Choosing between the OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN protocols affects your connection speed and stability. It also affects how successfully you can bypass online restrictions, and how complex the VPN is to set up for network administrators. Both VPN protocols are widely used and open-source. Both have very high security ratings, but they approach VPN tunneling differently. In this article, I’ll concisely explain their differences and when to choose which. This is also not a “better or worse” WireGuard vs OpenVPN comparison, as both protocols excel in their own fields.
WireGuard vs OpenVPN: Key Differences at a Glance
First, take a look at the table below for the essential WireGuard vs OpenVPN differences.
| WireGuard | OpenVPN | |
| Release date | 2020 (stable 1.0) | 2001 |
| Codebase size | ~4,000 lines | ~70,000 lines |
| Auditability | Low complexity | High complexity |
| Compatibility | All modern operating systems | Supports virtually all devices and legacy systems |
| Setup complexity | Low | High |
| Security | Highly secure | Highly secure |
| Encryption | Fixed (ChaCha20-Poly1305, Curve25519, and BLAKE2s) | Customizable (typically AES-256 via OpenSSL) |
| Transport layer protocol | UDP | UDP and TCP |
| Throughput | Very fast | Average |
| Handshake time | Nearly instantaneous | Slow to average |
| Resource demand | Low | Moderate to high |
The table reveals meaningful differences between the two. WireGuard is much more compact, which makes it easier to deploy and audit. It is faster, but works only with a fixed set of encryption standards. It uses only the UDP transport layer protocol, which is easier for firewalls to identify and block. WireGuard also (re)connects to the VPN server much quicker. Meanwhile, OpenVPN carries a good chunk of legacy code. Auditing it is a lengthy process, especially given its highly customizable setup, though that flexibility is a major positive for professionals. OpenVPN supports the TCP transport layer protocol on port 443, which is also used by HTTPS traffic. That makes OpenVPN harder to distinguish from ordinary web traffic and better for evading online restrictions.
Encryption and Security: How the Two Protocols Compare
The biggest difference here is that WireGuard uses a fixed stack of encryption standards: ChaCha20-Poly1305 for symmetric encryption and data integrity, Curve25519 for key exchange, and BLAKE2s for hashing. This is a modern and highly secure setup, but you cannot customize it. OpenVPN primarily uses the OpenSSL library. It offers a wide range of ciphers for encryption, hash algorithms for data integrity, and authentication options to verify both parties. It is much more customizable, but requires solid technical knowledge to deploy. Because a VPN is an essential cybersecurity tool, small mistakes can lead to colossal consequences. For example, the notorious Colonial Pipeline hack was traced to a VPN account without multi-factor authentication enabled. Another difference is that WireGuard’s compact codebase reduces its attack surface. Attackers simply have far less to exploit within 4,000 lines of code compared to a 70,000-line codebase. WireGuard’s fixed stack of encryption methods also makes it resistant to downgrade attacks, which force a weaker encryption standard that attackers can then break. That doesn’t mean OpenVPN is insecure. OpenVPN requires a professional setup for security, which is also beneficial for more demanding corporate cybersecurity needs.
Speed and Performance: Which Protocol Is Faster?
WireGuard wins the speed comparison with OpenVPN in the majority of cases. It was developed to be fast, resource-friendly, and usable across a wide range of devices. It is excellent for smartphones with limited computational power, as well as some legacy routers. It’s worth noting that OpenVPN has broader compatibility, as some older routers simply fail to run WireGuard efficiently. However, the ones that do will typically run faster on WireGuard than on OpenVPN. From a technical point of view, WireGuard’s place in the operating system kernel is key. On Linux and Windows, WireGuard runs directly in the kernel, while OpenVPN runs as a separate app in user space. Because OpenVPN must continuously move data packets between the kernel and user space, it is often slower than WireGuard. Let’s see this in practice. I have an active Surfshark subscription at my disposal, and it offers WireGuard, OpenVPN UDP, and OpenVPN TCP protocols, which is exactly what I need. All three were tested against the same New York servers on the same connection.
This is my baseline: 251.99 Mbps down / 243.19 Mbps up. 
Surfshark WireGuard NYC, 223.77 down / 224.67 up. 
Surfshark OpenVPN TCP NYC, 24.34 down / 34.42 up. 
Surfshark OpenVPN UDP NYC, 238.00 down / 62.98 up. 
The results were revealing. On download alone, OpenVPN UDP actually nudged ahead of WireGuard, 238.00 Mbps versus 223.77, a lead of about 6%. If you only looked at download speed, you’d call it a tie in OpenVPN’s favour. But upload is where the two split apart. WireGuard held 224.67 Mbps up, barely below the 243 baseline, while OpenVPN UDP collapsed to just 62.98 Mbps, roughly a quarter of the baseline and about 3.5 times slower than WireGuard. Combine both directions and it isn’t close: WireGuard moved 448 Mbps of total throughput against UDP’s 301. So while a download-only benchmark can flatter OpenVPN UDP, WireGuard is the clearly faster protocol in real, two-way use, and it establishes the connection faster and uses fewer resources on top of that. OpenVPN TCP, as expected, ran a distant third: 24.34 down and 34.42 up, a drop of around 90% from baseline. That’s the trade-off you accept for TCP’s ability to disguise itself as HTTPS traffic, and it’s why TCP is a tool for beating restrictions rather than an everyday choice.
How to Choose Between WireGuard and OpenVPN
For a casual VPN user, WireGuard is the preferred choice on most occasions. It is faster, and it doesn’t drain a smartphone battery as much. If you have a low-powered device, WireGuard will generally work better than other VPN protocols. It is, however, easier to detect. OpenVPN TCP is the preferred choice for overcoming rigid online restrictions, like the Great Firewall of China, as long as you can accept the steep speed cost our test showed. WireGuard might introduce some lag when streaming Netflix, but it typically overcomes streaming-site restrictions. For example, during our tests, PureVPN unblocked all tested streaming services on the WireGuard protocol. OpenVPN is also compatible with a wider range of legacy devices. Network administrators can deploy and customize it to fit their network needs, though it is harder to set up and requires good technical knowledge. Networking specialists who want a more straightforward solution should still opt for the WireGuard protocol.