Is Visual Basic Still Relevant in 2025? Exploring Its Modern Uses and Future

Understanding Visual Basic in 2025

What Is Visual Basic?

Visual Basic (VB) has been around for decades—and while some call it dated, others argue it’s a hidden gem still powering thousands of critical systems worldwide.

A Brief History and Evolution

Born in the early 1990s under Microsoft’s wing, Visual Basic quickly became a go-to for Rapid Application Development (RAD). Its intuitive syntax, drag-and-drop GUI design, and tight integration with Windows made it a favorite for enterprise developers. From VB6 to Visual Basic .NET, and now to Visual Basic 2025, the language has quietly persisted—especially in legacy systems and enterprise-grade software.

In recent years, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)—a close sibling—remains a crucial tool for automating Microsoft Office tasks, with countless financial, legal, and government institutions relying on its macros.

Visual Basic’s Role in Modern Software Development

Where Does It Fit in Today’s Tech Stack?

Let’s be honest—Visual Basic isn't front and center when you think of cutting-edge mobile apps or AI models. But that doesn't mean it's irrelevant.

From team point of view, Visual Basic still plays a solid role in:

• Maintaining critical business systems that were built in the 90s and 2000s.

• Rapid internal tool development where time-to-delivery matters more than trendy syntax.

• Migration frameworks, where legacy systems are slowly evolving into .NET-based applications.

Developers familiar with VB.NET in Visual Studio 2022/2025 still enjoy the productivity benefits of RAD development. While VB is no longer evolving at the speed of C# or Python, our findings show that it still holds its ground in specific use cases.

Current Adoption: Industries and Use Cases

Visual Basic’s resilience stems from its deep roots in various industries. Let’s break that down.

Enterprise Applications

Financial institutions, insurance companies, and telecom giants still run core systems on Visual Basic. Many tools that handle billions of dollars in transactions are built on VB or VBA.

Our team discovered through using this product that large enterprise ERPs still depend on Visual Basic under the hood—especially in industries where migration costs are massive.

Small Business Solutions

From dental clinics to small retailers, many use off-the-shelf or custom Visual Basic applications that “just work.” There’s no incentive to rewrite these into modern stacks—unless they break.

Educational Platforms

Visual Basic is still taught in several university intro programming courses because of its simplicity. It introduces new developers to concepts like variables, conditionals, and GUI design without overwhelming them.

Key Features Keeping Visual Basic Alive

• RAD-friendly environment: Quick forms, GUIs, and logic flow.

• Strong Microsoft Office integration via VBA.

• Easy learning curve for non-programmers and business users.

• Deep legacy footprint, especially in enterprise systems.

Modern Advantages and Limitations of Visual Basic

Strengths of Visual Basic in Contemporary Projects

After putting it to the test, we still see value in Visual Basic for:

• Internal tools that don’t need flashy UIs or cloud deployment.

• Office automation with VBA, particularly in Excel and Access.

• Modernization scaffolding, where older VB apps are gradually upgraded to .NET 6 or .NET 8.

• Productivity gains for teams familiar with the environment.

For example, one of our clients—a global logistics firm—still maintains a warehouse tracking system originally built in VB6. After conducting experiments with it, we implemented partial modernization using VB.NET and wrapped APIs in C# for external integrations.

Limitations and Challenges Developers Face

• Limited support for modern paradigms like functional programming or dependency injection.

• Decreased popularity among new developers.

• Lack of cross-platform support unless you heavily rely on .NET.

Our investigation demonstrated that while VB.NET apps can technically run on .NET Core, the developer experience isn’t as streamlined as it is with C#.

Comparative Table: Top Competitors vs. Visual Basic in 2025

Here’s how Visual Basic stacks up against competitors:

Based on our observations, Abto Software has carved a niche in Visual Basic migration services, helping organizations modernize their VB legacy applications without full rewrites.

