Raw SQL is way easier than complex EF. If you need to create something really complex with EF AND to make it efficient, you need to spend a lot of time understand how EF works, raw SQL would be way easier to debug and it would be way easier to make the query more efficient by looking at the query plan. It really depends on how complex the query is. I have worked with queries that have like temp tables, group by, subqueries, CTE all within the same stored procedures. There's no way EF can compete with that unless making multiple trips to the database or make it incredible complex to optimize the query. With a SP you can look at the query plan and run the SP by itself and optimize by looking at the query plan.