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What is the difference between .NET Core and .NET 5/6/7+?

Anubhav Kumar 424 19-May-2025
c# c#  .net core 
Updated on 19-May-2025
Anubhav Kumar

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Anubhav Kumar

Anubhav Kumar

19-May-2025

The difference between .NET Core and .NET 5/6/7+ lies in their evolution, branding, and unification of the .NET ecosystem. Here's a breakdown:

1. .NET Core (v1.0 – v3.1)

  1. Released: 2016 – 2019
  2. Cross-platform, open-source framework
  3. Introduced to modernize and replace the aging .NET Framework
  4. Supported development of web (ASP.NET Core), cloud, console, and microservices applications
  5. .NET Core 3.1 was the last official version of the ".NET Core" line (Long-Term Support until December 2022)

2. .NET 5 and Beyond (5, 6, 7, 8...)

  1. Starting with .NET 5, Microsoft dropped "Core" from the name and unified the platform
  2. This is now called simply .NET
  3. It merges features from:
    1. .NET Core
    2. .NET Framework
    3. Xamarin/Mono
  4. It represents the single future platform for all types of .NET applications
Version Release Date LTS (Long-Term Support)? Notes
.NET 5 Nov 2020 No First unified platform, not LTS
.NET 6 Nov 2021 Yes First LTS of the unified .NET
.NET 7 Nov 2022 No Feature-rich, faster
.NET 8 Nov 2023 Yes Latest LTS version

Key Differences

Feature .NET Core .NET 5/6/7+
Name ".NET Core" Just ".NET"
Latest Version .NET Core 3.1 .NET 8 (as of 2025)
Cross-platform Yes Yes
Unification Focused on web/cloud Unified all workloads (desktop, mobile, web, cloud, IoT)
Mobile Support (Xamarin) No Yes (from .NET 6 onward)
Windows Forms / WPF Limited (only on Windows) Improved and supported
MAUI (Multi-platform UI) Not available Available (.NET 6+)
Performance Excellent Even better – major enhancements in each release
LTS Support .NET Core 3.1 .NET 6, .NET 8 (future: .NET 10)

Summary

  1. .NET Core is the predecessor; .NET 5+ is the future.
  2. .NET 5 and beyond represent a single, unified platform for all application types.
  3. You should use .NET 6+ for new development, especially for long-term projects.

Read More

  1. What is the difference between .NET Core and .NET 5/6+?
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