.NET 6 Is No Longer Supported: Why It’s Time to Move On and Where to Jump Next
If your apps still run on .NET 6, you’re officially flying without a safety net. As of August 2025, Microsoft has cut off all support. The framework still runs, but every day it does so without updates, the risks compound.
Plenty of companies are still in this position. Industry surveys suggest that a third of enterprises continue running critical workloads on outdated frameworks, often because upgrading feels too disruptive or expensive. That hesitation buys short-term comfort but builds long-term exposure.
The consequences are real. Last year, a financial services firm running legacy frameworks faced a critical breach that went undetected for weeks because the unsupported runtime had no security patches. The incident cost millions in remediation and regulatory fines. This is a stark reminder that outdated software can turn silent risk into headline news.
So, in our new article, we break down why staying on .NET 6 is risky, explore the safer path to .NET 8, and explain when it makes sense to adopt .NET 10 for new projects. We cover practical migration strategies, the business benefits of upgrading beyond security, and how modern frameworks help companies stay competitive and compliant.
The State of .NET Today
.NET 6 has reached the end of the road. In August 2025, Microsoft officially ended support for .NET 6. That cut off the flow of bug fixes, performance updates, and, most critically, security patches. Companies still running production workloads are at risk of becoming exposed.
Microsoft maintains two tracks for .NET releases:
– Long-Term Support (LTS): Stable, supported for three years, and designed for enterprises that value predictability.
– Standard Term Support (STS): Shorter lifecycle, aimed at developers who want the newest features first.
It’s tempting to shrug off an end-of-life announcement. After all, your app still runs. But the risks stack up quickly.
Security blind spots
Staying on .NET 6 means there will never be another official security fix. Every new vulnerability that surfaces from now on is left unaddressed by Microsoft, shifting the burden entirely onto your team. The longer a system runs without patch coverage, the greater the risk that a small flaw could escalate into a costly breach.
Compliance exposure
For companies operating in heavily regulated industries like healthcare, fintech, or SaaS, unsupported frameworks pose a different kind of threat. Running on .NET 6 after its end of life can put systems out of alignment with compliance requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, or SOC 2. What looks like a technical shortcut quickly becomes a liability in audits and contract negotiations.
Hiring and retention pain
There’s also the talent dimension. Developers increasingly expect to work with modern, supported frameworks that evolve with the industry.
Persisting with an outdated runtime makes teams less appealing to new hires and can frustrate existing staff. In competitive markets for engineering talent, that slowdown in recruitment and retention has a direct business cost.
Put simply, running on .NET 6 is like driving with an expired inspection sticker. It works until something breaks, but the cost and risk of waiting only climb. With .NET 8 mature and .NET 10 nearly here, now is the moment to plan your next move rather than scramble later.
The Upgrade Dilemma: .NET 8 vs. .NET 10
Why do some companies hesitate?
Upgrading a core framework sounds straightforward until you open the hood. Even companies that know they’re running out of runway on .NET 6 hesitate, and for good reason:
– Fear of breaking production code. Many enterprise systems have been running untouched for years. Even a small runtime change can trigger unexpected behavior (authentication breaks, API contracts shift, or performance tanks under load). No CTO wants to explain unexpected downtime to customers or investors.As a result, many companies postpone the decision, hoping to “wait until the dust settles.” But staying on .NET 6 is now an active security and compliance risk that grows every month.
Making the safe move: .NET 8 now
For the majority of production workloads, .NET 8 is the pragmatic next step. It’s stable, mature, and fully supported without pushing your teams into bleeding-edge territory.
Proven stability and security
Released in November 2023, .NET 8 has had nearly two years of real-world use across both enterprise systems and open-source projects. The ecosystem has matured, major libraries have aligned, and Microsoft continues to deliver patches and optimizations, making it a dependable foundation.
A long support window
Mainstream support for .NET 8 runs until November 2026, with extended support available beyond that. This gives organizations a multi-year buffer to plan their next upgrade deliberately rather than rushing when deadlines approach.
Compatibility and tooling
Migration is also less daunting thanks to tooling support. The .NET upgrade assistant, along with analyzers and dependency checkers, helps teams identify potential breaking changes, map out the transition, and mitigate risks before they hit production.
Strategic positioning
Perhaps most importantly, moving from .NET 6 to .NET 8 keeps companies aligned with Microsoft’s development cadence. It ensures the eventual leap to .NET 10 or whatever comes next is far smoother than skipping multiple versions and trying to catch up all at once.
In short, .NET 8 functions as a safe harbor: a proven platform that restores security coverage and buys time to modernize pipelines before considering the next major step forward.
Making the bold move: .NET 10
Some teams will see .NET 10, scheduled for release in November 2025, as an opportunity to leapfrog. Moving directly to the newest release can be a calculated bet for organizations building new, modular services or operating within a mature DevOps culture with automated testing and canary deployments.
