| Feature | Developer Edition | Express Edition | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Free | Free | | Production Use | No | Yes | | Database Size Limit | Unlimited | 10 GB | | RAM Limit | Unlimited (OS Max) | 1 GB | | Cores Limit | Unlimited (OS Max) | 4 | | SQL Agent | Yes | No (requires workarounds) | | Replication | Yes | Subscriber Only |
If you are building an application (.NET, Java, Python) that will eventually run on SQL Server Enterprise, you should use the Developer edition. It ensures that the stored procedures and functions you write will not break due to missing features when the code hits the production server. microsoft sql server 2019 developer edition
SQL Server Developer edition lets developers build any kind of application on top of SQL Server. Microsoft Learn SQL Server Developer Edition – a FAQ article | Feature | Developer Edition | Express Edition