With SQL Server 2025, that option is gone.
Microsoft has confirmed that SQL Server 2022 is the last version supporting Web Edition. From 2025 onward, if you want to stay current, Standard Edition becomes the default replacement — and that’s where the real problem starts.
In one of my Azure VM–based projects, we were running SQL Server Web Edition on a VM with 12 vCores and 48 GB RAM. The SQL licensing cost was roughly 70 USD per month, fully acceptable for the workload and business value.
After switching the same VM to SQL Server Standard Edition, the SQL license component alone jumped to ~870 USD per month.
Same VM.
Same workload.
Same databases.
Almost 12× higher SQL cost.
What changed — in practice
- SQL Server Web Edition is discontinued in 2025
- SQL Server 2022 Web Edition remains supported, but only as a temporary safe harbor until 2033
- Standard Edition becomes the lowest “future-proof” option
- Licensing is per-core, and costs scale aggressively with CPU count
- Even modest VMs suddenly become expensive SQL hosts
My takeaway
SQL Server Web Edition disappearing is not just a line in the release notes — it’s a budget-changing event.
If you’re running Web Edition today, my advice is simple: audit your environments now and calculate what Standard Edition will really cost you — before SQL Server 2025 forces the conversation.
Sometimes the most expensive SQL feature is not a feature at all — it’s the edition.