SQL Server 2016 Standard Edition and SQL Server 2017 Standard Edition are licensed according to the core license model in Cloud Servers.

The number of core licenses required is based on the number of cores per processor. At least four core licenses are required for each CPU. If you increase the number of CPUs and/or cores used, then you may need additional SQL server licenses. The additional licenses are added and invoiced automatically. Example:

Number of physical cores in a processor Number of required core licenses
1 4
2 4
4 4
6 6
8 8