Microsoft licenses Windows Server by physical core, not by server. Its current licensing guidance says you license every physical core, with a minimum of 8 core licenses per processor and 16 per server, sold in 2-packs and 16-packs. So a small 4-core box and a mid-size dual-CPU box can cost the same to license, because both sit under the 16-core floor.
Edition changes what you’re allowed to run. Standard covers two operating system environments, physical or virtual. Datacenter covers unlimited VMs on that host. Neither one covers the people connecting: Microsoft requires a base CAL for every user or device accessing the server, and RDS CALs on top for Remote Desktop session hosts.
On a rented server, you don’t buy any of this upfront. Hosting providers rent Windows Server monthly through Microsoft’s Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA), and that’s the line on your invoice.
| Windows Server Standard | Windows Server Datacenter | |
|---|---|---|
| Price on our order form today | $50/month | $300/month |
| Windows VMs / OS environments | 2 | Unlimited |
| Where it fits | One server, one or two Windows instances | Hyper-V hosts running many Windows VMs |
| Versions | 2016 and 2019 on the order form; 2022 and 2025 on request | 2016 and 2019 on the order form; 2022 and 2025 on request |
Our pick for a new build: Standard, on Windows Server 2022 or 2025, unless you’re building a Hyper-V host. Request 2022 or 2025 through the quote form while we add them to the order forms. Datacenter only pays for itself when you’re packing a lot of Windows VMs onto one machine. Running more than 16 physical cores? Ask us on the quote form and we’ll price the license for that build.
Need Windows desktops for a team rather than one server? Our remote desktop hosting plans start at $25 a month for two RDP users on a cloud VPS, or $248 a month for ten users on a dedicated server.