SQL Server Cloud Licensing Calculator

Model the cost impact of Azure Hybrid Benefit and Bring Your Own License (BYOL) across different cloud providers.

License Strategy Comparison

License-Included Cost

$4,500

BYOL / AHB Modeled Cost$2,000

Estimated Monthly Savings

$2,500

Annualized Savings

$30,000

55.6% reduction

Licensing Risk & Break-Even

Disclaimer: This is a cost modeling and architecture guidance tool, not legal licensing advice. Always consult your Microsoft licensing specialist or EA agreement before finalizing.

Break-even Notes: If you are buying new Software Assurance solely to use Azure Hybrid Benefit, you must factor the upfront SA cost against the annualized savings to calculate true break-even (usually 7-10 months).

Action: If you are migrating to AWS RDS, note that Microsoft licensing restricts bringing on-premise licenses to RDS for SQL Server in many cases (License Included is often required). BYOL on AWS generally requires EC2 Dedicated Hosts. Azure Hybrid Benefit allows 180 days of dual-use rights during migration.

The License-Included Trap

SQL Server Enterprise licensing can easily exceed the cost of the underlying cloud compute infrastructure. Defaulting to the "License-Included" billing model means paying retail rate for licenses you may already own through on-premises Software Assurance.

Recommendation: Audit your existing Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) before migrating. If you have active Software Assurance, Azure Hybrid Benefit can significantly reduce your Azure SQL DB and Managed Instance spend. For AWS, review the specific BYOL policies for RDS vs EC2 Dedicated Hosts.