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Azul Zulu vs Microsoft .NET Framework comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Azul Zulu
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
AI Customer Experience Personalization (15th), AI Content Creation (9th)
Microsoft .NET Framework
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Azul Zulu is 3.6%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 4.5%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft .NET Framework4.5%
Azul Zulu3.6%
Other91.9%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

BasilJiji - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Standardized our Java estate and have reduced licensing costs while maintaining strong support
Azul Zulu's ability to allow us to standardize our Java estate on a single and well-supported platform stands out as one of its best features. This standardization simplifies our compliance audits and ensures all our applications receive timely security updates.Azul Zulu positively impacts our organization by providing a platform that allows us to standardize Java on a well-supported platform. Without the high cost associated with other proprietary vendors, Azul Zulu provides an excellent platform for running our applications.
Muhammad Qasim - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at Diyar United Company
Has enabled building responsive multi-threaded applications while supporting rapid deployment workflows
Microsoft .NET Framework has already made significant improvements by becoming open source. Many developers are contributing to Microsoft .NET Framework, not just Microsoft itself. They have ported it to many platforms and allow a healthy ecosystem of open source tools. They have moved from Visual SourceSafe to supporting Git with Microsoft Visual Studio. Their IDE, Visual Studio Code, is open source and multi-platform. There are many third-party tools available, including AI-based tools such as Cursor and Bolt, which are forks of Visual Studio Code. Based on my understanding, I don't have any suggestions for improvement as they are already doing an excellent job.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We've had no issues with stability."
"We achieved specific outcomes from using Azul Zulu by reducing our Java licensing and support costs by approximately 70% when compared to our previous Oracle contract."
"The .NET Framework is easier to use because it provides a wide range of libraries."
"The product has a good interface and easy-to-use programming language."
"As we are a software company, we find that accessing resources using this technology is easier compared to the others."
"When we talk about .NET development, we use Visual Studio IDE to create these things. In recent years, there have been a lot of improvements in Visual Studio 2022. It would be a daunting task to list all of the features that have benefited us, as it would require a lot of time and effort. However, there are definitely many improvements year after year in .NET development."
"The Windows Communication Foundation is the biggest advantage we get from the .NET Framework."
"When using Microsoft .NET Framework, you start writing the code internally."
"Developing APIs, services, and GUIs are done easily; tasks that might take three to four days with bare metal Microsoft .NET Framework can be completed in four to eight hours with ABP.io, depending on complexity."
"Microsoft .NET Framework’s most valuable features are web application development, RESTful services development, security, performance, and less memory footprint."
 

Cons

"Improvements for Azul Zulu could include more automated tools for unused code visibility integrated directly into the standard portal to help further optimize our cloud footprints."
"It needs a better update daemon. At this time the process is manual and could be an issue on multiple desktop deployments."
"The integration capability of the product with AI is an area with certain shortcomings, where improvements are required."
"Like in C#, Microsoft .NET Framework should provide code reusability options for all kinds of development processes."
"They should have more training materials available that are specific to .NET. We spend a lot of money training our engineers."
"This solution is best used with some training."
"Difficult to scale this product for large organizations."
"There may be some topics regarding connectivity and management of certificates that require attention."
"I would like to see more pre-built features in the MVC framework because as it is now, it's very open and you have to develop your own controls in order to use it."
"I would like more web integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Microsoft .NET Framework is very cost-effective for corporate users."
"The pricing could be cheaper."
"Considering the bigger picture, opting for the Microsoft ecosystem can be beneficial and it is priced well. When relying on entirely open-source solutions, you may encounter challenges associated with dealing with multiple vendors and potentially compromised security measures. However, it is important to note that Microsoft could enhance its performance when it comes to addressing critical security concerns."
"The product’s pricing is a bit high."
"There is a Community Edition that can be used free of charge, but the licensing cost for the Enterprise version is quite high."
"It's an expensive solution"
"We have an annual license, and we pay extra for extended support."
"The solution is free but you need to pay for a license for the hosting service."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
31%
Retailer
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
4%
Construction Company
15%
Real Estate/Law Firm
12%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Azul Zulu?
Improvements for Azul Zulu could include more automated tools for unused code visibility integrated directly into the standard portal to help further optimize our cloud footprints. The other core J...
What is your primary use case for Azul Zulu?
Azul Zulu serves as our primary Java runtime, providing a stable, 100% open-source, and certified solution for our production microservices. We utilize it to ensure cross-platform compatibility acr...
What advice do you have for others considering Azul Zulu?
My advice for others looking into using Azul Zulu is to perform a pilot migration with one non-critical application first. You will likely find that it is truly a drop-in replacement, which will gi...
What do you like most about Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft .NET Framework?
I don't know about pricing. I'm paying for Visual Studio, even though I'm not using the new version yet. Prices can always be better, but I think for the environment provided, the prices are accept...
What needs improvement with Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework has already made significant improvements by becoming open source. Many developers are contributing to Microsoft .NET Framework, not just Microsoft itself. They have ported...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS .NET Framework
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft, Kyocera, OKI, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, Voya Financial
Curtin University, Rockwell Automation, Aruba Networks, Insurity Inc., City of Barcelona, Pennsylvania DCNR, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, A1 Telekom Austria AG, Eastman Chemical Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Azul Zulu vs. Microsoft .NET Framework and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.