# SonarQube Server vs SonarQube Cloud

## Licensing and pricing model

* SonarQube Server:
  * Available in three editions: Developer, Enterprise, and Data Center.
  * Licensed per instance per year, with a LOC (Lines of Code) capacity per instance.
* SonarQube Cloud:
  * Subscription per organization, billed monthly or yearly, based on private LOC.
  * Three subscription plans are available: Free, Team, and Enterprise.

## Delivery and infrastructure

* SonarQube Server:
  * Self-managed: you install, host, upgrade, back up, and secure the instance yourself (on-prem or in your own cloud).
  * High Availability (HA) and horizontal scale depend on your infrastructure; Data Center Edition adds clustering/HA patterns on top.
* SonarQube Cloud:
  * SaaS: fully hosted and operated by Sonar; no server installation or maintenance.
  * Auto-scales and is run in Sonar’s cloud.

## Release cadence and customization

* SonarQube Server:
  * New rules/features arrive with server releases; you decide when to upgrade.
  * Full plugin ecosystem and custom rules (including third-party/community plugins) are available.
* SonarQube Cloud:
  * New capabilities and rules are rolled out continuously by Sonar.
  * Customization is more controlled: custom rules mainly via templates and security configuration; plugins limited to Sonar-approved ones.

## Features and integrations

* Shared core:
  * Both deliver branch analysis, pull request analysis, quality profiles/gates, and CI/CD integration across GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps.
  * Both support management reporting, SAML SSO with SCIM, Software Composition Analysis (SCA) and advanced SAST, AI Code Assurance, AI CodeFix, integration with Jira Cloud, Slack, JFrog Evidence Collection in eligible plans/editions.
* Key differences:
  * SonarQube Server integrates broadly with on-prem and cloud DevOps platforms.
  * SonarQube Cloud is optimized for cloud DevOps platforms.
  * SonarQube Cloud introduces an “organization” abstraction that doesn’t exist in SonarQube Server.

See also:

* For a comparison between SonarQube Server editions: [sonarqube-server-editions](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/2026.1/discovering/sonarqube-server-editions "mention")
* For a comparison between SonarQube Cloud plans: [Subscription plans](https://app.gitbook.com/s/B4UT2GNiZKjtxFtcFAL7/administering-sonarcloud/managing-subscription/subscription-plans "mention")
* For a comparison between all SonarQube deployments: [Feature comparison table](https://app.gitbook.com/s/bqrfLGeD0Y9vE5l9Le42/feature-comparison-table "mention")

## Data residency and compliance

* SonarQube Server:
  * You fully control where data lives and how infrastructure meets your regulatory requirements; infrastructure security/compliance are your responsibility.
* SonarQube Cloud:
  * Data hosted in Sonar’s cloud regions; Sonar is responsible for platform-level security and certifications.

## When to Choose Which

* Choose SonarQube Server if you need strict data residency, deep on-prem integration, or want maximum control/customization of the platform (including plugins and upgrade timing).
* Choose SonarQube Cloud if you prefer no infrastructure to manage, faster time-to-value, and SaaS-style scaling/pricing, especially when your code and DevOps platforms are already cloud-hosted.