What is a .NET developer? Role, skills, and salary

A .NET developer is a software engineer who builds applications on Microsoft’s .NET platform, using languages such as C#, F#, and VB.NET. They ship web apps, desktop tools, mobile apps, cloud services, and games. Most .NET developers work in C# on ASP.NET Core and target Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android from a single codebase.

The role sits at the heart of enterprise software. Banks, insurers, healthcare providers, and government agencies rely on .NET for line-of-business systems because it plays nicely with SQL Server, Azure, and Active Directory.

You’ll find .NET developers everywhere from two-person startups to Fortune 500 IT departments. The skill set is broad — a strong .NET developer knows the language, the framework, a database, and at least one cloud.

Companies hire them full-time, on contract, or through an outsourcing partner. Offshore .NET talent from the Philippines, India, and Eastern Europe has grown sharply since 2020, largely because remote-first hiring became normal.

Key takeaways

• A .NET developer builds applications on Microsoft’s .NET platform, mostly in C# on ASP.NET Core, targeting Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.
• .NET 8, released November 2023, is Microsoft’s cross-platform runtime that replaces the Windows-only .NET Framework across web, desktop, mobile, cloud, and game workloads.
• Payscale places the average US .NET developer salary near USD 84,000 in 2024, while Philippine mid-level rates land between USD 15,000 and USD 30,000.
• Stack Overflow, UPS, Dell, GoDaddy, and Chipotle all run production workloads on .NET or ASP.NET Core.
• Offshore .NET hires cut costs by 50-70% and suit maintenance, feature builds, and long-term product work at enterprise Microsoft shops.

How it works

A .NET developer writes code against the .NET runtime — the platform Microsoft open-sourced in 2016 and now ships as cross-platform .NET, currently .NET 8, released in November 2023. They pick a language, pick a workload, and use the same base class library across all of them.

Day-to-day work usually falls into one of these buckets:

Salary varies sharply by region. According to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, C# developers globally reported a median annual salary of about USD 74,963. Payscale puts the average US .NET developer salary at roughly USD 84,000 as of 2024, while offshore rates in the Philippines commonly land between USD 15,000 and USD 30,000 for mid-level engineers.

A solid mid-level .NET developer will know C#, ASP.NET Core, at least one SQL database, Git, Azure or AWS basics, and unit testing with xUnit or NUnit. Senior engineers add architecture, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native patterns to that list. Some pick up the trade formally, but the Dice 2019 report on self-taught developers found many working programmers are self-taught, and .NET is no exception.

Examples

Stack Overflow itself runs on ASP.NET — the Q&A site that most developers use daily is one of the largest public .NET workloads on the planet, and its engineering team has published performance benchmarks since 2013 showing how far the framework scales on modest hardware.

UPS uses .NET across parts of its logistics stack, including handheld device software for drivers. The company has spoken at Microsoft Ignite about running .NET workloads on Azure.

Dell built its e-commerce platform on .NET, handling millions of daily transactions. GoDaddy migrated much of its hosting control panel to ASP.NET Core after 2019 to cut server costs and improve response times.

Chipotle rebuilt its online ordering app on .NET Core during the 2020 delivery boom. The move let one team maintain iOS, Android, and web front-ends against a shared C# backend.

Related terms

• Web Developer: general programmer who builds sites and web apps across any stack.
• Front End Developer: specialist in the browser layer using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Back End Developer: server-side engineer who builds APIs, databases, and business logic.
• Full Stack Developer: engineer comfortable working across front-end and back-end layers.
• Application Developer: builder of desktop, mobile, or enterprise applications for end users.
• Software Development: the wider discipline of designing, coding, testing, and shipping software.
• Outsourcing: the practice of hiring an external firm or offshore team to deliver work.

FAQ

What does a .NET developer actually do?

A .NET developer designs, writes, tests, and maintains software built on Microsoft’s .NET platform. Most of that work is in C#, and most projects are web apps, APIs, or line-of-business tools running in the cloud.

Is .NET still in demand in 2024?

Yes. The 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey showed .NET (including .NET Framework and .NET Core) among the top-used frameworks, and C# ranked in the top 10 programming languages by professional use. Enterprises with existing Microsoft stacks keep hiring.

How long does it take to become a .NET developer?

Most people reach a junior role in 6 to 18 months of focused study, whether through a degree, a bootcamp, or self-teaching. Reaching mid-level typically takes another two to three years on the job.

What’s the difference between .NET Framework and .NET (Core)?

.NET Framework is the Windows-only version Microsoft shipped from 2002 to 2019. .NET Core, later just called .NET, is the cross-platform open-source successor that runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Should you hire a .NET developer in-house or offshore?

Offshore hiring cuts salary costs by 50–70% and works well for maintenance, feature builds, and long-term product work. In-house hires still make sense when the codebase touches sensitive data or needs tight day-to-day product alignment.

Looking to hire a .NET developer without running a full recruitment cycle? Browse verified outsourcing partners on the Outsource Accelerator hubs to shortlist teams by skill, region, and pricing.