Differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET 5+ versions

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differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET 5+ versions

Vishal Yelve · Answer

Feature .NET Framework .NET Core .NET 5+ / .NET 6+ Platform Support Windows only Cross-platform Cross-platform Latest Stable Version 4.8.1 (2022) 3.1 (LTS, EOL Dec 2022) .NET 8 (LTS) Open Source Partially Yes Yes Performance Slower Faster Fastest (runtime improvements) Deployment Model System-wide only Self-contained / Portable Self-contained / Portable API and Libraries Full .NET Framework Smaller base class libs Unified and expanded APIs App Models WinForms, WPF, ASP.NET ASP.NET Core, Console ASP.NET Core, MAUI, Blazor, etc. Mobile/Desktop Windows desktop only No Yes (.NET MAUI) Support for WebAssembly No No Yes (via Blazor WebAssembly) Long-term Support (LTS) 4.8.1 (maintained) 3.1 (EOL) .NET 6, .NET 8 (LTS) 1. .NET Framework Released in 2002 , Windows-only. Includes WinForms , WPF , ASP.NET , WCF , etc. Tightly integrated with Windows (COM, Windows API). Still supported, but no major new features planned. Ideal for legacy enterprise apps running on Windows servers. 2. .NET Core Released in 2016 , designed to be: Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS) Modular and lightweight High performance Modern web apps using ASP.NET Core and Entity Framework Core . Last version: .NET Core 3.1 (LTS, EOL in Dec 2022). 3. .NET 5 and Later (a.k.a. .NET 5, .NET 6, .NET 7, .NET 8, etc.) Unified platform: replaces both .NET Framework and .NET Core. .NET 5 is the first version of this "unified .NET". Supports: Web apps (ASP.NET Core) Desktop apps (WinForms, WPF) Cloud, Mobile, IoT, Games (via MAUI, Blazor, Unity, etc.) .NET 6 and .NET 8 are LTS (Long-Term Support). Performance improvements every release. From Recommended To Notes .NET Framework .NET 6/8+ May require code changes, especially WCF/WF .NET Core 3.1 .NET 6 or .NET 8 Mostly smooth migration .NET 5 .NET 6/8 .NET 5 is not LTS When to Use What? Use Case Recommended Version New cross-platform web app .NET 8 Legacy enterprise app (Windows) .NET Framework 4.8.1 High-performance APIs .NET 8 Desktop app for Windows only .NET 8 (WinForms/WPF) Mobile app .NET MAUI (.NET 8+) WebAssembly (in-browser C#) Blazor (.NET 6+) In Summary: .NET Framework : Windows-only, legacy, still maintained. .NET Core : Modern, modular, now replaced by .NET 5+. .NET 5+ : Unified platform going forward (use this for new projects).

Priya Sathish · Answer

.NET Framework Used to Implement Desktop apps (Windows Forms, WPF) Used to implement ASP.NET Web Forms and MVC apps on Windows However, the limitations are that there is no cross-platform support, and development is mostly in Visual Studio on Windows. .NET Core Used to implement cross-platform web applications, console apps, microservices, and cloud and containerized apps. Performance will be faster than .NET Framework, but .NET Core will not support Windows Forms and WPF. .NET 5 It is also used to implement a Cross-platform desktop (via Windows Forms and WPF on Windows) and Mobile apps web, and more. Advantages of using .NET 5 are one unified platform for all app types, Latest APIs, language features, and performance improvements, Long-Term Support releases like .NET 6 and .NET 8, and Support for new tech like MAUI (multi-platform UI)

Sam Hobbs · Answer

Support for .Net Core ended in 2022 or before. .Net Framework only supports Windows and has more but probably the additional content is unique to Windows. .Net supports multipe operating systems. I think those are the important differences.

Differences between .NET Framework, .NET Core, and .NET 5+ versions

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