Here is a summary of the SQL Server Audit support in the different editions: Edition \ Version These database-level audit actions can be restricted to a specific database, an object (such as table, view, stored procedure), or a schema. Additionally to auditing action groups,database-level auditing also enables auditing certain individual actions, such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, EXECUTE, RECEIVE, and REFERENCES.The database-level audit action groups cover some similar areas as the server-level audit groups, if applicable, but at the database level.Database-level auditing utilizes database-level audit action groups, and database-level audit actions. Microsoft calls it "fine grained auditing". Database-level auditing is auditing at the database scope, and it is set on each database individually.Server-level auditing consists of server-level audit action groups, which include server operations, such as security operations involving logins, roles and permissions, logon and logoff operations, database backup and restore,manipulation of certain database-, server-, and schema objects.The audit can contain server-level audit specification and database-level audit specifications: SQL Server Audit is based on actions and action groups. Staring SQL Server 2016 SP1, all auditing features, that is both server-level and database-level auditing are available to all editions. SQL Server 2012 made server-level auditing partially available to all editions, leaving only the more granular database-level auditing still exclusive to the Enterprise edition. When this true, native auditing feature was introduced in SQL Server 2008, it was only available in Enterprise and Datacenter editions.
SQL Server Audit has been gradually brought to different editions of SQL Server as the years pass.