SQL Server Standard vs. Express: what are the main differences?

For far too many times, I've needed to find the answer to the question about the differences between Microsoft SQL Server's free Express version and the first (proper) commercial edition, Standard. Nowadays, I recall these differences from the top of my head, but sometimes, I still need to back up my memory or check a more exotic need.

The good news is that Microsoft has updated their product web pages and improved the Compare Editions page. This page has existed for a long time, but the new summer enhancement makes the page a breeze to use. The new page can be found here.

From the page, you can get the classic question answered: "What is the difference between SQL Server Standard and Express when it comes to database size and performance?". The following table says it all:

Feature/Edition	Standard	Express
Number of CPUs	4	1
Maximum memory utilized	64 GB	1 GB
Maximum database size	524 PB	10 GB

Shortly put, the free Express edition only supports a single CPU (physical socket, not logical [though not exactly the same, you could roughly equate a logical CPU with a processor core in today's multi-core processors]) and up to 10 GB database size.