Dapper vs Entity Framework: When to Use Each in .NET

Choosing between Dapper and Entity Framework is one of the most important architectural decisions when building data-driven applications in .NET.

Both are excellent ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tools—but they serve different purposes depending on your project’s performance, complexity, and development speed requirements.

This complete guide explains when to use each, their pros and cons, and includes real CRUD examples in C# for both Dapper and Entity Framework.

Dapper: Lightweight and High Performance

Dapper is a micro ORM that offers direct SQL control with minimal overhead. It’s perfect when you want speed, simplicity, and full control over your database queries.

It’s ideal for:

• High-performance APIs and microservices.
• Projects that rely heavily on custom SQL.
• Rapid migrations from legacy SQL codebases.

✅ Pros of Dapper

• Simple and transparent: You always see the SQL being executed.
• Extremely fast: Often outperforms Entity Framework due to minimal abstraction.
• Lightweight: No complex setup or heavy dependencies.
• Perfect for SQL experts: Gives you maximum query flexibility.

❌ Cons of Dapper

• Manual query management: Large or complex SQL statements can become hard to maintain.
• Lacks advanced ORM features: No change tracking, migrations, or LINQ integration.

💻 Example: Dapper CRUD Repository in .NET

Below is a simple DapperUserRepository using SQLite.
It demonstrates how to implement Add, Get, Update, and Delete methods using SQL and Dapper’s lightweight API.

using System.Data;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Dapper;
using Microsoft.Data.Sqlite;

public class DapperUserRepository
{
    private readonly string _connectionString = "Data Source=app.db";

    private IDbConnection CreateConnection() => new SqliteConnection(_connectionString);

    public async Task AddUserAsync(User user)
    {
        const string sql = "INSERT INTO Users (Name, Email) VALUES (@Name, @Email)";
        using var connection = CreateConnection();
        await connection.ExecuteAsync(sql, user);
    }

    public async Task<User?> GetUserByIdAsync(int id)
    {
        const string sql = "SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Id = @Id";
        using var connection = CreateConnection();
        return await connection.QuerySingleOrDefaultAsync<User>(sql, new { Id = id });
    }

    public async Task UpdateUserAsync(User user)
    {
        const string sql = "UPDATE Users SET Name = @Name, Email = @Email WHERE Id = @Id";
        using var connection = CreateConnection();
        await connection.ExecuteAsync(sql, user);
    }

    public async Task DeleteUserAsync(int id)
    {
        const string sql = "DELETE FROM Users WHERE Id = @Id";
        using var connection = CreateConnection();
        await connection.ExecuteAsync(sql, new { Id = id });
    }

    public async Task<IEnumerable<User>> GetAllUsersAsync()
    {
        const string sql = "SELECT * FROM Users";
        using var connection = CreateConnection();
        return await connection.QueryAsync<User>(sql);
    }
}

This approach provides full SQL visibility, making Dapper an excellent choice for performance-critical services.

Entity Framework: Productive and Full-Featured ORM

Entity Framework (EF) is a complete ORM that abstracts database operations, allowing you to interact with data using C# objects and LINQ. It simplifies development, increases readability, and reduces repetitive boilerplate code.

It’s perfect for:

• Enterprise applications with complex data models.
• Teams that value maintainability and readability.
• Projects requiring features like migrations, tracking, or relationships.

✅ Pros of Entity Framework

• Abstracts SQL: Lets you focus on domain models, not queries.
• Boosts productivity: Simplifies CRUD and relationships.
• Readable and maintainable: Improves code and schema clarity.
• Integrated tooling: Built-in migrations, seeding, and tracking.

❌ Cons of Entity Framework

• Slower in some cases: Slight performance trade-off compared to Dapper.
• Less SQL control: Automatically generates queries that may not always be optimal.
• Heavier abstraction: Adds complexity in debugging and fine-tuning performance.

💻 Example: Entity Framework CRUD Repository in .NET

Here’s a EfUserRepository class using Entity Framework Core.
It performs the same CRUD operations but with less manual SQL handling, relying on EF’s abstraction and LINQ.

using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Linq;

public class EfUserRepository
{
    private readonly AppDbContext _context;

    public EfUserRepository(AppDbContext context)
    {
        _context = context;
    }

    public async Task AddUserAsync(User user)
    {
        _context.Users.Add(user);
        await _context.SaveChangesAsync();
    }

    public async Task<User?> GetUserByIdAsync(int id)
    {
        return await _context.Users.FindAsync(id);
    }

    public async Task UpdateUserAsync(User user)
    {
        _context.Users.Update(user);
        await _context.SaveChangesAsync();
    }

    public async Task DeleteUserAsync(int id)
    {
        var user = await _context.Users.FindAsync(id);
        if (user is not null)
        {
            _context.Users.Remove(user);
            await _context.SaveChangesAsync();
        }
    }

    public IQueryable<User> GetAllUsers() => _context.Users.AsQueryable();
}

This example shows how Entity Framework reduces manual SQL handling, improving code readability and developer productivity.

Dapper vs Entity Framework: Quick Comparison

Feature	Dapper	Entity Framework
Type	Micro ORM	Full ORM
Performance	Faster	Slightly slower
Control over SQL	Full	Abstracted
Ease of Use	Simple	Very high-level
Features	Basic	Advanced (migrations, LINQ, tracking)

Final Considerations

When performance and SQL control are your top priorities, Dapper is unbeatable. When productivity, maintainability, and abstraction are more important, Entity Framework is the right choice.

Before deciding, it’s wise to build a Proof of Concept (POC) for your specific scenario to measure performance and development effort.
And remember — you can use both: many developers combine Dapper for performance-critical queries and Entity Framework for general data management.