--- title: Microsoft SQL Server Reviews meta_title: 'Microsoft SQL Server Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 2284 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Microsoft SQL Server works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.4 review_count: 2284 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-07-21' parent_category: name: Database Software url: https://www.g2.com/categories/database-software --- # Microsoft SQL Server Reviews **Vendor:** Microsoft **Category:** [Relational Databases](https://www.g2.com/categories/relational-databases) **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 2,284 ## About Microsoft SQL Server SQL Server 2017 brings the power of SQL Server to Windows, Linux and Docker containers for the first time ever, enabling developers to build intelligent applications using their preferred language and environment. Experience industry-leading performance, rest assured with innovative security features, transform your business with AI built-in, and deliver insights wherever your users are with mobile BI. ## Microsoft SQL Server Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users appreciate the **ease of use** of Microsoft SQL Server, enjoying its intuitive GUI and powerful capabilities. (32 reviews) - Users appreciate the **robust database management** of Microsoft SQL Server, enabling effective data handling and user administration. (29 reviews) - Users value the **exceptional performance** of Microsoft SQL Server, noting its powerful capabilities and ease of use. (25 reviews) - Users appreciate the **enterprise-grade security and powerful features** of Microsoft SQL Server, enhancing peace of mind and usability. (23 reviews) - Users appreciate the **easy integrations** of Microsoft SQL Server, enhancing their data management and analytics workflows seamlessly. (22 reviews) - Users love the **seamless integration** of Microsoft SQL Server with other Microsoft products, enhancing productivity significantly. (21 reviews) - Reliability (18 reviews) - Users appreciate the **ease of data management** with Microsoft SQL Server, enjoying its simplicity and flexibility for various applications. (16 reviews) - Setup Ease (13 reviews) - Users appreciate the **incredible efficiency** of Microsoft SQL Server, making it the go-to standard for database management. (12 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find Microsoft SQL Server's **high licensing costs** prohibitive, particularly affecting smaller businesses and startups. (21 reviews) - Users struggle with the **high licensing costs** of Microsoft SQL Server, making it challenging for smaller businesses. (12 reviews) - Users note that the **high licensing costs** of Microsoft SQL Server can be challenging for smaller businesses and projects. (12 reviews) - Users find the **licensing costs to be prohibitively high** , especially for small businesses and projects. (11 reviews) - Users find **performance issues** with SQL Server, particularly regarding tuning, scaling, and resource consumption on older systems. (11 reviews) - Users experience **slow performance** with SQL Server, especially when running alongside other software and during data searches. (11 reviews) - Users find the **user interface complex** and not intuitive, leading to a steeper learning curve for newcomers. (8 reviews) - Difficult Learning (7 reviews) - High Hardware Requirements (7 reviews) - Technical Difficulties (7 reviews) ## Microsoft SQL Server Reviews ### 1. 9/10 recommended Sql for financial services **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Akshat S. | Credit Manager, Financial Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** One of the most amazing features of Microsoft SQL Server without any doubt is its enterprise-grade security and compliance features.​ For us at Sabkaloan.com, keeping customers' financial data safe is not only a nice-to-have feature; it is our legal and moral responsibility. Microsoft SQL Server offers a set of tools which ensure our peace of mind. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** On the one hand, Microsoft SQL Server is a great tool. However, my primary dislike for it is one simple but very influential business-related factor: the cost and complexity. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server is a means to the major challenges of data chaos and slow, risky decision-making.​ What I get is the power to make quick, sure, data-backed decisions that maintain both security and scalability. ### 2. SQL Server is great. Gets the job done, doesn't crash, and has been completely reliable for us **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 19, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like the easy to understand user interface. Database hierarchy on the left, and any scripting or other windows on the right. It's easy to code stored procedures, see the layout of databases, and other information at my fingertips. I use it all the time in conjunction with SQL Management Studio. It was superbly easy to set up and use. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I've never been a fan of the intricacies of database security - I leave that for the database administrators. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We use it as the backbone for mission critical systems that need to stay up and running. All of our servers are on premise, which makes it easy to administer and not having to worry about internet or cloud lags. ### 3. Widely used for its robust features, scalability, and integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Gunawant B. | Analysis Master Trainer, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 19, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Security: SQL Server offers comprehensive security features, including encryption, row-level security, dynamic data masking, and integration with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), ensuring data protection from unauthorized access. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Cost and Licensing Complexity: SQL Server can be expensive, particularly for large-scale deployments or those requiring advanced features. The licensing models can also be intricate and challenging to navigate, leading to higher total cost of ownership compared to open-source alternatives. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Solves the problem of efficiently storing, managing, and accessing large volumes of relational data by providing optimized performance, robust security, high availability, and seamless integration with Microsoft and cloud services. ### 4. Microsoft SQL Server, more than a RDBMS **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Miguel F. | Tech Lead - .NET Software Architect & Cloud Solutions Architect, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 05, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The capabilities to manage not only relational data, but documents like XML or JSON. Great for DR, with nice RTO and RPO. Awesome for replication like read replicas with log shipping. Flexible for user administration and robust permission sets. Great integration with OS, Windows, obviously. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I only dislike the prices and the integration with Linux, no capabilities to execute commands. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Keep relational data in a reliable state make it perfect for OLTP applications and give the ability to separate read replicas for OLAP purposes. Nice capabilities for ETL/ELT with polibase, making data warehousing/lake housing a easy reality. ### 5. Reliable, High-Performance Data Management with Seamless Integration **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rajan S. | Product Support Analyst II, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 01, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like Microsoft SQL Server for its reliability, strong performance, easy integration with other Microsoft tools, and powerful features for managing and analyzing data **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** At times, it can feel a bit heavy, and the licensing costs may be quite high, particularly for smaller teams or projects. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server helps me store, manage, and analyze data efficiently, which improves reporting, speeds up decision-making, and keeps everything organized and accessible. ### 6. I regularly use this database for integration with Power BI and storing the data **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pranay Kumar M. | Business Intelligence Analyst, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The user-friendly, GUI, dedicated SQL dialect for more advanced queries. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** To see the output, we have to select the entire query and click execute. The syntax is not straight forward like MySQL. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is used to store large amount of data and information retrieval by using the SQL queries and I mainly used this to integrate with Power BI. ### 7. Microsoft SQL Server is more than a user-friendly and easy-to-manage relational database. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sergio C. | I.T. Officer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 17, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It seamlessly integrates with my ASP.NET and PHP applications, making it my preferred choice for development. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I don't like that it takes a long time to load. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It provides a robust, centralized platform for my applications, e.g. addressing challenges that are common in managing systems like employee leave and purchase requisitions. ### 8. Microsoft SQL Server Review: Powerful and Scalable Data Management **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vaishali R. | Associate software engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 09, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I like best about Microsoft SQL Server is its robust performance, scalability, and advanced security features. The platform offers excellent tools for data management, backup, and recovery, along with seamless integration with other Microsoft products. Its intuitive interface and strong support for complex queries make it ideal for large enterprises managing high volumes of data. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** What I dislike about Microsoft SQL Server is its high licensing costs, which can be a barrier for smaller businesses or startups. Additionally, it can be resource-intensive, requiring significant hardware and infrastructure for optimal performance, especially in large-scale environments. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server solves problems related to data storage, management, and scalability by providing a reliable, high-performance database solution. It streamlines complex queries, supports real-time data analytics, and ensures data security. This benefits me by enabling efficient management of large datasets, seamless integration with other systems, and the ability to scale as needed while maintaining consistent performance. ### 9. The best enterprise database engine in the market **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jorge Y. | Software developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 26, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Everything. It is the easiest to use, the most powerfull in the market, it allow you manage the database, the users, etc. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** One of the worst thing about Microsoft SQL Server is that you need to pay to use it in all of their functions **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We need a powerfull database server, and we think that Microsoft has the most powerful in the market. It allow you to apply differents roles to every user, so you can. You can secure your databases as much as you want. You can manage all of the features of the server ### 10. All-in-One Data Platform with Powerful Performance and Seamless Microsoft Integration **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer & Network Security | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 06, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It’s an all‑in‑one data platform. Performance tuning is powerful and surprisingly friendly.High availability options are mature.It plays nicely with the Microsoft ecosystem **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Licensing costs can be steep.Windows‑centric roots still show. High availability can be complex. Scaling out is harder than scaling up **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Storing and organizing large amounts of