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ASP.NET VS .NET

Compare ASP.NET VS .NET and see what are their differences

ASP.NET logo ASP.NET

ASP.NET is a free web framework for building great Web sites and Web applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

.NET logo .NET

.NET is a free, cross-platform, open source developer platform for building many different types of applications.
  • ASP.NET Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-29
  • .NET Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19

ASP.NET features and specs

  • Performance
    ASP.NET is known for its high performance and scalability. It compiles server-side code to DLL files, which is executed on the server side, thereby speeding up the application's response time.
  • Security
    ASP.NET provides built-in security features like form authentication and Windows authentication, as well as protection against common threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and request forgery.
  • Rich Toolbox
    Visual Studio, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for ASP.NET, offers a rich toolbox with a plethora of controls, automatic deployment features, and other tools that significantly speed up development.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    ASP.NET Core is a cross-platform framework, which means you can run your web applications on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  • Community and Support
    ASP.NET has a strong community and extensive documentation, making it easier to find solutions to problems and ensuring continuous improvement and support.

Possible disadvantages of ASP.NET

  • Learning Curve
    The framework can be complex for beginners, especially those without experience in C# or the .NET ecosystem.
  • Cost
    While ASP.NET Core is free and open-source, some advanced features and tools require a Visual Studio subscription, which can be expensive.
  • Hosting
    Although ASP.NET Core has improved in terms of cross-platform hosting, traditional ASP.NET applications are primarily optimized for Windows servers, limiting hosting options.
  • Resource Intensive
    ASP.NET applications can be more resource-intensive than applications built with some other frameworks, which can lead to higher infrastructure costs.
  • Complexity
    The framework offers a lot of features and functionalities, which can sometimes make it overly complex and harder to manage for smaller projects.

.NET features and specs

  • Cross-Platform
    The .NET platform supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, which allows for the development and deployment of applications across different operating systems.
  • Performance
    ASP.NET Core, a part of the .NET ecosystem, has high-performance benchmarks and is suitable for developing scalable and high-performance systems.
  • Large Ecosystem
    .NET has a vast library of pre-built components, frameworks, and APIs that speed up development and reduce the need for writing code from scratch.
  • Strong Community Support
    There is a large and active community of developers, providing resources such as forums, documentation, and third-party tools.
  • Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
    Visual Studio, the primary IDE for .NET, offers robust features like IntelliSense, debugging, and testing tools, making development easier and more efficient.
  • Security
    .NET provides a range of security features, including code access security, role-based security, and encryption, making it a reliable choice for secure applications.
  • Compatible with Modern Development
    .NET supports modern development practices like containerization with Docker and cloud-native applications, particularly with Azure.
  • Language Support
    .NET supports multiple programming languages like C#, F#, and VB.NET, allowing developers to choose the right one for their needs.

Possible disadvantages of .NET

  • Learning Curve
    Given its vast ecosystem and feature set, .NET can have a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Memory Usage
    .NET applications can be more memory-intensive compared to applications built with some other frameworks, which can be a concern for resource-constrained environments.
  • Platform-Specific Issues
    While .NET is cross-platform, certain platform-specific issues can arise, requiring additional work to ensure compatibility.
  • Cost of Microsoft Tools
    Although .NET is open-source, some associated tools like Visual Studio Enterprise come with significant licensing costs.
  • Smaller Talent Pool
    Compared to more universally taught languages like Python or JavaScript, finding highly skilled .NET developers can be more challenging.

ASP.NET videos

Build Rating and Review System in ASP.NET MVC and Entity Framework

More videos:

  • Review - ASP.NET MVC - Review 0
  • Review - IMDeanyP Movie Review Site - ASP.NET / C# / SQL Server / MVC / Entity Framework

.NET videos

.NET Design Review: DataFrame

More videos:

  • Review - Truetrader.net | Loophole EXPOSED
  • Review - .NET Design Review: .NET Core 3.1

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ASP.NET and .NET)
Developer Tools
92 92%
8% 8
Ad Servers
0 0%
100% 100
Web Frameworks
100 100%
0% 0
Python Web Framework
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ASP.NET and .NET

ASP.NET Reviews

The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
ASP.NET’s got that Microsoft muscle, a powerhouse of a framework for building dynamic web services and more. It lets you roll out robust websites with the smoothness that comes with deep pockets. Perfect for .NET software development teams.
Top 10 Phoenix Framework Alternatives
Moving over to the .NET platform, Asp.Net is an open-source web framework developed by Microsoft that allows developers to build dynamic web pages, apps, and services using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
10 Ruby on Rails Alternatives For Web Development in 2022
Last but not least, a back-end web framework created by Microsoft for the development of dynamic web pages - ASP.NET. Built on top of C# it is one the fastest frameworks available on the market. ASP.NET is capable of handling 7.01 million requests per second while Django handles only 79,266 requests. The framework is mainly used for building web applications, APIs,...

