Updated: July 15, 2020 (December 19, 2016)
Charts & IllustrationsSQL Server Database Feature Comparison
SQL Server’s database engine allows users or systems to query or store data in columns and rows. The key features for SQL Server 2016 being used as a database server are shown here by edition.
The feature mix changed with SP1, released in Nov. 2016, improving the performance and security capabilities of Express and Standard. Notably, Express and Standard editions gained limited versions of In-Memory online transaction processing (OLTP), ColumnStore, and database compression features that formerly required Enterprise. In-Memory OLTP and ColumnStore features are constrained and may not provide significant benefit in a production environment. However, their availability could help developers create applications using those features that work more consistently across editions without modification.
Other changes include Express gaining the ability to function as a PolyBase compute node (something already available in Standard), although using PolyBase still requires an Enterprise edition server to serve as a PolyBase head node.
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