Main Limitations of SQL Server Express Editions

SQL Server Express Editions are a handy solution for small businesses with small databases with no special requirements about performance, high availability, encryption, etc.

However, the Express Editions of SQL Server, even free, as expected, have certain limitations. In the below table I have gathered some of these limitations which I can consider are the limitations someone might want to check as a first look. In the end of each column, there is a URL with more information about all the limitations of the express edition for each SQL Server version.

Main Limitations of SQL Server Express Editions (note: this is not the full limitations list)
Feature/SQL Server Version	SQL Server 2005 Express	SQL Server 2008 R2 Express	SQL Server 2012 Express	SQL Server 2014 Express	SQL Server 2016 SP1 Express
Maximum number of CPU/Cores	1 socket or 4 cores	1 socket or 4 cores	1 socket or 4 cores	1 socket or 4 cores	1 socket or 4 cores
Maximum memory per instance	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB
Maximum database size	4 GB	10 GB	10 GB	10 GB	10 GB
In-memory OLTP	N/A	N/A	N/A	No	Yes
Always Encrypted	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Row-Level Security	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Dynamic Data Masking	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
Partitioning	No	No	No	No	Yes
AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Instances	No	No	No	No	No
Always On Availability Groups	N/A	N/A	No	No	No
Transparent database encryption	N/A	No	No	No	No
In-Memory Columnstore	N/A	N/A	No	No	Yes
Polybase	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
URL for more info/full limitations list	Click Here	Click Here	Click Here	Click Here	Click Here
For more articles please check: The SQL Server and .NET Blog			Article by Artemakis Artemiou, Microsoft Data Platform MVP