.NET Reviews

We have no reviews of .NET yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, .NET should be more popular than ASP.NET. It has been mentiond 50 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ASP.NET mentions (22)

  • 30,656 Pages of Books About the .NET Ecosystem: C#, Blazor, ASP.NET, & T-SQL
    Most of the books teach C# and .NET, ASP.NET, Blazor, or T-SQL. I also found some .NET-specific coverage of wider topics: architecture and design, concurrency, automated tests, functional programming, and dependency injection. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Diversify Your Tech Stack: Uncovering Powerful Node js Alternatives
    Built by Microsoft, .NET is a high-performance application platform that uses C# for programming. .NET is cross-platform and comes with plenty of libraries and APIs covering collections, networking, and machine learning to build different types of applications. ASP.NET Core widens the .NET developer platform with libraries and tools geared towards web applications. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • C# Fundamentals
    Web Applications: ASP.NET, a powerful framework for building web applications, is primarily based on C#. Developers can create dynamic websites, web APIs, and services with ASP.NET. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • What’s New in Bold Reports 6.1 April 2024 Release
    The Bold Reporting Tools ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web Forms will no longer be deployed in the embedded build. However, bug fixes are diligently transferred to our public repositories until Microsoft officially announces the end of support for these platforms. For new web application development or to stay up-to-date, Blazor or ASP.NET Core are recommended. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Is ASP.NET Core the next step in my career being an ASP.NET MVC developer? Or are there other technologies I should look at?
    Sorry for the possibly dumb questions. But then does .NET 5 have a "Model View Controller" workflow? I'm seeing ASP.NET still exists. But it's just "ASP.NET", no "MVC" or "Core" attached to the end. And they seem to recommend Blazor instead of C# which is something I only know the name of. Source: about 2 years ago
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.NET mentions (50)

  • How to Build a .NET PDF Editor (Developer Tutorial)
    Editing PDF files programmatically is a common requirement in enterprise applications — whether you're modifying invoices, generating reports, or enabling users to fill and save forms. The .NET ecosystem lacks native support for advanced PDF editing, which makes third-party libraries crucial. - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • dotnet cross-platform interop with C via Environment.ProcessId system call
    Dotnet (.NET 9 is used for this article) and C# decompiler. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Why Does Everyone Forget Java and C# for Backend Development? Why Don’t Full-Stack Developers Learn Java and C#?
    C# was developed by Microsoft in the early 2000s as part of its .NET initiative, led by Anders Hejlsberg. Originally designed as an alternative to Java, C# evolved into a powerful language for Windows applications, backend services, game development (via Unity), and cloud computing. The introduction of .NET Core made C# fully cross-platform, allowing it to run on Windows, Linux, and macOS. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Implementing Social Authentication in .NET Web API
    This blog post details how to implement social authentication and provide users with several social login options and how we can handle the users' data obtained as a result of these logins in our application. In this blog post, we’ll look at how we can integrate Google and Facebook login authentications. We will see how this can be implemented from the server side of an application using .NET 6; Microsoft's own... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Unit (Visual Programming System) [video]
    We never quite lost it, just the startup SV culture lost sight of them, https://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/ https://www.outsystems.com/ Or in the game industry, https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.2/en-US/blueprints-visual-scripting-in-unreal-engine/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing ASP.NET and .NET, you can also consider the following products

Ruby on Rails - Ruby on Rails is an open source full-stack web application framework for the Ruby programming...

WPMU DEV - WPMU offers WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, WordPress Multisite and BuddyPress Plugins and Themes.

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

MAMP - MAMP is the abbreviation for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. It is a reliable application with its four components that allows you to access the local PHP server as well as the database server (SQL).

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

Firefox Developer Edition - Built for those who build the Web. The only browser made for developers.