Is OpenVPN still fit for purpose?

(Image credit: OpenVPN)

If you've ever used one of the best VPN services, you'll likely accept heard the terms OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2, Lightway and more. These are all protocols, which VPNs use to encrypt your traffic, and transfer it one place to another. For a more detailed rundown of the purpose of protocols, bank check out our how does a VPN work commodity.

Hither, though, we'll be outlining whether or not the 20-twelvemonth-former OpenVPN has still got what information technology takes to fight off competition from newer rivals, in which means OpenVPN is starting to bear witness its age, and why information technology ought non be written off quite so soon.

Comprehensive privacy by default

At its core, OpenVPN was designed as a secure VPN system out of the box, and that remains the case today. It uses OpenSSL to encrypt data, and its back up of both UDP and TCP means there's a lot flexibility for users. Compare that to WireGuard, and while OpenVPN'southward lawmaking may be more complex and lengthy, VPN providers aren't required to patch privacy issues before it tin exist safely used.

That also means that no matter which VPN provider you use, you'll get admission to the same well known, tried and tested OpenVPN features. With WireGuard and its variations, there'southward no telling how well-done any changes to the lawmaking have been, since implementations similar NordVPN'southward NordLynx aren't open-source – but nosotros'll get to that in a moment.

More than: Is the new WireGuard protocol secure?
Staying individual is essential – employ the most private VPN
Ready up a VPN: our comprehensive guide for all devices

OpenVPN is slower than rivals

With that comprehensive functionality comes somewhat bloated code, and compared to more modern protocols, OpenVPN quite simply tin't go on up. While even in our last round of testing we saw OpenVPN speed improvements fabricated by some providers like ExpressVPN, if you're looking for a truly fast VPN, a more modern, streamlined protocol will deliver the best results.

To get the best speeds out of OpenVPN, nosotros recommend using UDP rather than TCP. While TCP is more reliable thanks to the fact that TCP data packets are tracked – and resent if not received – doing away with this mistake checking makes UDP far superior if you're but looking to maintain a fast connectedness for gaming or streaming.

Also, big-proper name consumer VPNs invest huge amounts of money into their server network, eliminating whatever potential bottlenecks. That means that if you want to get the best speeds from OpenVPN, signing up to a consumer VPN service will almost certainly internet yous better results than setting up your own server.

A router sending out a VPN signal — (Image credit: Anton Shaparenko/Shutterstock)

Mobile performance is poor

Along with substandard speeds, OpenVPN also has bug when changing networks. So, for example, if you lot're using your mobile VPN at abode on your Wi-Fi and then leave the house and start using your mobile data, OpenVPN will likely take to disconnect and reconnect.

This is the reason most of the top Android VPN and iPhone VPN providers have traditionally used IKEv2/IPsec, simply next-gen protocols like Lightway and WireGuard take been designed as mobile-first, specifically to avert the bug OpenVPN poses on unstable or changeable connections.

We spoke to Peter Membrey, chief architect at ExpressVPN and leader of the Lightway projection. "OpenVPN has been on ExpressVPN'southward platform for a long time – information technology's reliable, stable, open-sourced, and well-tested," says Peter. "It was, yet, congenital during a very different time. When OpenVPN was first built 20 years ago, VPNs were primarily used on the desktop and with far slower cyberspace connections than are bachelor today. This is why we now need newer protocols that are built for the mobile-showtime and ever-on globe."

Open up-source is even so the key

Several protocols are open-source at their core – with one notable exception being the Catapult Hydra protocol developed by Hotspot Shield – but that doesn't mean they're nonetheless in terms of transparency.

Let's take WireGuard as an instance. The base of operations code is entirely open-source, which is dandy, but when it comes to application in VPNs, there are some privacy issues.

IVPN was and then concerned that WireGuard logged connectedness IPs indefinitely, for instance, it created a custom solution for its own servers. Other providers accept done something like, simply we've never seen whatsoever of these patches made open-source.

That means that while both Surfshark and NordVPN back up WireGuard, they volition utilize dissimilar solutions for this privacy trouble. Which is all-time? Nosotros've got no fashion of knowing.

With OpenVPN, it's a much simpler situation. While the code might exist old, long and a little clunky, there are no proprietary patches necessary to deliver on the privacy basics – when you use information technology, there are no secrets to how it's working, as it'south all bachelor online for you and billions of other people to inspect.

It's worth reiterating that OpenVPN and WireGuard aren't the only open-source protocols, and we're pleased to meet Lightway go entirely open-source, too.

It'due south yet more than fully-functioning than the competition

When it comes downwardly to core functionality, OpenVPN offers the fullest range of options. Protocols like Lightway and WireGuard have trimmed downward the lawmaking to deliver lightning-fast speeds, but that comes at the expensive of some functionality.

For example, WireGuard is UDP-only, meaning that while speeds benefit, in situations where every packet needs to make its way to the target – think sending files and emails – information technology's not necessarily the ideal choice.

So, for the vast majority of users looking for a Netflix VPN to access blocked content and stay relatively private online, OpenVPN certainly has some competition from the young bucks, but for those who want open-source reliability and every niche feature available, OpenVPN might even so exist the get-to protocol.

Mo is VPN Editor at Tom'south Guide. Day-to-day he oversees VPN, privacy, and cybersecurity content, and likewise undertakes independent testing of VPN services to ensure his recommendations are accurate and up to engagement. When he's not getting stuck into the nitty-gritty settings of a VPN you lot've never heard of, you'll find him working on his Peugeot 205 GTi or watching Peep Show instead of finally putting up those shelves.