKK 1,400 |
| Datacenter, 2-core pack, perpetual | EUR 905 | GBP 809 | CHF 1,042 | SEK 10,198 | NOK 10,476 | DKK 6,737 |
| Datacenter, 2-core pack, 1-year subscription | EUR 512 | GBP 458 | CHF 589 | SEK 5,769 | NOK 5,927 | DKK 3,812 |
| Datacenter, 2-core pack, 3-year subscription | EUR 1,070 | GBP 957 | CHF 1,232 | SEK 12,057 | NOK 12,386 | DKK 7,966 |
| User CAL, perpetual | EUR 54 | GBP 48 | CHF 62 | SEK 609 | NOK 625 | DKK 402 |
| Device CAL, perpetual | EUR 42 | GBP 38 | CHF 48 | SEK 473 | NOK 486 | DKK 313 |
| RDS User CAL, perpetual | EUR 186 | GBP 166 | CHF 214 | SEK 2,096 | NOK 2,153 | DKK 1,385 |
| RDS Device CAL, perpetual | EUR 186 | GBP 166 | CHF 214 | SEK 2,096 | NOK 2,153 | DKK 1,385 |
| External Connector, perpetual | EUR 2,615 | GBP 2,339 | CHF 3,011 | SEK 29,467 | NOK 30,271 | DKK 19,467 |
A 16-core server on Standard is 8 packs: EUR 157 × 8 = EUR 1,256. The same server on Datacenter: EUR 905 × 8 = EUR 7,240. Plus one CAL per user or device. Source: Microsoft price list, Europe region, 2026-09-01; every figure on this site carries its source at /facts. Spelling note: we write “licence” in British English; the licenses, core licenses and license calculator you may have searched for are the same thing.
Questions
At Microsoft’s European list price, a Windows Server 2025 Standard 2-core pack is EUR 157 perpetual, so a 16-core server is EUR 1,256 before CALs. The 1-year subscription is EUR 73 per pack per year. Our price is lower and confirmed on the invoice.
EUR 905 per 2-core pack perpetual at list price, so EUR 7,240 for a 16-core server with unlimited virtual machines. The 3-year subscription is EUR 1,070 per pack for the term.
A Windows Server 2025 User CAL is EUR 54 perpetual at list price; a Device CAL is EUR 42. An RDS User CAL for Remote Desktop is EUR 186 on top. Prices in GBP, CHF, SEK, NOK and DKK are in the table above.
All physical cores on the server, with a minimum of 8 per processor and 16 per server, sold in 2-core packs. A server with two 6-core CPUs is licensed as 16 cores, not 12.
Standard covers two virtual machines per full set of core licences; each extra pair of VMs needs another full set. Datacenter covers unlimited VMs for one set at roughly 5.8 times the price. At Microsoft’s current European list prices Datacenter is cheaper from about twelve VMs per host; the calculator computes the exact crossover at your prices and currency.
Yes. Every user or device that accesses the server needs a Windows Server CAL, in addition to the core licences. Users who log on to a Remote Desktop session host also need an RDS CAL. External anonymous users can be covered by an External Connector per server instead.
Per year, a 1-year subscription costs roughly half the perpetual price, so perpetual is cheaper from the third year on stable hardware. The subscription includes version upgrades, Azure Hybrid Benefit and failover rights that a perpetual licence without Software Assurance does not carry.
Yes. Add a row per server type — a pair of small domain controllers and a large Hyper-V host, for instance — and the calculator applies the minimums to each and totals them.
Microsoft’s published list prices for the Europe region, in the currency Microsoft sets for each country, dated September 2026. Our price to you is lower and depends on volume and term; it is confirmed on the pro-forma invoice.
EUR, GBP, CHF, SEK, NOK and DKK for the 45 countries our EU entity invoices. Customers in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Australia and Canada are invoiced in USD, AUD or CAD by the entity for their region; ask and we quote in that currency.
Licensing SQL Server too? SQL Server 2025 calculator → · Full price list: every subscription in six currencies →
What usually comes with this
Most Windows Server enquiries start as a licence count and become a project, because the answers to these are usually yes. Tick what applies and it is added to your request; each links to the service and its published price.
Also worth asking before you buy: do users connect over Remote Desktop (RDS CALs, above); are the VMs going to move between hosts (licence each host for the peak); is Microsoft 365 already in place (Entra ID join may replace an on-premises domain entirely — Intune and Entra ID →).
Step 3 of 3 · Request an invoice
The configuration above is attached to the request automatically. You get back a confirmed price — below list — and a pro-forma invoice within one business day. Nothing is billed until you approve it.
Also quote me for
Prices shown are Microsoft’s list prices for the Europe region; our price to you is lower and confirmed on the invoice. Customers in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Australia and Canada are invoiced in USD, AUD or CAD by the entity for their region — ask and we quote in that currency. Privacy.