.NET Framework system requirements
The tables in this article provide the hardware, operating system, and software requirements for the following .NET Framework versions:
- .NET Framework 4.8 and its point release (4.8.1).
- .NET Framework 4.7 and its point releases (4.7.1 and 4.7.2).
- .NET Framework 4.6.2.
For information on earlier .NET Framework versions, see .NET Framework versions and dependencies.
Development environments that enable you to develop apps for .NET Framework have a separate set of requirements.
Important
All .NET Framework versions since .NET Framework 4 are in-place updates, so only a single 4.x version can be present on a system. In addition, particular versions of .NET Framework are preinstalled on some versions of the Windows operating system. This means that:
- If there's a later 4.x version installed on the machine already, you can't install a previous 4.x version.
- If the OS comes preinstalled with a particular .NET Framework version, you can't install a previous 4.x version on the same machine.
- If you install a later version, you don't have to first uninstall the previous version.
For download information and links, see Install .NET Framework for developers.
For information on the support lifecycle of .NET Framework versions, see Microsoft support lifecycle.
Hardware requirements
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
| Processor | 1 GHz |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Minimum disk space (32-bit) | 4.5 GB |
| Minimum disk space (64-bit) | 4.5 GB |
Installation requirements
.NET Framework requires administrator privileges for installation. If you don't have administrator rights to the computer where you'd like to install .NET Framework, contact your network administrator.
Compatible operating systems
For all platforms, to ensure the best compatibility and security, we recommend that you install critical updates available from Windows Update.
On 64-bit operating systems, .NET Framework supports both WOW64 (32-bit processing on a 64-bit machine) and native 64-bit processing.
Client operating systems
| Operating system | Compatible editions | Preinstalled with the OS | Installable separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 11, Update (version 24H2) and newer |
64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8.1 | -- |
| Windows 11, Update (version 23H2) |
64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8.1 | -- |
| Windows 11, Update (version 22H2) |
64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8.1 | -- |
| Windows 11 | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | .NET Framework 4.8.1 |
| Windows 10 2022 Update (version 22H2) |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | .NET Framework 4.8.1 |
| Windows 10 November 2021 Update (version 21H2) |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | .NET Framework 4.8.1 |
| Windows 10 May 2021 Update (version 21H1)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | .NET Framework 4.8.1 |
| Windows 10 October 2020 Update (version 20H2)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | .NET Framework 4.8.1 |
| Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | -- |
| Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | -- |
| Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | -- |
| Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.2 | .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.2 | .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.1 | .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7 | .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.6.2 | .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows 10 November Update (version 1511)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.6.1 | .NET Framework 4.6.2 |
| Windows 10 (version 1507)† |
32-bit and 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.6 | .NET Framework 4.6.2 |
| Windows 8.1† | 32-bit, 64-bit, and ARM | .NET Framework 4.5.1 | .NET Framework 4.6.2 .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows 7 SP1† | 32-bit and 64-bit | -- | .NET Framework 4.6.2 .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
†The following operating systems, while listed in the table, are out-of-support: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (all versions except 21H2 and 22H2).
Server operating systems
| Operating system | Compatible editions | Preinstalled with the OS | Installable separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 and newer | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8.1 | -- |
| Windows Server 2022 | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.8 | .NET Framework 4.8.1 |
| Windows Server 2019† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.2 | .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server, version 1809† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.2 | .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server, version 1803† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.2 | .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server, version 1709† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.7.1 | .NET Framework 4.7.2 |
| Windows Server 2016† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.6.2 | .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server 2012 R2† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.5.1 | .NET Framework 4.6.2 .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server 2012 (64-bit edition)† | 64-bit | .NET Framework 4.5 | .NET Framework 4.6.2 .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1†‡ | 64-bit | -- | .NET Framework 4.6.2 .NET Framework 4.7 .NET Framework 4.7.1 .NET Framework 4.7.2 .NET Framework 4.8 |
| Windows Server 2008 SP2†§ | 32-bit and 64-bit | -- | .NET Framework 4.6.2 |
†This operating system is out-of-support. ‡On Windows Server 2008 R2, .NET Framework isn't supported for Itanium-based systems. §On Windows Server 2008 SP2, .NET Framework isn't supported in the Server Core role.