data. Ensuring data is safe, backed up, and always available. Integrating data from multiple systems ### 11. One of the best relational database engine ever **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mariano C. | Gerente TI, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It's a powerful Relational database engine, which improves every time with new useful features **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** SQL Server is expensive, especially the Enterprise edition, Linux versions exist now but aren’t as optimized **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** On premises database software for utilities, Complement apps for the current ERP ### 12. Excellent Database Manager **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rafael L. | Analista de infraestuctura, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 17, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Manage database, advantage of centralizing all the DBs of our systems **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I haven't found anything not useful, I take advantage of the tool to the fullest known. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** so far in ruble in which we develop we have not had that big problem ### 13. SQL is very usefull with All versions **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Alexander Marra M. | Arquiteto de software, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 26, 2017 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The Express version is flexible enought to attend a number of small companies, and can be use as BI tool storage for this companies also. The easy way to connect the database to another tool, like Excel, PowerBI or any kind of BI tool like Qlik View, Tableau etc. The version of Microsoft SQL Express is very complete and attend many sizes of business. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The database is target of many attacks from it's SA account, this must came disabled by default and just after the instalation, some of 30 seconds, the attacks starts, with many requests per second, need to improve the firewall to prevent these attacks, or put the SQL Server inside of a VPN and local network to avoid these attacks. **Recommendations to others considering Microsoft SQL Server:** Pay attention to indexes, and types of relations, try to keep the KPI's well identified, with the dimensions and facts tables well directed and considering to use some procedures as part of solution to business layers. Some programs have to transfer large number of rows instead to take some filters before request the results and this is very usefull when you build web and mobile applications. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Many things are developed with Microsoft SQL, from simple database management to CRM and BI, many solutions are develop connecting SQL Express to Excel, Power BI, Tableau or Qlik View. The vast information on internet and collaborator are good also. ### 14. Excellent Tool for Effortless Query Solving **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** HARSH R. | Data Analyst, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It is very useful for solving queries and is easy to use when working with queries. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Occasionally, I encounter some errors, but it's not clear to me what causes them. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** There is absolutely nothing wrong; I haven't encountered any problems at all. ### 15. Microsoft SQL Server - Very Reliable **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** MS SQL Server has been extremely reliable. The syntax ports well with other query based languages and I find myself using this framework for most or all my projects because of how much documentation and support there is online and how easy it is to integrate and implement solutions. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Certain advanced features can be complicated. However there is a lot of support and resources available. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Storing data for various software applications ### 16. Review of MS SQL Server **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer & Network Security | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 05, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like features of MS SQL Server as relational db system. We have build whole system on it. I would like to recommend option for exporting e-r diagram from tables. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Licensing costs could be hight in case you have huge resource consumption. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Our organization relies on SQL Server as the core database platform for managing our entire eshop system, and it has proven to be a secure, scalable, and high-performance solution for this mission-critical function. ### 17. Easy and Complete SQL Engine **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** - Easy to administrate - Compatible with Microsoft tools - Free and Paid versions - Multiple Engine versions - Very Powerful **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** - Sometimes as Windows dependent, you have to restart the service or reboot the OS where it is running **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** - Production Database - Databases Integrations - Multiple softwares using different Databases ### 18. Good alternative to Oracle **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Civic & Social Organization | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 06, 2026 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Simple to use and set up if you have a base in SQL. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** It uses a lot of resources on the server. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It allows grouping different databases on the same server. ### 19. SQL Server: A Pillar of Secure, Scalable Data Architecture **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Kingshuk S. | Senior Security Architect, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 16, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Robust with ease of use and integration with multiple applications. It is also ease to implement **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Sometime fine tune of database is challenging with respect to application requirments **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Helps in managing complex data and provides security by design principles. The application has well defined security controls for compliance ### 20. Microsoft SQL Server: An Analytical Review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Pradeep Kumar S. | Technical Support Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** High performance with smooth query optimization. