Comparing Entity Framework, LINQ to SQL, and ADO.NET Stored Procedures - Which is Best?

Data and Databases
1

I’m trying to decide between three different data access approaches and would love to get some feedback on how they stack up:

Entity Framework vs LINQ to SQL vs ADO.NET with Stored Procedures

I’m particularly interested in hearing thoughts on:

  1. Performance - Which one handles large datasets better?
  2. Development Speed - How fast can you build features?
  3. Code Quality - Which produces cleaner, easier to maintain code?
  4. Flexibility - Which gives you more options when requirements change?
  5. Overall Experience - Your general recommendation?

I’ve been using ADO.NET with stored procedures for years because I really enjoy writing SQL. But recently I tried LINQ to SQL and was amazed at how fast I could build my data access layer. Now I’m thinking about diving deeper into either LINQ to SQL or Entity Framework.

Before I invest a lot of time learning one of these, I want to make sure I’m not missing any major drawbacks. Are there any deal-breakers I should know about? Like terrible performance issues or limitations that make them only suitable for simple applications?

I’m mostly curious about Entity Framework vs LINQ to SQL, but I’d also like to see how they compare to good old stored procedures since that’s my current comfort zone.

2

hold up - did u actually benchmark these for your specific project? Everyone throws around performance claims, but it totally depends on what you’re building. What’s your app? Web API? Desktop? Something else? Also, how big is your team? Solo or multiple devs? That completely changes the maintainability game.

3

I’ve used all three approaches on different projects, and Entity Framework wins for modern development. Yeah, it’s harder to learn than LINQ to SQL, but it’s worth it long-term. Performance? EF has gotten way better in recent versions. You just need to know when to use raw SQL for complex stuff and let EF handle the basic CRUD operations. I usually stick with EF for standard database work and fall back to stored procedures for heavy reporting or complex business logic. Here’s something you might not think about - team productivity. When your database schema changes, EF handles the updates way more smoothly. You’re not constantly fixing data access code when requirements change, so you can focus on actual business logic. LINQ to SQL seems faster at first but hits a wall as projects grow. Microsoft basically killed it for EF anyway, so you’d be learning dead tech. Migrating from stored procedures to EF isn’t as painful as you’d think. You can introduce EF gradually while keeping your existing stored procedures for the complex stuff.

4

linq to sql was good back then, but it’s pretty much obsolete now. ef can get slow if you’re not careful, but once u grasp eager loading and avoid those n+1 queries, it’s decent. stored procs r still great for complex reports - sometimes sql just works better.