Software · head to head
Spring Boot vs .NET
S
Spring Boot
Software
Stand-alone, production-grade Spring based applications that you can just run
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Spring Boot requires Java 17 as the minimum version for Spring Boot 4.1.0, per docs.spring.io/spring-boot/system-requirements.html (Aug 2026); older Java runtimes are not supported; .NET .NET 8 and .NET 9 both reach end of support on 10 November 2026, per dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy (Aug 2026), forcing an upgrade to .NET 10 by that date
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Spring Boot and .NET actually diverge.
| Attribute | Spring Boot | .NET |
|---|
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Spring Boot
- Requires Java 17 as the minimum version for Spring Boot 4.1.0, per docs.spring.io/spring-boot/system-requirements.html (Aug 2026); older Java runtimes are not supported
- Requires Spring Framework 7.0.8 or above and Gradle 8.14+ or Maven 3.6.3+, per Spring's own system requirements page, so older toolchains must be upgraded first
.NET
- .NET 8 and .NET 9 both reach end of support on 10 November 2026, per dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy (Aug 2026), forcing an upgrade to .NET 10 by that date
- Standard Term Support releases get only 2 years of patches versus 3 years for Long Term Support releases, per Microsoft's own support policy page, so teams on an STS release face a shorter upgrade cycle
Pricing, plan by plan
Spring Boot
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Spring Boot review.
.NET
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the .NET review.
Which should you pick?
Questions people ask
- Is Spring Boot or .NET better?
- Neither clearly leads. Spring Boot starts at Free and .NET at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Spring Boot or .NET?
- Spring Boot starts at Free and .NET at Free.
- Does Spring Boot or .NET run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Spring Boot for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.