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---
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title: Choose between ASP.NET 4.x and ASP.NET Core
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author: rick-anderson
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description: Explains ASP.NET Core vs. ASP.NET 4.x and how to choose between them.
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ms.author: riande
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ms.custom: "mvc, seodec18"
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ms.date: 07/15/2019
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uid: fundamentals/choose-between-aspnet-and-aspnetcore
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---
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# Choose between ASP.NET 4.x and ASP.NET Core
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ASP.NET Core is a redesign of ASP.NET 4.x. This article lists the differences between them.
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## ASP.NET Core
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ASP.NET Core is an open-source, cross-platform framework for building modern, cloud-based web apps on Windows, macOS, or Linux.
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[!INCLUDE[ ](~/includes/benefits.md )]
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## ASP.NET 4.x
ASP.NET 4.x is a mature framework that provides the services needed to build enterprise-grade, server-based web apps on Windows.
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## Framework selection
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The following table compares ASP.NET Core to ASP.NET 4.x.
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| ASP.NET Core | ASP.NET 4.x |
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|---|---|
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|Build for Windows, macOS, or Linux|Build for Windows|
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|[Razor Pages](xref:razor-pages/index) is the recommended approach to create a Web UI as of ASP.NET Core 2.x. See also [MVC ](xref:mvc/overview ), [Web API ](xref:tutorials/first-web-api ), and [SignalR ](xref:signalr/introduction ).|Use [Web Forms ](/aspnet/web-forms ), [SignalR ](/aspnet/signalr ), [MVC ](/aspnet/mvc ), [Web API ](/aspnet/web-api/ ), [WebHooks ](/aspnet/webhooks/ ), or [Web Pages ](/aspnet/web-pages )|
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|Multiple versions per machine|One version per machine|
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|Develop with [Visual Studio ](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/ ), [Visual Studio for Mac ](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/mac/ ), or [Visual Studio Code ](https://code.visualstudio.com/ ) using C# or F#|Develop with [Visual Studio ](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/ ) using C#, VB, or F#|
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|Higher performance than ASP.NET 4.x|Good performance|
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|[Use .NET Core runtime](/dotnet/standard/choosing-core-framework-server)|Use .NET Framework runtime|
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See [ASP.NET Core targeting .NET Framework ](xref:index#target-framework ) for information on ASP.NET Core 2.x support on .NET Framework.
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## ASP.NET Core scenarios
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* [Websites ](xref:tutorials/first-mvc-app/index )
* [APIs ](xref:tutorials/first-web-api )
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* [Real-time ](xref:signalr/index )
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* [Deploy an ASP.NET Core app to Azure ](/azure/app-service/app-service-web-get-started-dotnet )
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## ASP.NET 4.x scenarios
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* [Websites ](/aspnet/mvc )
* [APIs ](/aspnet/web-api )
* [Real-time ](/aspnet/signalr )
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* [Create an ASP.NET 4.x web app in Azure ](/azure/app-service/app-service-web-get-started-dotnet-framework )
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## Additional resources
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* [Introduction to ASP.NET ](/aspnet/overview )
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* [Introduction to ASP.NET Core ](xref:index )
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* < xref:host-and-deploy / azure-apps / index >