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** offers excellent security features, keeping sensitive data safe. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft SQL Server helps me manage large volumes of data efficiently, ensures data security, and provides powerful reporting features. This benefits me by saving time, improving decision-making, and ensuring data accuracy. ### 21. SQl-server-review **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Neelam P. | SQL DBA, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 20, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Integrations with microsoft azure, power bi, excel etc Ease of use HA/DR Performance tuning tools **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Licensing costs Version compatability issues Not open source **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Performance bottlenecks. HA/DR- point in time recover Auditing and monitoring logins ETL Creating optimised viwes, stored procedures. ### 22. Easy to learn and work with MS SQL server **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Himasha P. | Information Technology Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 02, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Ease of integration with Microsoft power automate flows. I have created views and have run the scripts on data too. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The design part of the view sometimes return errors while the query works successfully. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have 2 sources of data for the punch details of the employees here. One from the ERP system and One from the payment software. MS SQL has made it easy to connect these 2 sets of data together and do comparisons on it. ### 23. Data Analytics with Microsoft SQL Server **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Darshika V. | Data Analyst, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 15, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The best thing about Microsost SQL Server is that it is user friendly. It is easy to integrate other tools like PowerBI, Excel with it which indeeds helps in streamlining workflows with ease.It provides advanced security feature which includes encryption and authetication making it a reliable tool. Microsoft offer many support channel. it includes 24/7 assistance and a diverse knowledge base. It is also useful for daily usage whether it's querying data from a database or generating reports. The installation and setup process of SQL server is straighforward. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Although SQL Server is user-friendly, yet some features of it might seem challenging to beginners. For larger systems,setting up SQL server could take up ample amount of time which is a downside. Customer support is good but sometimes the response time could be high for things which has higher urgency. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** 1. It helps save large amount of data in an organized way (normalisation). A proper schema (star, snowflake) can be created in Microsoft SQL Server which helps in arranging data in a structure way making it easy for data analysis. With the help of SSRS (built-in tool), it is easy to create reports in no time. Because of it's advanced security features, the data is now entirely secured and trusted. Various tasks like alerts, updates etc could be automated which indeed reduced the manual work. ### 24. SQL Server Review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Brunda K. | Analytics, Hospital & Health Care, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 28, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The best software which I use daily to analyze data **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Nothing as such negatives, sometimes the server is slow we should wait a long time to get a single query output, but server problem is common wherever you go **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I gone through only server problem only sometimes other than this no other such problems ### 25. Solid SQL server **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mahmoud E. | Senior Planning Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 21, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Consistently stable, needs no special drivers on windows environments and secure **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Nothing really, it is a stable solution. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** normal SQL databases ### 26. Easy-to-use interface of Microsoft SQL **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 18, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server is a database management system. It is widely used in many companies. It is very stable and can handle large volumes of data at a time. It is secure enough and roles can be assigned to users for access to the database. You can also use the SQL Server Reporting Services for analysing data. It is easy to get help from the Microsoft support team for any issues. Replication of a database is easy to do. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** It utilizes a lot of resources on the system that it is installed on. This can slow down the system thus making it difficult to use. Regular maintenance and monitoring is required. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps store large volumes of data and is easily compatible with automation tools like RPA Automation Anywhere and Microsoft Power Automate. Procedures/Functions can be written for specific data requirements. ### 27. SQL server review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Wonu O. | Spears assist intern, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 13, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I love how they immediately let me know of my errors and the exact place the error is located **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** There is nothing I dislike about sql server. