diff --git a/test/Directory.Packages.props b/test/Directory.Packages.props
index 2dcd2f6da76..81ec9b34c8d 100644
--- a/test/Directory.Packages.props
+++ b/test/Directory.Packages.props
@@ -18,5 +18,6 @@
     <PackageVersion Include="OpenTelemetry.Exporter.InMemory" Version="$(OpenTelemetryExporterInMemoryVersion)" />
     <PackageVersion Include="SQLitePCLRaw.provider.sqlite3" Version="$(SQLitePCLRawVersion)" />
     <PackageVersion Include="SQLitePCLRaw.provider.winsqlite3" Version="$(SQLitePCLRawVersion)" />
+    <PackageVersion Include="Testcontainers.MsSql" Version="4.10.0" />
   </ItemGroup>
 </Project>
diff --git a/test/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj b/test/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj
index ed3086b264d..ace9f5c6456 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj
+++ b/test/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
     <TargetFramework>$(DefaultNetCoreTargetFramework)</TargetFramework>
     <AssemblyName>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.AspNet.SqlServer.FunctionalTests</AssemblyName>
     <RootNamespace>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore</RootNamespace>
-    <SkipTests Condition="'$(OS)' != 'Windows_NT' AND '$(Test__SqlServer__DefaultConnection)' == ''">True</SkipTests>
     <ImplicitUsings>true</ImplicitUsings>
     <DefineConstants Condition="$([MSBuild]::IsOSPlatform('OSX'))">$(DefineConstants);EXCLUDE_ON_MAC</DefineConstants>
   </PropertyGroup>
diff --git a/test/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests.csproj b/test/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests.csproj
index 1778dd946d9..93cc4314ba8 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests.csproj
+++ b/test/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests/EFCore.OData.FunctionalTests.csproj
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
     <AssemblyName>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.OData.FunctionalTests</AssemblyName>
     <RootNamespace>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore</RootNamespace>
     <Nullable>disable</Nullable>
-    <SkipTests Condition="'$(OS)' != 'Windows_NT' AND '$(Test__SqlServer__DefaultConnection)' == ''">True</SkipTests>
     <ImplicitUsings>true</ImplicitUsings>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
diff --git a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj
index d91e7e88ddf..2c818963e2c 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj
+++ b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests.csproj
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
     <AssemblyName>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests</AssemblyName>
     <RootNamespace>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore</RootNamespace>
     <PreserveCompilationContext>true</PreserveCompilationContext>
-    <SkipTests Condition="'$(OS)' != 'Windows_NT' AND '$(Test__SqlServer__DefaultConnection)' == ''">True</SkipTests>
     <ImplicitUsings>true</ImplicitUsings>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
@@ -77,5 +76,6 @@
   <ItemGroup>
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.EnvironmentVariables" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Testcontainers.MsSql" />
   </ItemGroup>
 </Project>
diff --git a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/TestUtilities/TestEnvironment.cs b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/TestUtilities/TestEnvironment.cs
index d0d5fa5df76..c670d70ddf4 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/TestUtilities/TestEnvironment.cs
+++ b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/TestUtilities/TestEnvironment.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
+using Testcontainers.MsSql;
 
 namespace Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.TestUtilities;
 
@@ -16,8 +17,46 @@ public static class TestEnvironment
         .Build()
         .GetSection("Test:SqlServer");
 
-    public static string DefaultConnection { get; } = Config["DefaultConnection"]
-        ?? "Data Source=(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB;Database=master;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=60;ConnectRetryCount=0";
+    private static readonly Lazy<string> _defaultConnection = new(InitializeConnectionString);
+
+    public static string DefaultConnection => _defaultConnection.Value;
+
+    private static MsSqlContainer? _container;
+
+    private static string InitializeConnectionString()
+    {
+        // If a connection string is specified (env var, config.json...), always use that.
+        var configured = Config["DefaultConnection"];
+        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(configured))
+        {
+            return configured;
+        }
+
+        // Otherwise, on Windows default to LocalDB, and on non-Windows spin up a testcontainer
+        if (OperatingSystem.IsWindows())
+        {
+            return "Data Source=(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB;Database=master;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=60;ConnectRetryCount=0";
+        }
+
+        _container = new MsSqlBuilder("mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2025-latest")
+            .Build();
+
+        _container.StartAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
+
+        AppDomain.CurrentDomain.ProcessExit += (_, _) =>
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                _container.DisposeAsync().AsTask().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
+            }
+            catch
+            {
+                // Ignore errors during container cleanup
+            }
+        };
+
+        return _container.GetConnectionString();
+    }
 
     private static readonly string _dataSource = new SqlConnectionStringBuilder(DefaultConnection).DataSource;
 
diff --git a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/config.json b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/config.json
index f4880f2152f..23c46fc5b59 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/config.json
+++ b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.FunctionalTests/config.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
     "Test": {
       "SqlServer": {
-        "DefaultConnection": "Data Source=(localdb)\\MSSQLLocalDB;Database=master;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=60;ConnectRetryCount=0",
+        "DefaultConnection": null,
         "ElasticPoolName": "",
         "SupportsMemoryOptimized": null
       }
diff --git a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests.csproj b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests.csproj
index 8b60caddb2d..37c03897bbe 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests.csproj
+++ b/test/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests/EFCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests.csproj
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
     <AssemblyName>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer.HierarchyId.Tests</AssemblyName>
     <RootNamespace>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer</RootNamespace>
     <Nullable>disable</Nullable>
-    <SkipTests Condition="'$(OS)' != 'Windows_NT' AND '$(Test__SqlServer__DefaultConnection)' == ''">True</SkipTests>
     <ImplicitUsings>true</ImplicitUsings>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
diff --git a/test/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests.vbproj b/test/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests.vbproj
index 6b860b8698c..2d7241547ea 100644
--- a/test/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests.vbproj
+++ b/test/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests/EFCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests.vbproj
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
     <RootNamespace>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore</RootNamespace>
     <TargetFramework>$(DefaultNetCoreTargetFramework)</TargetFramework>
     <AssemblyName>Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.VisualBasic.FunctionalTests</AssemblyName>
-    <SkipTests Condition="'$(OS)' != 'Windows_NT' AND '$(Test__SqlServer__DefaultConnection)' == ''">True</SkipTests>
     <LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>
   </PropertyGroup>