VB.NET is no longer actively developed

Microsoft has discontinued active development of VB.NET. The last supported version is .NET Framework 4.8.1.

Existing VB.NET applications will continue to run and still receive security and reliability updates, but the language itself is effectively frozen: no new syntax, no further evolution, and no support for modern .NET innovations.

Microsoft’s full focus has shifted to .NET (Core / .NET 6+), with C# as the primary language for all new development.

You can review Microsoft’s official support policy here: read more on the Microsoft website

Why migrate from VB.NET to C#?

VB.NET remains usable for maintaining existing systems. For new development, however, C# provides clear technical and long-term advantages.

• First-class language support
  New .NET features are designed and released for C# first.
• Stronger type safety and consistency
  C# enforces explicit typing and avoids implicit conversions that can hide defects in larger codebases.
• Modern language features
  Records, pattern matching, spans, async streams, and required members are no longer evolving in VB.NET.
• Tooling and ecosystem
  Most examples, libraries, SDKs, and community tools are written and documented in C#.
• Long-term maintainability
  C# follows Microsoft’s roadmap and remains fully aligned with .NET, cloud solutions, and cross-platform environments.

What does this mean in practice?

VB.NET has effectively become a maintenance-only language. Suitable for keeping existing applications running, but not recommended for new projects or long-term strategic investments.

For teams that still maintain VB.NET today, a gradual migration to C# is the most future-proof approach. At EDAL Solutions, we migrated our own VB.NET libraries to C# shortly after this announcement. We are happy to help you modernize your codebase and ensure long-term sustainability.