SQL Server Download: 2022, 2019 & Express Editions

Before you download SQL Server — or hand the install to a SQL Server support team — pick the right version and edition. Microsoft distributes every free edition (Express, Developer, Evaluation) from its own servers at no cost, and the download you want depends on whether the instance is for production, development, or a time-limited trial. This page lists the official download sources for SQL Server 2025, 2022, and 2019, the hard limits of each free edition, and the license terms that decide where you can run each one.

Official download links

Every link below points to microsoft.com. There is no reason to download SQL Server from a third-party mirror; the installers are free and the official copies are the only ones with intact signatures.

All of these are web installers (SSEI files) of a few megabytes. On first run they offer a basic install, a custom install, or a "Download Media" option that pulls the full ISO/CAB for offline installs. For servers without internet access, run the installer on a connected machine, choose Download Media, and carry the ISO across.

Paid editions (Standard, Enterprise, Web) are not public downloads. They come through the Microsoft 365 admin center, the Volume Licensing Service Center, a CSP partner, or preinstalled on cloud images. If you need production licensing, that path — not this page — is where the media comes from.

Edition differences

The free editions differ in engine limits and in what the license allows, not in installer mechanics. The numbers below are from Microsoft's SQL Server 2022 editions documentation; the 2019 limits in the 2019 editions documentation are the same for Express.

Three details worth noting. The Express 10 GB cap is per database, not per instance — an instance can host many 10 GB databases. The 1,410 MB buffer pool cap limits how much data Express keeps cached in memory; larger working sets fall back to disk reads. And Express has no SQL Server Agent, so scheduled jobs (backups included) need Task Scheduler with sqlcmd or an external scheduler. Starting with SQL Server 2025, the plain Express installer includes everything that previously required the separate "Express with Advanced Services" package.

Which edition to pick

• Development or test machine: Developer edition. It is the full Enterprise feature set at no cost, so anything you build against it behaves identically on a licensed production server.
• Small production workload: Express edition — the only free edition licensed for production. Suitable while every database stays under 10 GB and the load fits in 4 cores and 1.4 GB of buffer pool. Line-of-business apps, small web backends, and many vendor applications ship on it.
• Evaluating features before buying Standard or Enterprise: Evaluation edition. Full Enterprise features for 180 days, after which the instance stops accepting connections until upgraded with a product key.
• Production beyond Express limits: Standard or Enterprise through a licensing channel. Express-to-Standard is an in-place edition upgrade that keeps databases intact.
• Local development without a service: LocalDB, a variant of Express included with Visual Studio, which runs on demand in user mode instead of as a Windows service.

Install steps

1. Run the downloaded installer (for example SQL2022-SSEI-Expr.exe) as administrator.
2. Choose Basic for a default instance with default settings, or Custom to set the instance name, data directories, and authentication mode. Express installs as a named instance called SQLEXPRESS by default.
3. In a Custom install, pick Windows authentication or mixed mode. Mixed mode requires an sa password; use it only if an application demands SQL logins.
4. After setup completes, note the connection string shown on the finish screen — localhost\SQLEXPRESS for a default Express install.
5. Remote connections are off by default on Express. Enable TCP/IP in SQL Server Configuration Manager and open port 1433 in the firewall if other machines need to connect.

Hardware requirements are modest: 64-bit processor, 1 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended), about 6 GB of disk for the engine. SQL Server 2022 and 2025 require Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016 and later; all current versions also ship for Linux (RHEL, Ubuntu, SLES) and as container images.

Which version to download

If nothing constrains you, download SQL Server 2025 — it is the current release with the longest support runway, and its Express installer carries the full former Advanced Services feature set. Download 2022 when a vendor application certifies against it, or when your tooling has not yet been validated on 2025. Download 2019 only to match an existing estate or a vendor requirement; it remains under extended support, but new deployments on it shorten your upgrade cycle for no benefit. Mainstream support for SQL Server 2019 ended in February 2025, so it receives security fixes only. Databases upgrade forward across versions but never restore backward — a backup taken on 2022 will not restore on a 2019 instance, which matters if a vendor still runs the older version.

SSMS is a separate download

None of these installers include a management interface. SQL Server Management Studio is a separate free download and installs independently of the engine — the setup wizard only links to it. Get the current release from Microsoft and see our SQL Server Management Studio guide for the download link, version compatibility, and first-connection steps. One SSMS install manages every engine version back to SQL Server 2014, so install it once regardless of which engine version you downloaded. If you are deciding between engine versions first, our SQL Server versions reference lists build numbers and support end dates.

License notes

• Express is free for development, test, and production, and can be redistributed with applications under Microsoft's redistribution terms. No client access licenses (CALs) are required.
• Developer is free but licensed strictly for development, test, and demonstration. Running a business workload on Developer edition is a license violation, even though the software never enforces it — this is a common audit finding.
• Evaluation expires 180 days after install. Plan the upgrade path before deploying anything on it; an expired instance refuses connections until a product key is applied.
• Standard, Enterprise, and Web are licensed per core or under server + CAL (Standard only). Terms are in Microsoft's SQL Server licensing documentation.

FAQ

Is SQL Server free to download?

Yes. Express, Developer, and Evaluation editions are free downloads from microsoft.com. Only Express is licensed for production; Developer is development-only and Evaluation expires after 180 days.

What is the difference between SQL Server Express and Developer?

Express is a limited engine (10 GB per database, 1,410 MB buffer pool, 4 cores) that may run in production. Developer is the unrestricted Enterprise feature set but licensed only for non-production use.

Can I upgrade Express to a paid edition later?

Yes. Setup supports an in-place edition upgrade from Express to Standard or Enterprise with a product key; databases carry over unchanged.