The 16 Best .NET Development Tools

.NET has been a key player in the IT market for over 20 years. During this time, this Microsoft platform has grown incredibly popular. While it’s difficult to provide an exact count, it’s no exaggeration to say that millions of web, mobile, and desktop projects across various operating systems have been created using .NET development tools.

SaM Solutions has been offering .NET software development services since the platform’s inception. With a dedicated team of certified .NET engineers, equipped with top-tier tools, we bring even the boldest ideas to life.

Rely on SaM Solutions’ vast expertise in .NET development to deliver your .NET-powered product or custom software.

From the vast selection of available libraries and frameworks, we’ve compiled a list of the best tools for .NET developers, offering a comprehensive overview of .NET capabilities.

1. Visual Studio/Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code are two of the most widely used integrated development environments (IDEs) in the .NET ecosystem, each tailored to different use cases and developer needs. 

Visual Studio is a full-featured IDE designed for large-scale enterprise development, offering advanced tools for debugging, testing, collaboration, and application lifecycle management. It supports multiple languages, including C#, F#, and VB.NET, with seamless integration of .NET frameworks like ASP.NET and Entity Framework. Key features of Visual Studio include its robust IntelliSense, a powerful debugger, integrated Git version control, and the ability to build and deploy applications across multiple platforms (Windows, web, mobile, and cloud).

Visual Studio Code (VS Code), on the other hand, is a lightweight, cross-platform code editor that excels in flexibility and speed. While it lacks the comprehensive enterprise tools of Visual Studio, VS Code is highly extensible through a rich ecosystem of plugins, making it ideal for web development, scripting, and smaller .NET projects. It also includes features like IntelliSense, Git integration, debugging, and extensions for multiple languages, including C# via the C# for Visual Studio Code extension.

When to use: Visual Studio is ideal for large enterprise solutions requiring robust testing, debugging, and optimization tools. VS Code is best for lightweight development like web projects, quick scripting, or cross-platform work where speed and flexibility matter. 

2. JetBrains Rider

JetBrains Rider is a cross-platform integrated development environment that offers a rich set of features to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. Built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ platform, Rider integrates support for .NET, C#, ASP.NET, and a variety of languages like JavaScript and TypeScript, making it versatile for both back-end and front-end development. 

Rider’s key features include intelligent code completion, real-time error detection, refactoring tools, and advanced debugging across multiple platforms. Its built-in decompiler allows exploration of compiled code, and it supports version control systems like Git. Designed for performance, Rider uses fewer resources than Visual Studio, making it faster for large projects.

When to use: JetBrains Rider is best suited for projects that require an IDE capable of running on multiple operating systems. It’s great for developing cross-platform .NET applications, such as .NET Core services, ASP.NET web applications, and Xamarin mobile apps. 

3. LINQPad

LINQPad is a powerful tool for querying databases, but it also serves as a versatile scratchpad for .NET code.

One of its standout features is the ability to write and test LINQ (Language Integrated Query) queries against databases such as SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite, and others without needing a full IDE like Visual Studio.

LINQPad also supports C#, F#, and VB.NET, making it a comprehensive tool for testing, prototyping, and debugging small chunks of code. It offers rich autocompletion, debugging, and immediate execution of snippets, serving as a lightweight alternative to traditional IDEs. LINQPad also connects seamlessly to Entity Framework for direct interaction with data models.

When to use: LINQPad is especially useful for database administrators and developers who need a quick way to query and manipulate data directly from a .NET environment.

4. Chocolatey

Chocolatey is a popular package manager for Windows that simplifies software installation and management. It features a vast repository of software packages, including development tools, libraries, and utilities. Developers can automate their setup by scripting the installation of necessary tools like SDKs, databases, IDEs, and .NET runtimes. Chocolatey integrates with continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, streamlining build and deployment processes.

When to use: Chocolatey is great for DevOps environments to automate infrastructure provisioning. For example, .NET developers can use Chocolatey to install Visual Studio, SQL Server, Git, and .NET runtimes in one go, ensuring a ready-to-use development environment in minutes.

5. NDepend

NDepend is one of the best .NET developer tools for static analysis, helping to optimize code quality, maintainability, and performance. It offers in-depth insights into the codebase by analyzing code metrics, dependencies, and architecture.

