What is the cheapest way to move on from SQL Server Express, and does it make the MS stack un-usable for a low margin web app startup? [closed]

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I'm preparing to embark on a web app development that will make little to no money, but I can make it work on minimal hardware (£35 a month VPS server)

The only problem is the DB size restrictions of SQL Server Express make me feel that if it grows, yet doesn't make much money, I would get stung with a big licence cost.

So I'm asking, what is the cheapest way to get another edition of SQL Server running on that VPS?

I'm looking to buy a copy of SQL Server Web Edition, or lease it, but it seems very confusing how to go about this. I've found this link from a ServerFault question. It says you can use this link to go about it.

http://spla-essentials.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/

The question boils down, what is the cheapest cost that someone can buy a licence for SQL Server Web edition that allows it to be installed on rented hardware.

My hosting company's 开发者_运维百科minimum cost for SQL Server licensing is £200 a month, which feels like a waste of money. They offer good value and reliability for the VPS itself http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/Virtual-servers/

I know Azure is an option, but I'm really interested in keeping the cost down lower than Azure for the moment. Obviously if I scaled to a point where it would be cheaper for me to move to that fine, but I feel it would be better to keep to a fixed cost until reaching a certain size.

I know about Biz Spark, but this doesn't seem to work for these low margin ventures.

Should I just bite the bullet and switch to Java for my programming needs, due to this one single fact (I really enjoy working with the Microsoft stack)

Does anyone have experience of doing this?

I think this is an important question to be answered as this would have a serious impact in choosing a development framework for future web applications.

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You could run MYSQL with a .NET web app. Or run SQL2008R2 Express has a 10GB size limit

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I have just spoken with a friendly representative from http://www.bytes.co.uk/ called Kathy.

She informed me of the SPLA licensing agreement, and that it would cost ~£10 a month to use SQL web.

To me this is great news, suddenly it is very possible to use a high end microsoft product at a cost that is compatible with a freemium model.

Find a reseller close to you and find the price.