Microsoft Access vs. Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft Access

842 Reviews and Ratings

Microsoft SQL Server

1,630 Reviews and Ratings

Overview
Product	Rating	Most Used By	Product Summary	Starting Price
Microsoft Access	Score7.7 out of 10	N/A	Microsoft Access is a database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools.	$139.99 per PC
Microsoft SQL Server	Score8.8 out of 10	N/A	Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.	$1,418 Per License

Pricing

Microsoft Access

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft Access: $139.99
per PC

Subscription: $1,418.00
Per License
Enterprise: $13,748.00
Per License

Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Access	Microsoft SQL Server
Free Trial
No	No
Free/Freemium Version
No	No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No	No

No setup fee

No setup fee

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Community Pulse
Key User Insights
	Microsoft Access	Microsoft SQL Server
Considered Both Products	Microsoft Brian Arsenault Analyst in Corporate at Evolent Health (Health, Wellness and Fitness, 5001-10,000 employees) Chose Microsoft Access Visual FoxPro is a discontinued software, and no longer has support. Also, very few people still use it, or ever know how to use it. Excel is very popular, but [Microsoft] Access can do things like data joins much easier and faster Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft Access Although SQL is a full-blown platform for heavy database management, Microsoft Access serves the purpose perfectly for small and mid-scale enterprises. It is also perfect for people just getting started with database management. The graphical user interface is a major plus … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft Access Microsoft Access is a bit dated compared to other database tools. It is slower, not able to handle quantities of data that are as large as the other tools, and a bit more finicky. However, it is sometimes the preferred tool for some clients. It also has a lower barrier to entry … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft Access MS Access is the little brother to all these products. In no way is it as feature-rich as the competition I have selected. It is, however, great when used properly. It does not have the same level of security, availability, access, or recoverability as anything listed above. … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft Access Access is more robust than Excel in terms of data-centricity and robustness. It however isn't meant to support an enterprise-level use case like SQL Server is. That sweet spot in the middle (a departmental solution that requires more than Excel can offer) is the sweet spot for … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft Access Unlike enterprise-level databases, MS Access doesn't require setting up a complex server environment with user security schemes. It's an excellent tool for small scale databases where purchasing and setting up a product like MS SQL Server could be an overkill. Unlike … Incentivized Helpful?	Microsoft Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft Access while a data tool cannot scale to number of concurrent users or the great amount of files needed to run a business. Microsoft Access can attach to sql server as a backend but the interface is still limited to less than 20 concurrent users at a time. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL is slower than MySQL and Access but far more feature-rich and reliable. Access is almost obsolete nowadays, so not too many people are considering it, but unless budget or an open-source ethos is a factor, Microsoft SQL is superior in every way. Many commonly used … Incentivized Helpful? Kimberly Graham Operations Manager at Emergent Safety Supply (Logistics & Supply Chain, 11-50 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server All of the platforms have their own benefit. I was not the decision maker in selecting Microsoft SQL Server, as it was already being utilized when I joined the company, 7 years ago. I can say that I feel more comfortable with utilizing this platform as opposed to the other ones. Incentivized Helpful? John Ramírez Database Administrator in Information Technology at System Crew GmbH (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server The free version is very powerfull and easy to install and use for small companies. Going to Professional and Standard, gives you all the support and the flexibility needed. It is known within the Database Administrator crew, and you can get support very easily over the … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server SQL server is a better software because of its support by Microsoft and it's data table pop up function. Also it has pivot function that others lack. Incentivized Helpful? Keri Schneider Senior Clarity Reporting Analyst in Quality Assurance at Kettering Health Network (Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server I use Crystal and Microsoft SQL Server with each other. Each has a unique role that it brings to every query. Microsoft SQL Server allows me to write and refine my base query. Crystal allows me to take that query and make it more visually appealing and easier to interpret. Incentivized Helpful? Ved Mishra SharePoint/MS Project Server Engineer in Information Technology at Merck (Pharmaceuticals, 10,001+ employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server SQL Server is a better choice for quick time to market solutions and for easier maintenance. Oracle Database setup and programming to support solutions has a harder learning curve and it requires more time and effort to hit the ground running. An organization having invested … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Access is simply too small and the options too slim for our current needs. Incentivized Helpful? Todd McDaniel Senior SQL Server DBA in Information Technology at Florida Family Insurance (Insurance, 51-200 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server Years ago I used Oracle and Oracle Data Integrator and I hated it. It was cumbersome and archaic and I couldn't believe the product could be so popular. Given a database related task and a choice between Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server wins hands down in ease of use, … Incentivized Helpful? Bill Starling Database Administrator in Research & Development at Aderant (Computer Software, 201-500 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server I have used Microsoft Access, MySQL, and I have been a user of systems that run on Oracle database servers. All but Oracle are really intended for smaller scale projects and teams as they start to get slow or the performance will suffer once you start getting lots of data input … Incentivized Helpful? Luca Campanelli Database Administrator in Information Technology at Intralot Italia S.p.A. (Gambling & Casinos, 51-200 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server I started working with databases many years ago with Access, which allows you to create relational database and provide an old-fashioned desktop interface. I had a look at Oracle but I never had the opportunity to get to the bottom (also because of the budget that had the … Incentivized Helpful?
	Would buy again
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Delivers good value for the price
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Happy with the feature set
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Lived up to sales and marketing promises
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Implementation went as expected
No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic

User Ratings
	Microsoft Access	Microsoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend	5.0 (99 ratings)	7.9 (99 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew	10.0 (15 ratings)	9.0 (6 ratings)
Usability	7.0 (5 ratings)	7.2 (13 ratings)
Availability	8.0 (1 ratings)	10.0 (1 ratings)
Performance	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Support Rating	6.4 (5 ratings)	7.9 (25 ratings)
In-Person Training	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Online Training	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Implementation Rating	10.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (5 ratings)
Configurability	- (0 ratings)	10.0 (1 ratings)
Ease of integration	8.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Product Scalability	5.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)