With Code Query Language (CQLinq), developers can write custom queries to analyze code structure and behavior. NDepend also offers detailed visualizations of code dependencies, cyclomatic complexity, and technical debt, highlighting areas for refactoring or improvements. The tool integrates with Visual Studio and CI/CD pipelines, providing continuous feedback on code quality and enforcing coding standards through custom rules and automated reports.

When to use: NDepend is best suited for large-scale .NET projects where maintaining code quality over time is crucial. For example, a team managing a large legacy .NET application can use NDepend to spot overly complex code and identify areas for refactoring to reduce technical debt.

6. NCrunch

NCrunch is an advanced automated testing tool for .NET, focused on continuous testing and real-time feedback on code changes.

It runs tests in the background as developers write or modify code, providing immediate results, coverage, and performance data. Using intelligent parallel execution, it speeds up testing by utilizing CPU cores. NCrunch also offers visual representations of code coverage, indicating fully, partially, and untested code areas. It integrates with Visual Studio and supports various test frameworks, making it valuable for test-driven development (TDD) and continuous integration environments.

When to use: NCrunch is ideal for large projects with extensive test suites. For example, in a large enterprise .NET application, NCrunch can automatically rerun relevant tests as developers commit new code, ensuring that any introduced bugs are caught early before they propagate into production.

7. NuGet

NuGet is the official .NET package manager, simplifying the management and distribution of libraries, tools, and dependencies. It enables developers to easily install, update, and manage third-party libraries or create and share their own packages. With an extensive package repository, NuGet integrates libraries into projects with just a few commands or via Visual Studio. It supports version control to ensure compatibility and prevent conflicts. Its command-line tool and CI/CD integration streamline automated package management, making NuGet one of the essential dot NET development tools.

When to use: NuGet is perfect for enterprise development, especially for managing private repositories and distributing internal tools. It’s great for quickly integrating essential libraries like Entity Framework, Newtonsoft.Json, or Moq. For example, teams can automate dependency installation to ensure consistent library versions and easy updates across projects.

8. ReSharper

ReSharper, a productivity tool by JetBrains, boosts .NET coding efficiency with advanced code analysis, refactoring, and navigation capabilities. Its intelligent code suggestions and real-time error detection help developers identify code bugs, redundant code, and potential performance bottlenecks as they write.

ReSharper offers a wide range of automated refactoring options, simplifying code clean up and restructuring. It provides seamless navigation and search functionality, allowing developers to quickly jump to classes, methods, or files within a project, even in large codebases. Supporting programming languages like C#, VB.NET, and JavaScript, it integrates smoothly with Visual Studio, adding powerful code inspection, test running, and optimization tools.

When to use: ReSharper is ideal for large enterprise applications to automate code refactoring, speed up navigation, and identify performance bottlenecks during development. For example, in a large .NET project, ReSharper can quickly highlight code that violates coding standards, suggest optimizations, and help developers navigate through thousands of files with ease.

9. dotPeek

dotPeek is a standalone decompiler and code analysis tool developed by JetBrains. It allows developers to explore and analyze assemblies, navigate through code, and refactor. With seamless integration into JetBrains’ ecosystem, dotPeek is regarded as one of the best tools for decompiling and inspecting .NET code.

When to use: dotPeek is widely used for decompiling, analyzing, and navigating through third-party or legacy .NET code.

10. .NET Reflector

.NET Reflector is a powerful decompilation and debugging tool, part of the essential development tools for .NET. It enables developers to explore and understand compiled code, particularly when the source code is unavailable.

.NET Reflector decompiles assemblies into readable C#, VB.NET, or IL code, making it useful for analyzing third-party libraries, legacy code, or obfuscated code. Integrated with Visual Studio, it allows seamless debugging of decompiled code with breakpoints and variable inspection. It also offers support for viewing assemblies’ dependencies, simplifying the process of understanding complex codebase and the interactions between components.

When to use: .NET Reflector is essential for inherited projects without complete source code, to maintain legacy projects, or to fix issues in undocumented libraries. 

11. NUnit

NUnit is a popular open-source unit testing framework for .NET programs, designed to help developers write and execute automated tests. 

It provides attributes for organizing tests and supports parameterized tests, reducing code duplication. NUnit integrates well with CI/CD pipelines and IDEs like Visual Studio, allowing easy test execution directly within the development environment. Its extensibility enables custom assertions and test adapters, and compatibility with tools like Moq makes it versatile for .NET development.

When to use: NUnit is ideal in TDD workflows, where developers write tests before the actual code to ensure new functionality behaves as expected.

