What Are OpenVPN and WireGuard?
OpenVPN and WireGuard are two types of VPN protocol. A VPN protocol is technology used to create a secure tunnel between your device and a VPN server.
In other words, a VPN protocol is a key element to how a VPN works.
You can use both OpenVPN and WireGuard independently to create your own VPN connection. However, they’re more commonly used as part of personal VPN services.
Here’s an overview of each protocol’s main features:
Feature | OpenVPN | WireGuard |
---|---|---|
Date Released | May 2001 | September 2019 |
Encryption | AES, Blowfish, Camellia | ChaCha20, Poly1305 |
Code Length | Over 70,000 lines | ~4,000 lines |
Open Source | Yes | Yes |
Security | Strong | Strong |
Privacy | Strong | Needs mitigations |
Speeds | Moderate | Fast |
OpenVPN
The original OpenVPN software was created in 2001 by James Yonan.
Yonan made OpenVPN to ensure his connection was private while travelling through Central Asia and using Asian and Russian internet connections.
Today, Yonan is the CTO of OpenVPN Inc. The company provides business-to-business services as well as running OpenVPN.
The company’s CEO and founder is Francis Dinha, who grew up in Iraq and shares Yonan’s concerns about staying private from state surveillance.
The OpenVPN software has now been downloaded more than 60 million times, and almost every VPN today employs the protocol.
OpenVPN is available under an open-source license, which means anyone can view its underlying code.
For over a decade, OpenVPN has been considered the pinnacle of VPN security. However, with the release of WireGuard, there is a new contender for that top spot.
WireGuard
WireGuard was created by Jason A. Donenfeld from Edge Security, and had its first stable release in September 2019.
WireGuard is designed to improve upon existing VPN protocols by being simpler, faster, and easier to use.
Unlike OpenVPN, WireGuard is “cryptographically opinionated,” to use Donenfeld’s words. That means he’s selected one solution for each aspect of the VPN’s security.
As a result, WireGuard includes less choice than OpenVPN, but it’s also far less complex.
Like OpenVPN, WireGuard is also open source.
Despite only being released in September 2019, WireGuard has already been incorporated into a number of VPN services. NordVPN, for example, built its proprietary NordLynx protocol on top of it.
So which one is better, OpenVPN or WireGuard? Let’s start by comparing their speeds.