Microsoft is releasing .NET 10 in November 2025 as their next LTS release. We’ve been testing the RC builds for a few weeks now, and the performance improvements are real—but there are some migration gotchas you need to know about before jumping in.
The Performance Numbers (They’re Actually Good This Time)
Here’s what the benchmarks show for average response times:
- .NET 8: 12.6 ms/request
- .NET 9: 9.1 ms/request (28% faster)
- .NET 10: 6.4 ms/request (49% faster than .NET 8)
That’s a substantial jump. For applications handling high concurrent load, you’ll notice the difference. Your infrastructure costs drop, user experience improves—basic stuff, but it matters.
One thing though: these numbers come from optimized scenarios. Your mileage will vary depending on what you’re actually doing. Database-heavy apps won’t see the same gains as API endpoints doing pure computation.
What Each Version Actually Brings
.NET 8 (November 2023)
This is your stable LTS foundation. Native AOT compilation works well here, Blazor United finally makes sense, and the Minimal APIs improvements are solid for microservices.
If you’re on .NET 8 right now and things are working fine, you don’t need to panic about upgrading immediately.
.NET 9 (The Middle Child)
The intermediate release that most people skipped. But it had some worthwhile stuff:
- 15% faster Minimal APIs
- 93% memory reduction in certain API endpoint scenarios
- Better exception handling (2-4x faster in some cases)
The AI integration features looked promising but felt half-baked. We think Microsoft was testing the waters here.
.NET 10 (The Upcoming LTS)
Here’s what actually matters in .NET 10:
Blazor changes: The static asset optimization is legit—76% smaller payloads for Blazor.web.js. Startup times improved noticeably in our testing. Persistent component state is nice, but you’ll need to rethink how you handle state if you’re coming from .NET 8.
Security stuff: Passkeys and WebAuthn support out of the box. This was overdue, honestly.
OpenAPI 3.1: Finally. The documentation generation is cleaner, and the spec compliance is better.
Server-Sent Events: Built-in SSE support is convenient, but watch out—it doesn’t play nice with certain reverse proxy configurations. We found this out when testing with nginx. You might need to tweak your proxy settings.
C# 14 Language Changes
The language updates are useful but not groundbreaking:
- Extension members make code cleaner
- Null-conditional assignment (?.=) is nice for safer null handling
- Field-backed properties give you more control
The enhanced nameof support for unbound generic types is one of those things you don’t think you need until you do.
Should You Upgrade?
Upgrade when it releases if:
- Starting a new project in late 2025 or early 2026
- You need LTS support for the next 3 years
- Performance is actually a bottleneck in your current stack
- You’re already planning infrastructure changes
Hold off if:
- You’re on a legacy .NET Framework app with complex dependencies
- Your current .NET 8 setup is stable and performance isn’t an issue
- You can’t afford the testing time right now
One thing we’ve seen fail: rushing upgrades without proper testing. The breaking changes aren’t huge, but they exist. Budget time for this.
Migration Gotchas
A few things that bit us during RC testing:
Middleware changes: Some existing middleware implementations need updates. The pipeline behavior changed slightly.
Dependency updates: Third-party packages might not be ready at launch. Check your critical dependencies before committing.
Blazor state management: If you’re using Blazor, the persistent component state feature is great, but it requires rethinking how you’ve been managing state. Your old patterns might not map cleanly.
Real-World Context
The performance gains are most noticeable in:
- High-throughput API scenarios
- Applications with lots of concurrent users
- Memory-constrained environments
They’re less obvious in:
- Small internal tools
- CRUD apps with database bottlenecks
- Applications where the frontend is the real performance issue
What We’d Actually Recommend
For new projects starting after November: Use .NET 10. The LTS support and performance improvements make sense.
For existing apps on .NET 8: Plan an upgrade for Q1 2026 unless you have specific performance issues now. Let other teams find the edge cases first.
For .NET 6 or older: Yeah, you should probably upgrade soon. The support window is closing.
Why This Matters for Enterprise Applications
At Hari Krishna IT Solutions, we work with businesses across India building enterprise web applications, custom software solutions, and scalable backend systems. The .NET 10 release matters because:
Better performance means lower costs: That 49% improvement in response times translates directly to reduced server requirements and cloud hosting costs.
LTS support aligns with enterprise timelines: Three years of support means you can build on .NET 10 without worrying about forced upgrades mid-project.
Improved developer productivity: The C# 14 enhancements and better tooling mean our development teams can deliver features faster.
For businesses planning digital transformation or modernizing legacy systems, .NET 10 provides a solid foundation. The combination of performance improvements, modern security features, and long-term support makes it worth considering for your next project.
The main selling point here isn’t any single feature—it’s the combination of LTS stability, real performance improvements, and modern tooling support. That’s what makes it worth considering once it drops in November.
About Hari Krishna IT Solutions
We’re an IT outsourcing company based in India, specializing in custom software development, web applications, and enterprise solutions using modern technologies like .NET, React, and cloud platforms. Whether you’re looking to build new applications or modernize existing systems, our team has the expertise to deliver quality solutions.