.NET
Microsoft's open-source, cross-platform developer platform and runtime for C#, F#, and VB.NET applications.
Liked for a rich, batteries-included ecosystem and tooling1234, smooth cross-platform development on macOS and Linux567, and EF Core working well with non-Microsoft databases.8910 The most common complaints are distrust of Microsoft's stewardship111213 and memory or garbage-collector overhead.1415
Why people recommend it
Ecosystem and tooling · 3
Commenters say it is batteries-included, with strong tooling, standard package and build tools, and good documentation.
“I love C# and .NET and I use them extensively”
“the whole system of tooling in .NET has never left me feeling like I was pigeonholed into doing things in stupid, self-flagelating ways”
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“The dotnet ecosystem is so well developed and rich”
Cross-platform · 3
Developers report working on macOS and deploying to Linux without trouble since the unified .NET releases.
“I do nearly 100% of my .NET development on macOS”
“every since it is xplat and unified (.NET 5 probably) it is a real joy.”
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“Dotnet and powershell (pwsh) actually works better in both macos and in Linux, than in windows.”
EF Core and databases · 3
EF Core is praised, and commenters say it works well with SQLite, Postgres and other non-MSSQL databases.
“.NET works so absolutely well with every other DB”
“I prefer .NET for web development that also compiles to a binary and has a great ecosystem of libraries and packages”
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“I used .NET for many years with Postgres on a huge project.”
Good for startups · 3
Commenters say it is fast to develop in and that a team switched to it smoothly from TypeScript.
“I think more teams should give C# a shot.”
“Dotnet is an incredible platform ahead of its time. I use it for everything and never get disappointed.”
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“I love C# and .NET and I use them extensively”
Established patterns · 1
Its well-known patterns like DI and ASP.NET Core help AI agents produce properly architected code.
“I use SOTA models with established stacks like .NET”
Performance and AOT · 2
Modern .NET is called fast, and native AOT single binaries have improved in .NET 10.
“Modern .NET is fast”
“This has gotten so much better with .NET 10 and since the introduction of source generators”
Caveats and dissent
Microsoft distrust · 3
Some commenters left over Microsoft's handling of a security bug or general distrust of Microsoft.
“Microsoft's response to this bug alone have turned me off to the language and framework.”
“will never recommend anyone ever touch anything MS has any part in”
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“I love Go but am not a fan of .NET”
Memory and GC · 2
One team saw much higher memory use than a ported Rust service, and another commenter calls the garbage collector simplistic.
“We use .NET 10 at work and see 1/5th of the memory being used by a ported Rust service.”
“And then, there's .NET's simplistic garbage collector, which can be quite annoying”
Upgrade churn · 1
One developer tired of constantly upgrading .NET versions and disliked that the debugger is not open source.
“I tired of keeping upgrade .NET on my projects.”
Declining demand · 2
Commenters report fewer RFPs asking for .NET and job markets dominated by legacy .NET Framework shops.
“the RFPs asking for .NET have gone down, even key enterprise products like Sitecore, have moved away from .NET.”
“I enjoy working with modern C# way more than node.js”
OOP-centric · 1
The framework still nudges developers toward OOP, so functional styles need extra work.
“I love C# and .NET and I use them extensively”
Legacy reputation · 2
Older experiences describe early .NET as slow or a poor replacement for prior tools.
“did learn about .NET and how slow it was”
“all that power and user love was dumped in the trash can for the travesti that was .net at the time”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Performance Improvements in .NET 11 4 mentions
- .NET 10 3 mentions
- Why are good developers so wary of agentic development? 1 mention
- StackOverflow now gets fewer than 1000 questions a month 1 mention
- Show HN: Sphinx – A hook that quizzes you on your AI's code before shipping 1 mention
- Microsoft Teams is a red flag 1 mention
Data: net.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 33
“I've read enough of the .NET Core framework to understand some of the nuances”
“I use .NET”
“I use SOTA models with established stacks like .NET”
“The dotnet ecosystem is so well developed and rich”
“with .NET you can debug a release build, and even do remote debugging”
“We use .NET 10 at work and see 1/5th of the memory being used by a ported Rust service.”
“all that power and user love was dumped in the trash can for the travesti that was .net at the time”
“I do nearly 100% of my .NET development on macOS”
“I used .NET for many years with Postgres on a huge project.”
“.NET works so absolutely well with every other DB”
“every since it is xplat and unified (.NET 5 probably) it is a real joy.”
“since i specialize in .NET + angular”
“People should really give .NET a try.”
“All of the following products and services are fantastic in 2026:”
“I love Go but am not a fan of .NET”
“the RFPs asking for .NET have gone down, even key enterprise products like Sitecore, have moved away from .NET.”
“I tired of keeping upgrade .NET on my projects.”
“And then, there's .NET's simplistic garbage collector, which can be quite annoying”
“I like powershell and the dotnet platform”
“the whole system of tooling in .NET has never left me feeling like I was pigeonholed into doing things in stupid, self-flagelating ways”
“I prefer .NET for web development that also compiles to a binary and has a great ecosystem of libraries and packages”
“did learn about .NET and how slow it was”
“Dotnet and powershell (pwsh) actually works better in both macos and in Linux, than in windows.”
“Modern .NET is fast”
“Microsoft's response to this bug alone have turned me off to the language and framework.”
“will never recommend anyone ever touch anything MS has any part in”
“Modern .NET is awesome.”
“Dotnet is an incredible platform ahead of its time. I use it for everything and never get disappointed.”
“I think more teams should give C# a shot.”
“I enjoy working with modern C# way more than node.js”
“I love C# and .NET and I use them extensively”
“This has gotten so much better with .NET 10 and since the introduction of source generators”
“(And the C# .NET ones).”