12. Postman

Postman is a widely-used API testing tool that helps developers efficiently interact with, test, and document APIs. While it’s not exclusive to .NET, Postman is commonly used by .NET developers to test RESTful APIs, making it an essential tool for dot net engineers working with microservices, web applications, or API-driven platforms.

Its intuitive interface allows users to create and manage HTTP requests without writing code. Postman enables test automation with JavaScript, organizes requests into reusable collections, and generates API documentation. It integrates well with CI/CD pipelines and supports various authentication methods for testing secure APIs.

When to use: Postman is perfect for quickly testing API endpoints in .NET Core web applications.

13. SQL Complete

SQL Complete by Devart is a productivity tool for SQL Server management, offering advanced autocompletion, formatting, and other features to streamline database development and administration. It integrates with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and Visual Studio, enhancing the SQL coding experience for .NET developers. 

Key features include intelligent autocompletion, code snippets, custom formatting, and refactoring tools for cleaner code. Real-time error detection and code navigation help developers work efficiently, while advanced features like query history and tab coloring aid in managing multiple queries and sessions.

When to use: SQL Complete is ideal for working with complex SQL queries or large databases. For example, a .NET developer working on a data-heavy web application might use SQL Complete to quickly write complex joins or subqueries, catch syntax errors early, and format the code for better readability, all while boosting overall development speed.

14. PerfCollect and PerfView

PerfCollect and PerfView are powerful performance profiling and diagnostics tools used in .NET development to gather and analyze performance data.

PerfCollect is a Linux-based tool that collects performance traces using various system-level metrics, while PerfView is a Windows-based performance analysis tool designed for viewing and analyzing data collected through ETW (Event Tracing for Windows). 

PerfView can process a wide range of performance data, including CPU and memory usage, garbage collection (GC) events, and thread activity, making it an excellent tool for diagnosing performance issues in .NET applications. Its ability to generate flame graphs, detailed performance reports, and summary statistics allows developers to drill down into specific parts of their application, such as slow-running methods or inefficient memory usage. 

PerfView is lightweight and can handle large trace files, offering granular insights into how applications perform under load or in production environments.

When to use: PerfCollect and PerfView are ideal for diagnosing performance issues in .NET applications, particularly in scenarios involving complex memory management or CPU-bound operations.

15. Dotnet-script

The list of prominent .NET application development tools includes Dotnet-script — a lightweight, cross-platform tool that enables developers to write and execute C# scripts without compiling a full project.

Dotnet-script supports NuGet packages, enabling easy library imports for added functionality. Ideal for CI pipelines, it automates tasks like code generation and data processing. Its simplicity makes it great for testing code snippets or building small tools.

When to use: Dotnet-script is perfect for automating routine tasks in .NET-based environments, such as generating boilerplate code, running simple data processing scripts, or building quick proof-of-concept prototypes.

16. Stackify Prefix

Stackify Prefix is a lightweight, real-time application performance monitoring tool. It tracks and visualizes metrics like request execution times, database queries, and external HTTP calls. Prefix helps identify slow processes, SQL issues, and log errors, enabling developers to optimize code before production. It integrates with .NET frameworks like ASP.NET and .NET Core and supports code profiling for deeper insights into method-level performance bottlenecks.

When to use: Stackify Prefix is ideal for optimizing the performance of web applications during development, diagnosing slow database queries, and troubleshooting issues in microservices architectures. 

Why Choose SaM Solutions for .NET Development?

SaM Solutions is a go-to choice for .NET development, with over 20 years of experience building high-performing web, desktop, and cloud apps. Our experts excel at using the latest technologies like ASP.NET Core, WPF, and Blazor to create secure and scalable solutions. We offer seamless integration with cloud platforms like Azure and support for third-party UI frameworks to deliver modern, feature-packed applications. With a focus on agile methods, DevOps, and solid project management, SaM Solutions ensures projects are delivered on time and with top-notch quality.

Conclusion

The .NET framework development tools provide a versatile and powerful toolkit for developers to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and optimize application performance. From robust IDEs like Visual Studio and Rider to specialized tools such as LINQPad, NDepend, and Postman, developers have an extensive toolkit to address various aspects of .NET development. Whether you need real-time performance monitoring, automated testing, or efficient package management, the tools highlighted here are invaluable for modern .NET projects, enabling teams to build, test, and optimize applications effectively.