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** The issue with my data not being structured and not being able to find specific pinpoints of my data. ### 28. The standard tool for SQL database **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chandra L. | Senior Analyst, Enhanced Analytics, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 12, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I think this is the industry standard for SQL database, easy to use and learn, taught in most universities as the basis of SQL database. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Advanced stuff are not that easy to learn, would be better if there are easy to read documentation for advanced things like SSIS, indexing, etc. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Data storage and automation, integration with Tableau dashboard, data processing for sales reporting ### 29. MSSQL Server review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Thakgalo S. | Software Developer, Manufacturing, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 04, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Easy to learn syntax and well documented learning material. it also follow the statandard SQL syntax. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Lack of protection against deleting the entire table since it does not make provision of where clause mandatory. When you have sub-query on your query it allows the use of main query fields in the sub-query without explicitly referencing the main query table name or aliase, if this was done in error it will not raise any syntax error, it will just use the field of the main query if it's not found in the sub-query resulting with unexpected (and often unnoticed) results. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Management of large data that need to be accessed on demand. Most of the application I develop are data-driven and are access my multi users which are not technical, so it helps storing and retrieving the data that I present to my end users. ### 30. Great Relational Database Management Tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ankita A. | Associate, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 26, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Best place where your Data is securely stored, query and analyse easily with query language. Outstanding Relational Database management application for big data. Easily store data in relational form and query that with query language. High speed processing with ACID properties. Data transfer is also easy with Structured query language. Sql helps you to interact with database with 100% uptime. Using it as a developer from last 4+ years. Worked with so many banking client and other domain also , they all used the SqL server because of the high performance. Backups is also very helpful. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Found difficulty while integrated with non Microsoft tool. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** -Can handle huge amout of data with ease. -Availability of support is always quick. - Easily create database and transfer data. -integration with Analytics tool like Tableau and power Bi is give you amazing result. -weathers it's direct query mode or import mode , it's alwasys helpful in power bi. ### 31. The statement is expressing an opinion that SQL Server is superior. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ahamed H. | CONFIGURATION SPECIALIST, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 27, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Advanced functionality with less complexity. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Sometimes there is a memory-based error. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Integration, implementation, and automation issues. ### 32. Famous Microsoft SQL Server **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Abhiram J. | Data Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 22, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL Server has robust Database Management System which supports and stored operational data **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** None, it has a rich UI and very simple navigations **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Storing your business day to day operational and transactional details ### 33. Everyday savior SQL for almost 3 years **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** PRAISY S. | Senior Consultant - Package Implementation ORACLE, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 20, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Everything about SQL is great. How can a whole database be created, modified, and updated all at once on a platform? Complex logic can be written in a very effective and easy-to-understand way for third parties. Learning the syntax is comfortable and simple. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** There is nothing specific. We have all the documentation and customer support if we have any doubt. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** My company requests on a day-to-day basis to create complex logic data and analysis from millions of databases, and I have to join multiple tables and multiple records. But everything compiles smoothly, and it can fetch any limit of data. Data can be extracted in any form of format file. ### 34. SQL SERVER **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** prashnat l. | ASST IT MANAGER, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2025 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** QUERY PERFORMANCE ,ALWAYS ON, IT IS GOOD SOFTWARE FOR MEDIUM SIZE INDUSTRIES **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** CURRENTLY ALWAYS ON REQUIRE DOMAIN CONTROLLER , REQUIRE NEW WAYS WITHOUT DOMAIN CONTROLLER **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** WHILE WORKING PROBLEM IS COMING BUT RESOLVE BY THE HELP OF ONLINE ...IT IS GOOD ### 35. Used it for cloud integration in one of my projects **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mohammed Bilal O. | Cloud Support Associate, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 04, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** As a cloud engineer I wud say reporting, scalability and it helped me implement Analytics **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I don't feel I dislike anything I've completed many certificates in azure but SQL server was best for me **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Encryption, performance both are good and main fact is it is handling large data for us ### 36. Most reliable Database **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Rony B. | Head of iT support, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 04, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Integration with Power BI, dtabase managment , Big data analytics,High availibility , high speed of processing data . easy and fast transfer dor data integration of SmileID with MicrosoftSQLServer , it was smooth easy and we got a quick result,. