---
title: "Why do we prefer Dictionary over Hashtable in C#?"  
description: "Why do we prefer Dictionary over Hashtable in C#?"  
author: "Steilla Mitchel"  
published: 2023-07-12  
updated: 2023-07-13  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159051/why-do-we-prefer-dictionary-over-hashtable-in-c-sharp  
category: "c#"  
tags: ["c#", "hashtable", "dictionary"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# Why do we prefer Dictionary over Hashtable in C#?

Why do we prefer [Dictionary](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/1500/hashtable-and-dictionary-in-c-sharp) over [Hashtable in C#](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/33627/how-to-use-hashtable-in-c-sharp-dot-net)?

## Replies

### Reply by Aryan Kumar

There are a few reasons why we prefer `Dictionary` over `Hashtable` in C#:

- **Type safety:** `Dictionary` is a strongly typed collection, which means that the type of the key and value must be specified when the `Dictionary` is created. This prevents errors from occurring when you try to add or retrieve elements from the `Dictionary`. `Hashtable` is a weakly typed collection, which means that the type of the key and value can be anything. This can lead to errors if you try to add or retrieve elements of the wrong type.
- **Performance:** `Dictionary` is generally faster than `Hashtable` because it does not require boxing and unboxing of the keys and values. Boxing and unboxing is a process that converts value types to reference types and vice versa. This can be a performance bottleneck, especially when you are working with large collections.
- **Features:** `Dictionary` provides a number of features that `Hashtable` does not, such as the ability to iterate over the keys and values in a specific order, and the ability to check if a key exists in the `Dictionary` without actually retrieving the value.

In general, you should use `Dictionary` instead of `Hashtable` unless you have a specific reason to use `Hashtable`.

Here is a table that summarizes the key differences between `Dictionary` and `Hashtable`:

| Feature | `Dictionary` | `Hashtable` |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type safety | Yes | No |
| Performance | Faster | Slower |
| Features | More features | Less features |
| When to use | When you need a strongly typed collection with good performance | When you need a weakly typed collection or when you need to support older versions of .NET |


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159051/why-do-we-prefer-dictionary-over-hashtable-in-c-sharp

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