TLS is commonly considered to be quite mediocre in terms of speed along with L2TP. For TLS, this characteristic depends on the actual VPN protocol used (if any), and on the encryption added. So it can’t be named the fastest VPN protocol.

TLS doesn’t provide any encryption on its own but supports a variety of encryption methods. For instance, in VPN Unlimited it is accomplished with AES-256 encryption. The same encryption is implemented in L2TP/IPSec, KeepSolid Wise, IKEv2, OpenVPN, and Wireguard.

TLS offers better protection than SSL does, but still nothing to get excited about. Looking for a safer option? Consider IPSec, IKEv2, or WireGuard.

Configuring a TLS VPN is generally easier than most of its counterparts. With VPN Unlimited you don’t even have to manually configure your VPN tunneling protocols.

This protocol encapsulates data twice, somewhat slowing down the connection. In many cases, you won’t even notice this, but for more speed-sensitive services like streaming, this can be a problem. For this purpose, it is better to choose IKEv2. 

L2TP encryption uses the standardized IPSec protocol either the 3DES or AES encryption algorithm. A 256-bit key will be used for encryption.

L2TP/IPSec is free of any major vulnerabilities. There are some concerns over how secure it actually is, considering that the NSA who helped develop IPSec could potentially compromise or weaken it. But the general consensus is that this protocol is secure.

L2TP/IPSec is supported by most desktop and mobile devices. However, since L2TP uses port 500, which is easily blocked by firewalls, configuring this protocol to circumvent firewalls will be more complicated.

Same as OpenVPN, KeepSolid Wise will perform fast enough for most needs and purposes, but will probably not suit more speed-sensitive services. If speed is a high-priority criterion, it is better to consider IKEv2 or Wireguard protocols.

KeepSolid Wise is our proprietary VPN active protocol that further develops the ideas behind OpenVPN. KeepSolid Wise uses 256-bit encryption.

This protocol provides pretty much the same level of protection as OpenVPN, that is - high enough. KeepSolid Wise VPN protocol is also a highly secure encryption protocol quite difficult to track.

Since KeepSolid Wise is solely available in VPN Unlimited, all you need to do to configure it is install our VPN and enable it in the settings. Of course, using this protocol on any other VPN is impossible for obvious reasons.

The effective message exchange system of IKEv2 makes it one of the fastest VPN protocols. 

IKEv2 supports the most leading 256-bit encryption that makes this VPN encryption protocol well-protected against brute-force attacks.

This VPN encryption protocol supports secure AES encryption and employs the IPSec suite. For extra protection, IKEv2 also uses server certificate authentication (to perform any actions, it will first verify the requestor’s identity).

IKEv2 is easy to configure on the supported devices. The caveat is, it’s not as widely supported as most other protocols on this list. 

OpenVPN is about as fast as L2TP, that is - not too fast. Good for most purposes, not the best for video streaming or high-speed online gaming.

While OpenVPN supports 256-encryption, which is considered optimal, it also can work with more outdated 128-bit encryption. 

OpenVPN uses an OpenSSL-based security protocol to ensure strong data protection. Encryption algorithms that it supports, including AES and Blowfish, are also deemed secure enough.

Difficult if setting it up manually. Easy if using a VPN client such as VPN Unlimited, where the provider has already taken care of the difficult parts, and where no manual configuration is needed.

Wireguard is much lighter than most active protocols, and runs from the Linux kernel. This allows to avoid any notable lags and speed drops even despite applying strong encryption.

WireGuard uses 256-bit encryption. This VPN active protocol implements encrypted VPN, and it aims to improve the performance speed, protect from attacks and upgrade the total web experience.

WireGuard uses top-notch cryptography, is easy to audit for breaches and vulnerabilities thanks to lighter code, and handles network management with cryptokey routing.

Configuring this protocol is simple. And even though WireGuard is still not widely implemented, we wouldn’t consider this such an issue as opposed to the similar problem with IKEv2, because WireGuard is still in development. We’re certain that, given time, it will become pretty common.