The release of .NET 9 has reignited an ongoing conversation across development teams: Can Minimal APIs replace MVC in modern applications? With their promise of simplicity and reduced boilerplate, Minimal APIs present an attractive alternative—especially for projects with limited scope. But beneath the appeal lies a critical question: are Minimal APIs the right fit for every application?
This was the challenge facing a recent client project. The team needed to determine whether Minimal APIs could support long-term growth or whether a more structured MVC approach was necessary. At stake was not just initial development speed, but long-term maintainability, scalability, and clarity across a growing codebase.
Through detailed technical analysis, the project team identified clear distinctions. Minimal APIs delivered on their promise for smaller, faster-moving applications, offering quicker startup time and reduced configuration. However, as complexity increased—particularly with layered business logic, model binding, and validation needs—the structure and separation of concerns provided by MVC became essential.
Ultimately, the solution wasn’t to choose one approach over the other, but to define their appropriate roles. Minimal APIs worked well for lightweight microservices and internal tooling, while MVC remained the backbone for larger, customer-facing applications with complex workflows.
This experience highlighted three core insights:
- There is no universal answer—project requirements should drive architectural decisions.
- Early simplicity can lead to long-term complexity without the right planning.
- Choosing between Minimal APIs and MVC requires a clear understanding of the development team’s goals, timeline, and future roadmap.
As .NET continues to evolve, staying grounded in real-world needs—not just emerging trends—is key. The best solutions are not always the newest, but the ones most aligned with the long-term vision of the application.