.NET Version History
3 active, 10 end-of-life. 13 versions tracked.
.NET releases a new major version every November, alternating between Long-Term Support (even years) and Standard Term Support (odd years). Microsoft has maintained this annual cadence since .NET 5 (2020).
Recommendation
For new projects, use .NET 10 LTS. It shipped in November 2025 with 3 years of support (through November 2028) and includes the latest C# language features.
| Version | Released | End of Life | Latest Patch | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .NET 10 LTS | November 11, 2025 | November 14, 2028 | 10.0.3 | LTS — Active |
| .NET 9 | November 12, 2024 | November 10, 2026 | 9.0.13 | Active |
| .NET 8 LTS | November 14, 2023 | November 10, 2026 | 8.0.24 | LTS — Active |
| .NET 7 | November 8, 2022 | May 14, 2024 | 7.0.20 | End of Life |
| .NET 6 LTS | November 8, 2021 | November 12, 2024 | 6.0.36 | End of Life |
| .NET 5 | November 10, 2020 | May 10, 2022 | 5.0.17 | End of Life |
| .NET 3.1 LTS | December 3, 2019 | December 13, 2022 | 3.1.32 | End of Life |
| .NET 3.0 | September 23, 2019 | March 3, 2020 | 3.0.3 | End of Life |
| .NET 2.2 | December 4, 2018 | December 23, 2019 | 2.2.8 | End of Life |
| .NET 2.1 LTS | May 30, 2018 | August 21, 2021 | 2.1.30 | End of Life |
| .NET 2.0 | August 14, 2017 | October 1, 2018 | 2.0.9 | End of Life |
| .NET 1.1 | November 16, 2016 | June 27, 2019 | 1.1.13 | End of Life |
| .NET 1.0 | June 27, 2016 | June 27, 2019 | 1.0.16 | End of Life |
.NET Support Policy
.NET LTS releases (even-numbered: 6, 8, 10) receive 3 years of support. STS releases (odd-numbered: 7, 9) get only 18 months. Microsoft provides security patches and bug fixes throughout the support window. After support ends, no further updates are provided.
What You Need to Know
.NET 8 LTS reaches end-of-life in November 2026. Plan your migration to .NET 10 LTS.
.NET 10 LTS is the current long-term support release with the latest features and longest support window.
.NET 9 (STS) reaches end of support in November 2026. Migrate to .NET 10 LTS.
Native AOT compilation is mature in .NET 10, significantly reducing startup time and memory usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Should I use .NET 8 or .NET 9 in 2026?
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