SQL Server Express is a version of SQL server you can install on a computer available to all your Access Front End users that will provide a more robust back end than using Access accdb files.

How much does it cost?  It’s free!

So what’s the catch?

Not much of a problem for small businesses with up to say 25 – 30 users:

• CPU and Memory Limits:
  • Limited to the lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores.
  • Buffer pool memory is capped at 1,410 MB.
  • Maximum memory for Columnstore segment cache per instance is 352 MB.
• Database Size:
  • Each database is limited to a maximum size of 10 GB.
• High Availability and Advanced Features:
  • No support for SQL Server Agent, which means you can’t schedule jobs like backups and maintenance tasks.
  • No support for high availability features like failover clustering or availability groups.
• Performance:
  • While SQL Server Express can handle small to medium workloads, it may not perform well under heavy loads due to its resource limitations.
• Other Limitations:
  • Limited to 1 GB of RAM for the buffer cache.
  • Reporting Services components are limited to 4 GB of RAM if using the Express with Advanced Services edition.

SQL Server Express is a great choice for most small businesses, will likely run on existing hardware in the office, is free, and is a Microsoft product designed to work with other Microsoft products like Microsoft Access.

This is the first line of upgrades once your backend files start getting too big or more than 5 – 10 users start using your database concurrently.