Choosing the right VPN protocol can significantly impact your speed, security, and battery life. Let's compare the two dominant protocols.
WireGuard: The Modern Contender
WireGuard uses only 4,000 lines of code compared to OpenVPN's 100,000+. Less code means fewer bugs, easier auditing, and better performance.
- Speed: Up to 3x faster than OpenVPN in benchmarks
- Battery: Significantly less CPU usage on mobile devices
- Handshake: Connects in under 100ms vs several seconds for OpenVPN
- Cryptography: Uses Noise protocol framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305
OpenVPN: The Battle-Tested Veteran
OpenVPN has been around since 2001 and has withstood decades of security scrutiny.
- Compatibility: Works on virtually every platform and network configuration
- Firewall bypass: Can run on TCP port 443 to bypass restrictive firewalls
- Configurability: Highly customizable for enterprise environments
Our Recommendation
Use WireGuard for everything unless you have a specific reason to use OpenVPN (legacy systems, restrictive networks). VPN Fleet supports both protocols on all plans.