How it works
C# is statically typed and object-oriented, with a garbage collector, and it has absorbed good ideas steadily: LINQ queries, async/await (which C# popularised), pattern matching and records. Microsoft introduced it in 2000; its lead designer, Anders Hejlsberg, later led the design of TypeScript. It runs on .NET, open source and cross-platform since 2016, so C# apps run on Linux servers and Macs as well as Windows.
ASP.NET Core is a fast framework for web APIs and sites, and Blazor runs C# in the browser through WebAssembly. .NET MAUI targets phones and desktops, Unity uses C# for game scripting, and a great deal of corporate software on Windows is written in it.
C# pros and cons
Pros
- Consistent language that gains useful features with each yearly release
- Fast runtime and a quick web framework in ASP.NET Core
- Strong tooling in Visual Studio, VS Code and JetBrains Rider
- The scripting language of Unity, a widely used game engine
Cons
- Its ecosystem leans towards Microsoft products and Azure
- Fewer startups and open-source web projects use it than JavaScript or Python
- Cross-platform desktop and mobile UI (MAUI) is less mature than its server side
When to use C#
Pick it when
- Companies already invested in Microsoft, Windows and Azure
- Games and interactive 3D with Unity
- Fast, strongly typed web APIs with ASP.NET Core
Skip it when
- A typical web app for a team that already knows JavaScript or Python
C# pricing
Open source
Free: .NET is open source (MIT). Visual Studio Community is free for individuals and small teams; Professional costs about $45 a month per user.
C# pricing page (opens in a new tab)Approximate, checked September 2026.What the other tools cost
Related terms
More in Programming languages
General purpose