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** SQL scripting is a little bit difficult The Always ON in SQL is little bit delicate . the integration with non microsoft product is not easy at all and sometims not supported . **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It help our daily demands for Policy insurnce , since we are an insurance company , it is the blood for our daily work. ### 37. Local database solution **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Anishat N. | IT System Analyst, Hospital & Health Care, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 31, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Microsoft SQL server is very easy to use in any local pc. I like it for hosting small applications database in sql server. The implementation and integration is very simple. I love to extract exact data using query in sql server. Almost every day I used it. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** There is nothing about dislike sql server, but when the database size increased sometimes It slow down the system. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Microsoft Sql Server helps me to store corporate data efficiently and whenever I need I extract exact data from the server. The reporting tools is very likeable to me. It reduce our time to done the work. ### 38. Most used any My favorite Sql and RDMS tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Abhijit B. | Software Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 15, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** SQL Server is known for its robust performance capabilities, including efficient query processing.By using sql Server Query debugging is very easy . we can Implement all type of sql querys like joining multiple table , creating Views.im Used the sqlserver for managing all my data . that why used this frequently at dally basis . sql server providing very fast customer support . i my work in Kissan Konnect im responsible for writing Store procedures that why easy for query and intergration of with all apps. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** i want small improvement in finding store procedures and table filter is litter bit complicated. Over all Sql server is very Best **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** For complex Query sql server is providing main role .because Complex query is can implement so easy . sql server is provide so many in built function like Fnsplit,order by etc.sql server are so usefull for backend development and managing database. ### 39. Good application to interface with several software. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ramakrishnan B. | Product engineer, Renewables & Environment, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 26, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** We can actually interact with sevaral data server and Which can exports in excel. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Slightly lags a bit while opening application. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Gather that data that provides by customer and we can combine to solve our problems. ### 40. A good enterprise manager for relational databases **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vinicius G. | Software Engineer, Information Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 25, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It provides a fastic integration with other Microsoft products. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** In my view, it is not as powerful as postgresql. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helped me to store and retrieve data for company reports. ### 41. Using SQL server for more than 5 years **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Muhammad Asim K. | Datascience Research Assistant, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 17, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I like its reliability and robustness for storing and managing a large amount of data. It's easy to integrate with other Microsoft products. It has powerful querying capabilities that makes the work easier and efficient. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Its licensing cost is sometimes too much for smaller organisations. They should work on the utilisation of CPU resources to make it more efficient. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have used sql server in many of my previous projects. Let's take an example of financial services project. The company needs to build reports of their data which we saved on SQL server and do the data modelling. Later, sql server was connected to Power BI for generating the insights of the financial performance of the company. ### 42. The Database for developing enterprise level applications. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mahadi M. | Executive - IT, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 20, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Creating a database from scratch is very easy in ms sql server. We just have to download it from website and we are good to implement a application. We can also integrate it with various developing tools hassle free. I have to use every day microsoft sql server for mantaining our hospital HIS and also for generating reports. It's community is fantastic. We can get any kind of support within a short period of time. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The new users might find the uder interface complex. