title	author	description	ms.author	ms.custom	ms.date	uid
Choose between ASP.NET 4.x and ASP.NET Core	tdykstra	Explains ASP.NET Core vs. ASP.NET 4.x and how to choose between them.	tdykstra	mvc	02/12/2020	fundamentals/choose-between-aspnet-and-aspnetcore

Choose between ASP.NET 4.x and ASP.NET Core

ASP.NET Core is a redesign of ASP.NET 4.x. This article lists the differences between them.

ASP.NET Core

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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ASP.NET 4.x is a mature framework that provides the services needed to build enterprise-grade, server-based web apps on Windows.

The following table compares ASP.NET Core to ASP.NET 4.x.

ASP.NET Core	ASP.NET 4.x
Build for Windows, macOS, or Linux	Build for Windows
Razor Pages is the recommended approach to create a Web UI as of ASP.NET Core 2.x. See also MVC, Web API, and SignalR.	Use Web Forms, SignalR, MVC, Web API, WebHooks, or Web Pages
Multiple versions per machine	One version per machine
Develop with Visual Studio, Visual Studio for Mac, or Visual Studio Code using C# or F#	Develop with Visual Studio using C#, VB, or F#
Higher performance than ASP.NET 4.x	Good performance
Use .NET Core runtime	Use .NET Framework runtime

See ASP.NET Core targeting .NET Framework for information on ASP.NET Core 2.x support on .NET Framework.