VPN Protocol Comparison

Discussions Last updated: Feb 6, 2025

Each VPN protocol has its own set of features and specifics in terms of speed, used ports, encryption, and OS/device support as well as advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the situation, your personal needs and the devices you own, one protocol may be more ideal than the other.

Dive into our side-by-side VPN protocol comparison in which the three most popular protocols compete with each other; OpenVPN vs PPTP vs L2TP/IPsec.

General comparison

OpenVPN: Open Source VPN protocol licensed under GNU-GPL that uses high security SSL/TLS encryption
PPTP: Basic VPN protocol that all Windows operating systems natively support, very easy to set up.
L2TP: The more advanced version of PPTP that has better data encryption support.

Speed comparison

OpenVPN: Depending on the mode used (UDP works best), OpenVPN provides good speed for the quality of security provided. Functions well on any type of connection.
PPTP: Slightly faster than other protocols due to the 128 bit encryption.
L2TP: Slower than other protocols because L2TP encapsulates data two times.

Device/OS support

OpenVPN: Requires installing a VPN client software, something which most quality VPN providers have.
PPTP: Supports most devices including all versions of Windows, Mac OSX, Android iOS and DD-WRT.
L2TP: Supports the most important desktop and mobile devices and operating systems, but doesn’t support DD-WRT. Android and iOS have clients for L2TP setup by default.

Security/encryption comparison

OpenVPN: Encryption using OpenSSL with support for RC5, 3DES, AES, Blowfish and other algorithms for encryption. Uses 128 bit encryption with 1024 bit keys.
PPTP: Encryption using Microsoft’s Ponit-to-Point Encryption protocol known as MPE. 128 bit encryption is the maximum supported using RSA RC4 algorithm.
L2TP: AES or 3DES algorithms used for the most secure 256 bit key encryption. Relies on fixed protocols and ports, making it more vulnerable to be blocked.

Ports comparison

OpenVPN: Capable to run on both UDP (port 53) and TCP, with the option to configure TCP on port 443.
PPTP: Uses GRE (protocol 4) and TCP port 1723.
L2TP: UDP 500 used for the initialy key exchange, UDP 1701 for the initial L2TP configuration and UDP 4500 for NAT transversal.

Advantages of each protocol

Comparing advantages of different VPN protocols
OpenVPN	PPTP	L2TP
Very secure protocol, especially when used with AES.	The fastest VPN protocol available.	Good support for most devices, best OpenVPN alternative on mobile.
Offers great speed for the protection it offers.	Natively supported by Windows operating systems.	Not very easy to set up.
Easy configuration on any port.	Support for iOS, Android and most other OS' including DD-WRT routers.	Most recent versions of Windows and Mac OSX natively support L2TP.
Works well on unreliable connections using TCP mode.	Username, password and IP are the only credentials needed to access.	Provides good overall security.

Disadvantages of each protocol

Comparing disadvantages of different VPN protocols
OpenVPN	PPTP	L2TP
Requires installing a VPN client software.	The standard PPTP setup in Windows isn't very secure.	Not as reliable and fast as OpenVPN.
No support for iOS, weak overall support for mobile.	Not suited when top security is a priority.	Can easily be blocked.
	Certain routers and the GRE protocol may cause problems.	Not the fastest option available.
	Connections don't get recovered very quickly.

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