What is the difference between .NET Framework and .NET Core?

The main difference between .NET Framework and .NET Core is in their platform support, performance, and development focus.

.NET Framework is Windows-only and has been around for a long time — it's great for enterprise apps that use WPF, WinForms, or legacy ASP.NET like Web Forms or MVC 5. I’ve worked on many enterprise projects that still run on the full .NET Framework due to dependencies like Active Directory, COM components, or older libraries.

On the other hand, .NET Core — now unified under .NET 5 and above — is cross-platform, open source, and more performance-optimized. It supports modern app patterns like microservices, containerization with Docker, and deployment on Linux. I've used .NET Core/.NET 6+ for building REST APIs and containerized services running in Azure Kubernetes Service.

One key advantage of .NET Core is the ability to do side-by-side deployments, which allows us to run multiple versions on the same machine — something not possible with the full .NET Framework.

So depending on the scenario — for example, if it’s a greenfield project meant for cloud or needs cross-platform support — I’d definitely go with .NET Core or .NET 6/7+. But for maintaining or integrating with existing Windows-based enterprise systems, .NET Framework might still be the right choice.

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