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** As a dot net developer it is much accessible for me to use Microsoft SQL Server as a database server. I get the best community support from here. The hospital information system that we use in out work place also build in dot net intregrated with Microsoft SQL Server. I can effortlessly maintain the application and download various report from the server. ### 43. SQL : A good data server solution **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jaivir S. | Lead Software Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 12, 2022 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I have used SQL server with many applications over the years and the best part I like is its integration with all standard applications. Sharing of SQL scripts is very easy. Connections with multiple databases are also easy. I've most recently used it with tableau and it works almost seemlessly. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Not a lot that I dislike but it does require some skills to maneuver around this product. That's why we have separate DBA's. I would love to see something like a GUI for SQL server just like data analytics software. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** If I talk about the most recent development in our company, then SQL server is helping us easily integrate into our data warehousing plans. Easy interoperability allows us to query and create extracts which we use further in our other platforms like Jira and Tableau for data insights. I can simply write my queries to the data tables and the response time is great. I have been using SQL server solutions for a long time across many different applications - Dotnet web apps, data analysis apps and it has always been that one robust data solution that provides reliable and effective results always. ### 44. Excellent product **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Charles-Antoine B. | Automation Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 23, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Intuitive DBMS on top of a well built SQL database. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Nothing in particular seems to be lacking. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It helps our buisness store peoduction data which can then be used to feed custom applications. ### 45. SQL Server Review **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Saranya K. | Analyst, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 08, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Data Management and Data storage. Can access and store the data easily **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Takes much time to export the large data **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** data management ### 46. A Convenient & Reliable Database Server from Microsoft **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Debadutta P. | Associate Manager Software Engineering, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 19, 2023 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** The most I like about it is the ease of use, reliability and implementation. It performs pretty well under heavy load and ensures quick execution with minimal downtime. This is crucial for our business on day to day basis. Ease of intergration with Azure portal is also very simple and able to meet our requirements. Security is one of the fetaures I love about this tool. Our set of web applications are configured with Microsoft SQL Server and frequency of use is on everyday. Online support is very good and can be relied on. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** I feel licensing cost is on the higher side. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** We have business requirements of getting data from external systems everyday and those act as input for our applications. Using MS SQL Server, we have designed backend scripts, tables, views, stored procedures which can read and process these data. ### 47. MSSQL Good for beginner and expert users **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 05, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** I really like MS SQL, I'm using this tool for more then 10 years **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Need to grab some cool feature from tood. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It's easy to connect to multiple servers and perform any administrative or developer tasks. ### 48. Old is the New Gold **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ashutosh S. | Consultant, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 19, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** My personal favourites are: 1) Azure Data Studio support which brings the power of the cloud anywhere you wish to use it any number of times (for high-frequency users) 2) Integration Service that intelligently assists data migration and makes integration easy is a big plus. Also, the customer support is fantastic and the implementation guides are lucid. All of this makes it easy to use **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** The limitation is that it can be used only on the Windows platform. The costly enterprise edition becomes an issue at times **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is helpful when it comes to problems like deadlocks. This is intelligent enough to decide which query to stop and which to assist ### 49. Review about SQL after long term user experience **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vinoth K. | Senior Logistics Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 17, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** Great tool for database and data manipulation for data analysis **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** Limitations in running speed for large datasets **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** Data analysis ### 50. Review on Microsoft SQL server **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** M A. | L2 support engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 03, 2024 **What do you like best about Microsoft SQL Server?** It is a powerful DBMS which can process high amount of data with ease. Provides a very good user interface and very much user friendly. Faster response time. **What do you dislike about Microsoft SQL Server?** For microsoft products, cost is a disadvatage most of the times. Another disadvantage could be the fact that it can only be used in windows platform. **What problems is Microsoft SQL Server solving and how is that benefiting you?