WireGuard · September 1, 2026 · 3 min read
WireGuard vs OpenVPN: which one should you use in 2026?
By FreeVPNNet Team · Updated Sep 21, 2026
WireGuard and OpenVPN both encrypt your traffic end to end, but they were designed twenty years apart and it shows.
Speed
WireGuard runs inside the Linux kernel with modern ciphers and typically delivers 2–4× the throughput of OpenVPN on the same hardware, with lower latency and far better battery life on phones.
Compatibility
OpenVPN supports TCP on port 443, which slips through many corporate and hotel firewalls. WireGuard is UDP-only, so on restrictive networks OpenVPN (or V2Ray) may be the better pick.
Verdict
Use WireGuard by default. Keep OpenVPN as a fallback for networks that block UDP.