Next-level performance
Microsoft is promising significant runtime improvements, from faster execution speeds to lower memory consumption and deeper cloud optimization. For applications under heavy load or scaling across distributed systems, those gains could translate into measurable efficiency and cost savings.
AI-ready architecture
The upcoming release is also expected to strengthen integration with AI frameworks, model hosting, and data pipelines. For companies investing in machine learning features, the ability to align with an AI-optimized runtime offers an early advantage in performance and developer experience.
Fresh support lifecycle
Adopting .NET 10 from the start also pushes the support window farther into the future, reducing the number of disruptive upgrades that will be needed over the next decade. For long-lived platforms, that extended runway is a strong incentive.
Competitive edge
Perhaps the most compelling argument for early adoption is the chance to move faster than competitors. Organizations with robust testing cultures and rapid feedback loops are in a position to exploit new capabilities before slower-moving rivals, turning bleeding edge into a differentiator rather than a liability.
The cautionary reality
But bold moves come with trade-offs. New versions of .NET typically need time before the ecosystem fully stabilizes. NuGet packages, third-party libraries, and internal tools often lag behind the release cycle, meaning early adopters may face gaps or unexpected integration hurdles. For teams without the resources to troubleshoot and patch around those gaps, .NET 8 may remain the safer interim step.
Even if you plan to adopt .NET 10, it’s wise to:
– Run a proof-of-concept or pilot project before migrating core systems.– Validate dependencies and third-party libraries in staging environments.
– Build rollback and monitoring strategies to avoid production surprises.
So, for most organizations, moving to .NET 8 immediately is the most stable and risk-managed path. It restores security coverage, keeps compliance intact, and sets you up for a controlled transition to .NET 10 when the ecosystem has matured.
Teams with deep DevOps capabilities and a high tolerance for change can explore .NET 10 early, but they need strong testing and rollback strategies in place. Everyone else should treat .NET 8 as the safe bridge and make the move now, before technical debt and security risk get harder to untangle.
Read also: Building Scalable Enterprise Apps with Blazor and .NET 9
Step-by-Step Migration Strategy
Upgrading from .NET 6 doesn’t have to feel like pulling the emergency brake. It, however, does demand structure and a timeline. Treat it as a modernization project.
Step 1. Audit and assess (~2–4 weeks)
Start with a clear map of what you’re running. Document every app, service, and library still tied to .NET 6. Check internal tools and background jobs; they’re often overlooked but can block upgrades later.
At the same time, note where your workloads live:
– containers,– on-prem servers,
– cloud VMs.
Deployment targets influence SDK choices and image updates. Your goal is to see the whole picture and identify obvious blockers: old NuGet packages, unsupported dependencies, or critical integrations with fragile APIs.
Step 2. Modernize the delivery pipeline (~ 2–6 weeks)
A migration will surface every weakness in your CI/CD setup. Update build servers and container images to handle the new SDK and test that pipelines can produce deployable artifacts on .NET 8.
Bring in Microsoft’s .NET Upgrade Assistant and compatibility analyzers early. They’ll flag breaking API changes and project file issues before they derail the work.
If test coverage is thin, invest time here: automated tests are your safety net for catching regressions before users do.
Step 3. Roll out gradually (ongoing, 1–3 months depending on complexity)
Don’t flip the whole stack at once. Begin with low-risk apps to validate your approach and refine the process. As confidence builds, move critical workloads.
Each migration cycle should include pre-migration benchmarks, security scans, and post-deployment monitoring.
Have a rollback plan ready. Even well-planned upgrades can surprise you. Communicate expected changes or brief downtime to stakeholders so there are no blind spots.
Step 4. Position for the future
Once production systems are secure on .NET 8, you can look ahead. New projects launching in late 2025 might justify .NET 10 from day one. It will bring performance and cloud optimizations that make sense for greenfield development.
But don’t rush legacy systems onto a brand-new framework. Stabilize on .NET 8, then revisit .NET 10 once its ecosystem (packages, docs, tooling, etc.) has matured.
Even a lightweight migration plan with defined sprints and review points is better than waiting for an emergency upgrade triggered by a breach or broken library. Act before .NET 6’s security gap widens.
Let’s discussWhy Upgrading Pays Off Beyond Security
Security is the immediate trigger to move off .NET 6, but it’s rarely the whole story. Staying current with the platform delivers benefits that ripple across cost, performance, and team capability.
Lower long-term costs
Unsupported technology might seem cheaper now, but the hidden costs accumulate fast. Without Microsoft’s patches, you’re responsible for diagnosing and fixing vulnerabilities yourself or paying consultants to do it under pressure.
Old frameworks also create friction when onboarding developers: time spent learning outdated APIs or patching brittle integrations delays feature work and increases payroll burn. Modernizing to .NET 8 or 10 keeps maintenance predictable and hiring easier.
