What Does Performance Counter Mean?

A performance counter in .NET programming is a way for developers to get an idea of how their programs are actually performing. Performance counter components are a class in .NET that provides a number of measurable performance metrics. These measure the system state of any given application or part of the Windows operating system.

Techopedia Explains Performance Counter

Performance counters are a form of performance monitoring and debugging tool provided by .NET to aid performance testing of applications. These count a number of actions that both the application and the operating system perform.