** It is to be mentioned that you get the best community support from microsoft. It requires no other proficiency other than sql itslef to manage. ## Microsoft SQL Server Discussions - [how did you import a MySQL database?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-did-you-import-a-mysql-database) - 3 comments, 2 upvotes - [How can I work on the same query if the connection is lost (timeout) and then I reconnect?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/15675-how-can-i-work-on-the-same-query-if-the-connection-is-lost-timeout-and-then-i-reconnect) - 4 comments, 2 upvotes - [What is Microsoft SQL Server used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/microsoft-sql-server-what-is-microsoft-sql-server-used-for) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [Best features in SQL](https://www.g2.com/discussions/24528-best-features-in-sql) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [How to handle duplicate data from a database and a course on related databases](https://www.g2.com/discussions/como-manejar-datos-duplicados-de-base-de-datos-y-un-curso-sobre-base-relacionadas) - 1 comment, 1 upvote - [View Microsoft SQL Server pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews?page=2&qs=pros-and-cons§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-07-21+19%3A36%3A04+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=532944ba-d0ac-402e-ad9d-801cacd7e269&secure%5Btoken%5D=ecf7a4f84d3d89ff6a1c49d0570d635412bdc9e9480c66717518f9a75374d5d5&format=llm_user) ## Microsoft SQL Server Integrations - [Agentforce Sales (formerly Salesforce Sales Cloud)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-sales-formerly-salesforce-sales-cloud/reviews) - [Azure Databricks](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-databricks/reviews) - [Azure Data Factory](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-data-factory/reviews) - [Azure Functions](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-functions/reviews) - [Azure Pipelines](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-pipelines/reviews) - [Azure Portal](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-portal/reviews) - [Azure SQL Database](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-sql-database/reviews) - [Azure Virtual Machines](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-virtual-machines/reviews) - [Databricks](https://www.g2.com/products/databricks/reviews) - [Docker](https://www.g2.com/products/docker-inc-docker/reviews) - [Informatica Cloud Data Integration](https://www.g2.com/products/informatica-cloud-data-integration/reviews) - [IntelliJ IDEA](https://www.g2.com/products/intellij-idea/reviews) - [Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows Server](https://www.g2.com/products/internet-information-services-iis-for-windows-server/reviews) - [JAMS](https://www.g2.com/products/jams-software-llc-jams/reviews) - [Jet Analytics](https://www.g2.com/products/jet-analytics/reviews) - [Microsoft Defender for Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-defender-for-cloud/reviews) - [Microsoft Excel](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-excel/reviews) - [Microsoft Fabric](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-fabric/reviews) - [Microsoft Power Apps](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-power-apps/reviews) - [Microsoft Power Automate](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-power-automate/reviews) - [Microsoft Power BI](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-microsoft-power-bi/reviews) - [Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services to Alation](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server-integration-services-to-alation/reviews) - [monday AI Work Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/monday-com/reviews) - [MuleSoft Anypoint Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/mulesoft-anypoint-platform/reviews) - [Node.js](https://www.g2.com/products/node-js/reviews) - [NodeJS Web Stack](https://www.g2.com/products/nodejs-web-stack/reviews) - [Oracle Java Downloads](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-java-downloads/reviews) - [Popdock](https://www.g2.com/products/popdock/reviews) - [Redis Software](https://www.g2.com/products/redis-software/reviews) - [Salesforce Headless 360 Platform (formerly Salesforce Platform)](https://www.g2.com/products/agentforce-360-platform-formerly-salesforce-platform/reviews) - [SQL Management Studio for SQL Server](https://www.g2.com/products/sql-management-studio-for-sql-server/reviews) - [Umbraco](https://www.g2.com/products/umbraco/reviews) - [Visual Studio](https://www.g2.com/products/visual-studio/reviews) - [Visual Studio Code](https://www.g2.com/products/visual-studio-code/reviews) ## Microsoft SQL Server Features **Management** - Data dictionary - Data Replication - Query Language - Data Modeling - Performance Analysis **Management ** - Data Schema - Query Language - ACID - Complaint - Data Replication **Database** - Real-Time Data Collection - Data Distribution - Data Lake **Maintenance** - Data Migration - Backup and Recovery - Multi-User Environment **Support ** - Text Search - Data Types - Languages - Operating Systems **Integrations** - Hadoop Integration - Spark Integration **Security** - Data Encryption - User Access Control **Security** - Database Locking - Access Control - Encryption - Authentication **Platform** - Machine Scaling - Data Preparation - Spark Integration **Performance ** - Disaster Recovery - Data Concurrency - Workload Management - Advanced Indexing - Query Optimizer **Processing** - Cloud Processing - Workload Processing **Building Reports** - Data Transformation - Data Modeling - WYSIWYG Report Design - Integration APIs **Database Features** - Storage - Availability - Stability - Scalability - Security - Data Manipulation - Query Language **Platform** - Mobile User Support - Customization - User, Role, and Access Management - Internationalization - Sandbox / Test Environments - Performance and Reliability - Breadth of Partner Applications ## Top Microsoft SQL Server Alternatives - [Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/teradata-autonomous-knowledge-platform/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (356 reviews) - [SAP HANA Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) - 4.3/5.0 (520 reviews) - [Google Cloud SQL](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-sql/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (354 reviews)