The following table contains a variety of Win32 API and operating system features and how each platform supports them. Bold text indicates an operating system feature, rather than an API feature.
| Feature | Windows NT | Windows 95 | Windows 3.1 with Win32s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32-bit Coordinate System | Yes | No | No |
| 32-bit Flat Memory model | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3-D look | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Asynchronous file I/O | Yes | No | No |
| Asynchronous input model | Yes | Yes | No |
| COMM | Yes | Yes | Via Universal Thunk |
| Common Controls | |||
| Property sheet tabs |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drag list boxes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Toolbar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Status bar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Column heading |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spin buttons | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Slider | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scrolling button indicator |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rich Edit Control |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Progress indicator |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tree View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| List View | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Common Dialogs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Console Support | Yes | Except code page | No |
| Context menu on mouse button 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enhanced metafiles | Yes | Yes | No |
| Event logging | Yes | No | No |
| File mapping | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File merge/reconciliation | Yes | Yes | No |
| File Viewers | Yes | Yes | Not used |
| Image Color Matching (ICM) | Not yet | Yes | No |
| Long Filenames (LFN) | Yes | Yes | Won't appear |
| Multimedia API | Yes | Yes | Windows 3.1 level |
| Multiprocessor Machines | Yes | No | No |
| Named pipes | Yes | Client-side | Client-side |
| National Language Support (NLS) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Network DDE | Yes | Via Thunk | No |
| Non-Intel machines | Yes | No | No |
| Paths/Beziers | Yes | Limited | No |
| Pen | No | Yes | No |
| Plug and Play event aware | Won't get events | Yes | Won't get events |
| Preemptive multitasking | Yes | Yes | No |
| Print spooler | Yes | Except forms | No |
| Remote Access Services (RAS) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) | Yes | Yes | Via thunk |
| Security | Yes | No | No |
| Security (C2 certifiable) | Yes | No | No |
| Separate address space | Yes | Yes | No |
| Service control manager | Yes | No | No |
| Simple MAPI | Yes | Yes | Via Universal Thunk |
| Structured exception handling (SEH) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TAPI | Yes | Yes | No |
| Threads | Yes | Yes | No |
| Unicode | Yes | No | No |
| Universal Naming Convention (UNC) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User & GDI system resources | Virtually Unlimited | Expanded | Win3.1 limits |
| Windows 4.0 help | Yes | Yes | Context menu help won't appear |
| Windows Network (WNet) | Yes | Yes | Via Universal Thunk |
| Windows Sockets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| World transforms | Yes | Scaling Only | No |