SQL 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 2017 being used as a database server are shown here by edition.

All three editions provide the same level of functionality for key features, including the following:

• JSON support for management of JSON document-based data formats
• Database compression for compression of stored data while at rest
• Always Encrypted, which provides encryption of data while at rest and while in transit
• Row-level security that provides fine-grain row-level access control
• Dynamics data masking that masks data values to protect sensitive data.

The feature mix changed with SQL Server 2016 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. 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.