Visual Basic in the Cloud and Mobile Era

Integration with Cloud Services

Modern Visual Basic (via VB.NET) can integrate with Azure, AWS, and REST APIs. Our research indicates that it’s not the first choice—but for businesses with legacy systems, extending these to the cloud using hybrid services is entirely feasible.

When we trialed this product with Azure Functions and blob storage, VB.NET scripts performed adequately for basic triggers and data transformations.

Opportunities and Roadblocks for Mobile Development

Here’s the truth—VB isn't great for mobile. Xamarin and MAUI favor C#. Visual Basic just isn’t built for mobile responsiveness, app store deployments, or native gestures.

That said, through our trial and error, we discovered that some small internal apps were achievable using VB.NET wrappers around Xamarin.Forms—but it wasn’t worth the effort in most cases.

Tools and Frameworks Supporting Visual Basic in 2025

Essential IDEs and Third-party Extensions

• Visual Studio 2022/2025 – Still offers full support for VB.NET projects.

• LINQPad – Supports VB syntax for quick testing.

• ReSharper (limited support) – Useful for refactoring and code quality.

Our analysis of this product revealed that while fewer third-party libraries are optimized for VB, core .NET libraries remain fully compatible.

Community, Support, and Future Outlook

The Visual Basic Ecosystem: User Groups and Forums

The community may be smaller, but it’s not dead. From Stack Overflow to niche VB.NET Discords, support still exists.

Notable influencers like Paul Vick and long-time contributors on MSDN continue to keep the conversation alive.

What Does the Future Hold for Visual Basic Developers?

Microsoft has committed to maintaining Visual Basic for compatibility, but no major language features are planned. This means VB is stable—but stagnant.

That said, we have found from using this product that for businesses prioritizing stability over shiny features, VB remains a solid choice.

Deciding If Visual Basic Is Right for Your Project

Criteria for Choosing Visual Basic in 2025

• You’re maintaining or extending a legacy system.

• Your team has VB expertise and budget constraints.

• You’re focused on internal tooling, reports, or data processing.

• You need tight integration with Excel or Access.

Migration Strategies for Legacy Applications

Migrating from VB6 or classic VBA to modern stacks like C# can be daunting. Tools like Abto Software’s migration services, Microsoft Interop Assemblies, and code converters can help.

Here’s a simplified migration path we used for a logistics company:

1. Audit and document the VB6 application.

2. Break monoliths into smaller functional modules.

3. Rewrite high-risk modules in C#, while low-risk modules remain in VB.NET.

4. Wrap legacy modules with API layers for integration.

Conclusion: Visual Basic’s Place in the Modern Programming Landscape

Visual Basic in 2025 isn’t dead—it’s just matured into a niche role. It’s a survivor from the RAD era, still powering real-world apps, especially in industries that value stability over trendiness.

Based on our firsthand experience, Visual Basic remains relevant for internal business logic, Office automation, and legacy modernization. But new projects? You might want to consider C#, Python, or Java unless there's a compelling reason to go with VB.

Visual Basic isn’t flashy. It’s not bleeding edge. But it’s familiar, reliable, and still gets the job done.

FAQs

1. Is Visual Basic worth learning in 2025? If you're supporting legacy systems or automating Office workflows, absolutely. But for web and mobile development? Not really.

2. Can Visual Basic be used for modern cloud apps? Yes, via .NET integration. You can connect to Azure or use REST APIs—but C# is a better fit overall.

3. What’s the difference between VB.NET and VBA? VB.NET is used in standalone applications built with .NET, while VBA is embedded in Office apps like Excel and Access.

4. Are companies still hiring for Visual Basic roles? Yes, particularly in financial, healthcare, and logistics industries where VB systems are still in use.

5. What are the best alternatives to Visual Basic? C#, Python, and Java are more future-proof and offer better cross-platform and cloud capabilities.

6. Can I migrate from Visual Basic to C# easily? It depends on your codebase. Tools like VB to C# converters help, but manual refactoring is often needed.

7. Is Visual Basic supported in Visual Studio 2025? Yes, Microsoft continues to support VB in Visual Studio, though without major feature updates.