# What difference between Confluent Cloud and Kafka from .NET CORE point of view

**URL:** <https://forum.confluent.io/t/what-difference-between-confluent-cloud-and-kafka-from-net-core-point-of-view/8269>\
**Category:** Non-Java Clients\
**Created:** [6 July 2023 21:46 UTC](https://forum.confluent.io/t/what-difference-between-confluent-cloud-and-kafka-from-net-core-point-of-view/8269 "2023-07-06T21:46:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alex1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Alex1](https://forum.confluent.io/u/Alex1)\
**Post date:** [6 July 2023 21:46 UTC](https://forum.confluent.io/t/what-difference-between-confluent-cloud-and-kafka-from-net-core-point-of-view/8269/1 "2023-07-06T21:46:54Z")

</div>

I’m very sorry, I’m newbie, I need for my .NET CORE program this class [Namespace Confluent.Kafka | Confluent.Kafka](https://docs.confluent.io/platform/current/clients/confluent-kafka-dotnet/_site/api/Confluent.Kafka.html)

If I understand even simple OSS KAFKA can support this classes (with NET client) - yes or no?

But in this page [Apache Kafka vs Confluent: Comparing Features & Capabilities](https://www.confluent.io/apache-kafka-vs-confluent/) (section Unrestricted Developer Productivity) I see that ONLY Confluent support .NET CORE.

Therefore I’m absolutely confused and don’t know what I need to my program - Confluent Cloud or OSS Kafka. I have installed to my server both and currently I need understand way to going forward. Can anybody give advice to me?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bbejeck](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.confluent.io/bbejeck/32/412_2.png) [@bbejeck](https://forum.confluent.io/u/bbejeck)\
**Post date:** [12 July 2023 20:56 UTC](https://forum.confluent.io/t/what-difference-between-confluent-cloud-and-kafka-from-net-core-point-of-view/8269/2 "2023-07-12T20:56:15Z")

</div>

Hi @Alex1,

You can connect to Confluent Cloud or OSS Kafka (installed locally or by running Docker). You can connect to either one if you use a client that supports the Kafka protocol (which the .NET clients do). From the .NET client point of view, there’s no difference between the two.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

1. [Apache Kafka and .NET - Getting Started Tutorial](https://developer.confluent.io/get-started/dotnet/)
2. [Introduction to Apache Kafka for .NET Developers](https://developer.confluent.io/learn-kafka/apache-kafka-for-dotnet/overview/)
3. [Build a Streaming Application Using Apache Kafka and .NET](https://www.confluent.io/blog/build-streaming-applications-with-apache-kafka-dotnet/)
4. [GitHub - confluentinc/DotNetStreamProcessing: This repository explores stream processing with the Confluent .NET Producer, Consumer and the TPL library](https://github.com/confluentinc/DotNetStreamProcessing)