Windows Server Licensing Calculator
Every physical core is licensed, with minimums. Enter your hosts and VMs: the calculator applies the 8-core-per-processor and 16-core-per-server floors, stacks Standard to cover your VMs, compares it with Datacenter, and adds the CALs you need.
The rules this calculator applies
Every physical core is licensed, with minimums
Windows Server 2025 Standard and Datacenter are licensed per physical core. Each processor counts as at least 8 cores and each server as at least 16, even if it has fewer. Licenses are sold in 2-core and 16-core packs.
Standard covers two VMs; stack it for more
Licensing every core of a host with Standard lets you run two Windows Server virtual machines on it. To run two more, license all the cores again. Ten VMs on one host means five full sets of Standard licenses.
Datacenter covers unlimited VMs
License every core with Datacenter once and you can run as many Windows Server VMs on that host as it can hold. At list price the break-even is around 11 VMs per host for 16 to 32 cores; the calculator shows the exact point for your core count and purchase type.
CALs are still needed
Every user or device that accesses the server needs a Windows Server CAL, unless their Microsoft 365 E3, E5 or F3 license already includes the right. Remote Desktop Services needs its own RDS CAL on top.
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