Better performance and scalability
Each .NET release improves runtime speed, memory efficiency, and container support. Upgrading can cut cloud bills by running the same workloads on fewer resources and improve startup times for microservices.
It makes applications faster, reduces infrastructure costs, and improves reliability under load.
Future-proofing talent and architecture
Developers want to work with supported, forward-looking stacks. If your engineering team is stuck on EOL tech, morale and retention suffer.
Worse, recruiting new talent gets harder when candidates see “.NET 6” in a job description. Moving to .NET 8 now signals a commitment to modern practices and helps you attract and keep skilled engineers.
Unlocking next-generation capabilities
AI integrations, event-driven architectures, and true cloud-native deployments are easier to build and maintain on current frameworks. Microsoft’s newer runtimes come with stronger support for modern patterns: from minimal APIs to better async performance and libraries that integrate with machine learning and analytics. Sticking with outdated tech limits how fast you can innovate.
To make a long story short, timely upgrading is your most effective defensive move and best investment. It trims hidden costs, speeds delivery, and positions your team to take advantage of the next wave of tools and patterns without a painful rewrite later.
Read also: Cross-Platform Development with .NET MAUI: Features and Benefits
How to Find a Consultant Partner for Migration
Migration from .NET 6 to a modern framework is rarely a solo effort. Even teams with internal expertise benefit from external guidance to reduce risk and accelerate delivery.
When evaluating partners, consider three key factors:
– experience with large-scale .NET migrations,– familiarity with both .NET 8 and .NET 10 ecosystems,
– and proven CI/CD modernization skills.
Look for consultants who can audit your environment, identify dependency blockers, and guide your rollout without disrupting production workloads.
At Devessence, we combine deep .NET expertise with practical migration experience. Our team has worked across industries, helping companies move critical workloads safely, optimize pipelines, and align upgrades with business priorities.
When you choose a partner like Devessence, you can be 100% sure that your migration plan is technically sound. It also preserves compliance, minimizes downtime, and positions your organization for future innovation.
Book a free consultation to discuss your specific circumstances and needs
Book nowConclusion: Summary and Future Outlook
The end of .NET 6 marks more than a technical milestone; it’s a call to action for companies still running critical workloads on outdated frameworks. Moving to .NET 8 offers stability, security, and a predictable support horizon, while .NET 10 presents an opportunity for early adopters to leverage performance gains, AI readiness, and long-term lifecycle benefits.
Looking ahead, the .NET ecosystem is set to evolve at an accelerated pace. With each new version, you can anticipate cloud-native architecture, performance optimization, and tighter integration with AI and machine learning frameworks.
Future releases will likely bring more granular support for microservices, event-driven architectures, and containerized deployments, making it easier to build scalable, resilient systems. Organizations that approach their migration strategically (assessing dependencies, allocating resources wisely, and timing their rollout to minimize disruption) will secure their systems against emerging threats and gain a platform for innovation.
A proactive upgrade allows teams to take advantage of modern tooling, improved developer productivity, and enhanced observability, positioning themselves ahead of competitors still tied to outdated frameworks. Waiting too long, on the other hand, compounds risk: unsupported runtimes leave systems vulnerable to security breaches, create compliance exposure in regulated industries, and force costly, rushed migrations under pressure.
The safest and most effective path is clear: move now to stabilize on .NET 8, modernize pipelines and processes, and prepare to adopt .NET 10 when its ecosystem matures, unlocking next-generation performance, cloud optimization, and AI capabilities.
Tech debt compounds like interest. The longer you wait, the more it costs. Now that .NET 6 is no longer supported, businesses have a rare window to modernize safely: moving to .NET 8 now sets you up for a future leap to .NET 10. Let us help you to do this without panic or risk
Contact usFAQs
-
Can we stay on .NET 6 a bit longer?
Technically yes, but every day your apps run without support increases exposure to security vulnerabilities and compliance risks. No new patches or fixes will be released, so any newly discovered issues are your responsibility.
-
Why not jump straight to .NET 10?
.NET 10 launches in November 2025, but early adoption carries risks. Many libraries, frameworks, and internal tools take time to catch up. Waiting for the ecosystem to stabilize reduces integration headaches and avoids unexpected downtime in production.
-
What’s the benefit of .NET 8 over .NET 6?
.NET 8 brings faster performance, improved memory and container efficiency, modern APIs, and ongoing security updates. It is fully supported until at least November 2026, giving you a safe, stable platform while preparing for future upgrades.
-
Is the migration expensive?
Costs depend on the complexity of your apps and pipelines, but delaying the upgrade is often far more expensive. Emergency fixes, tech debt, and security incidents can quickly outweigh the controlled investment of a planned migration.
-
Do small teams really need to worry?
Absolutely. Unsupported frameworks are a common attack vector, regardless of company size. Even small apps can face breaches or compliance issues if left on .NET 6. Upgrading protects your business and maintains operational integrity.