Plan licensing budgets with clear, adjustable assumptions today. Model growth, compliance, and support with confidence. Export results to share with finance and procurement teams.
Choose a licensing model, set pricing and support, then estimate total cost for your selected term.
These examples show how different licensing models can change cost drivers.
| Scenario | Model | Key inputs | Estimated units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtualization cluster | Per Core | 6 servers, 2 sockets, 24 cores | 288 |
| Remote access platform | Per User | 1,200 users, minimum 500 | 1,200 |
| Small branch deployment | Per Server | 25 servers (flat licensing) | 25 |
Server licensing starts with how a vendor counts entitlement units. Core and socket models track hardware density, while vCPU models map better to virtualized fleets. User and device models fit access platforms and management tools. When you switch models, the same environment can produce very different unit totals, which is why this estimator calculates units from your selected driver and applies vendor minimums.
Ongoing support is commonly priced as a percentage of license value and can include updates, security patches, and incident response SLAs. Standard plans usually cover business hours, while premium tiers add faster response, dedicated contacts, or architectural guidance. If your contract uses a negotiated rate, the custom option helps you mirror that percentage and see how support compounds across multi‑year terms.
Multi‑year commitments can lower headline pricing but increase lock‑in, so it helps to compare monthly and annual equivalents. This calculator converts term months into an annualized view and shows effective unit cost per year. Apply discounts to reflect volume tiers or enterprise agreements, then layer tax or VAT to match your jurisdiction. The resulting total supports budget planning and cost justification. Run scenarios for growth, consolidation, or cloud migration by adjusting factors and counts. Small changes in cores or users can shift totals quickly, so keeping a margin for expansion avoids surprise purchase requests mid‑quarter.
Licenses rarely represent the full run cost of a server estate. Backup, monitoring, and security services scale per server and per month, and they can exceed license costs as fleets grow. Including add‑ons in the same estimate produces a more realistic total cost of ownership view, especially for managed services, compliance programs, and environments with strict availability targets.
Accurate estimates reduce audit risk and procurement friction. Track your assumptions, confirm core counts and virtualization ratios, and document any minimum purchase thresholds. Use the inputs snapshot to share a consistent model with finance and sourcing teams, then export results for approvals. Revisit the estimate during true‑ups, capacity changes, or renewals to keep forecasts aligned with reality.
Use the model defined in your vendor terms. If unsure, compare per‑core, per‑socket, and per‑vCPU for infrastructure tools, and per‑user or per‑device for access or endpoint products.
Some vendors require a floor purchase. The calculator uses the larger of your calculated units and the minimum value, so you can see the financial impact of entry tiers.
License factor is a multiplier for edition uplift, compliance rules, or contractual adjustments. For example, set 1.20 to model a 20% uplift on the base annual license cost.
In this estimator, support is calculated only on license value. If your contract also applies support to add-on services, you can approximate by increasing add-on prices or adjusting the license factor.
Enter the average vCPUs per server that represent allocated or billable vCPUs under your rules. If licensing is based on assigned vCPUs per VM, calculate an average per host first.
Yes. Use Download CSV for spreadsheet workflows, Download PDF for approvals, or Copy summary for chat and email. The inputs snapshot helps teammates reproduce the same assumptions.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.