Compare the latest VPN protocols

Protocols that work with all of your devices

Trustpilot 4.5 out of 5

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WireGuard®

macOS
Windows
Linux
iOS
Android

WireGuard is a revolutionary new VPN protocol that accelerates in speed and simplicity. It utilises state-of-the-art cryptography like the Noise protocol framework, Curve25519, ChaCha20, Poly1305, BLAKE2, SipHash24, HKDF, and secure trusted constructions. The protocol is included in the Linux Kernel 5.6 and has completed a third-party security audit. It's available on all hide.me servers and apps.

Security5
Stability5
Ease of use3
Speed5
Overall5

OpenVPN

macOS
Windows
Linux
iOS
Android

OpenVPN supports up to AES-256 encryption for Mac, Windows, iOS, Linux and Android. It has no known weaknesses. OpenVPN authenticates data on both ends through digital certificates, or through certificates with a username and password pair. It is proven to be reliable on all kinds of connections, such as WLAN, wired and mobile. It’s incredibly easy to set up, and is a good choice for desktop users.

Security5
Stability5
Ease of use3
Speed4
Overall4

SoftEther

macOS
Windows
Linux

SoftEther VPN is one of the most powerful, open source, multi-protocol VPN software solutions available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Free BSD and Solaris. SoftEther's state of the art SSL-VPN protocol penetrates firewalls by tunneling the VPN traffic over HTTPS (similar to SSTP), or over UDP for increased speed (similar to IPSec). VPN tunnel's security is guaranteed by the use of the strongest cryptographic algorithms. Automatic reconnects, multiple simultaneous connections and a wide variety of tunneling methods can keep the VPN connection stable and fast at all times. SoftEther VPN protocol successfully combines the strengths of both, IPsec and OpenVPN protocols, to deliver an excellent VPN solution. The only drawback, at this time, is the lack of GUI clients for platforms other than Windows.

Security5
Stability5
Ease of use3
Speed5
Overall5

IKEv2

macOS
Windows
Linux
iOS
Android

Available for Windows and Linux, IKEv2 supports AES-128 and AES-256 respectively. IKEv2 is an industry standard protocol, using the most advanced VPN tunneling technology. It’s resistant to short-term loss of network connectivity, and works over UDP to bypass firewalls and minimize problems. IKEv2 is relatively easy to set up, and is the best protocol to choose overall. It’s perfect for home users behind NAT devices, too!

Security5
Stability5
Ease of use4
Speed5
Overall5

SSTP

macOS
Windows
Linux

Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol is a tunneling protocol available on the Microsoft platform. The protocol is based on a combination of two technologies, SSL and TCP. The SSL technology guarantees the transport level security and integrity of the traffic. The SSL is, on our servers, configured in such a way that only the strongest method of encryption is enabled. Since a SSTP session is, in fact, a HTTPS session, SSTP may be used to bypass firewalls or ISP throttling. On the other hand, since SSTP is operating over TCP, it will in some cases underperform IKEv2 or other UDP based protocols. Overall, SSTP is a great choice and may help in resolving connectivity or speed issues you may have.

Security5
Stability4
Ease of use5
Speed4
Overall5