NAnt is different than Make. Instead of a model where it is extended with shell-based commands, NAnt is extended using task classes. Instead of writing shell commands, the configuration files are XML-based, calling out a target tree where various tasks get executed. Each task is run by an object that implements a particular Task interface.

NAnt supports different target frameworks: - Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.0 through 4.0, plus Silverlight - Mono 1.0 through 4.0