The best replacement for webclient is httpclient.

The best alternatives to webclient are rated as following:
★★★★★  httpclient
★★★★  httpwebrequest
★★★  webrequest c#
★★  ftpwebrequest
★★  restsharp
  webrequest

Your alternative for webclient is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about webclient, one probably shouldn't forget about post data.

Other search terms related to webclient and their ratings are:
★★★★★ post data
You have in mind a companion for webclient and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of webclient in all years. Click on graph for more.
webclient
httpclient
httpwebrequest