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SQL Server 2025 Developer Edition – One size fits all

Microsoft has released SQL Server 2025, bringing big improvements to its main database engine. This version focuses on AI features and better performance, aiming to meet the needs of today’s applications, from critical business systems to cloud-connected setups.

Finally: New Developer Editions

For years, Microsoft received feedback about a major gap in its licensing. The Developer edition always matched the Enterprise edition, letting developers use all features for free. But many organizations use the Standard edition in production, which sometimes caused issues. Now, Microsoft has split the Developer Edition into two: Standard Developer and Enterprise Developer.

One of the most requested features in SQL Server 2025 is the formal split of the Developer edition into two distinct development-only editions:

  • Standard Developer Edition matches the features of SQL Server 2025 Standard edition and is licensed only for development and testing. Apps built with this edition can move to Standard production environments without any missing features.
  • Enterprise Developer Edition has all the features of SQL Server 2025 Enterprise edition and is also for development and testing only. It lets developers build and test with the full Enterprise feature set, so everything works smoothly when moving to Enterprise production.
Remember, both editions are free as long as you use them for non-production work. Using them in production breaks the license terms and could lead to extra fees, so stick to non-production environments.

Standard Edition Improvements

The Standard edition also got some extra benefits in SQL Server 2025. Here are the three biggest improvements, in my view:
  • Increased compute limits — up to 32 cores and 256 GB of buffer pool memory.  Who doesn’t love higher hardware ceilings?  Yes please!
  • Resource Governor improvements, including better control over tempdb, help manage workloads more effectively. This is a big benefit for Standard edition users, making it easier to fine-tune performance for customer needs.
  • Optimized locking – this offers an improved transaction locking mechanism, signficantly reducing locking and block issues within concurrent transactions.

There a multitude of new features released within SQL Server 2025 so be sure to check out all the new features to see what your organization can take advantage of! Check out this Microsoft Learn article to see more!

Summary

SQL Server 2025 brings the data platform up to date for modern applications, with new developer options, AI, better performance, and cloud features. The new developer editions help reduce risk and cost while streamlining development efforts. I think this release is a big step forward for Microsoft’s platform and am excited to see what Microsoft brings to the platform next!

What is your favorite new feature of SQL Server 2025?  Leave a comment below and let me know!

© 2026, John Morehouse. All rights reserved.

The post SQL Server 2025 Developer Edition – One size fits all first appeared on John Morehouse.

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