Choosing a VPN protocol is not a purely technical question. It determines the working speed of remote employees, maintenance complexity, and the level of corporate data protection. WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IPSec are the three dominant protocols in enterprise environments. Let's look at each from a practical standpoint.

WireGuard: the new speed standard

WireGuard is the newest of the three. It was included in the Linux kernel in version 5.6 (2020) and quickly became the performance benchmark among VPN protocols thanks to its minimal codebase (about 4,000 lines versus 600,000 in OpenVPN).

Speed

In independent benchmarks, WireGuard shows 2–4x higher throughput than OpenVPN on identical hardware. On a typical VPS with a 1 Gbps channel: WireGuard — 800–950 Mbps, OpenVPN (UDP) — 200–400 Mbps, IPSec/IKEv2 — 400–600 Mbps.

Security

WireGuard uses modern cryptographic primitives: Curve25519 for key exchange, ChaCha20-Poly1305 for encryption, BLAKE2s for hashing. A smaller codebase means a smaller attack surface — easier to audit and harder to find vulnerabilities in.

WireGuard drawbacks

  • Static IPs required for each client on the server — less convenient with many users

  • UDP-only — can be blocked by some corporate networks and hotels

  • Less ecosystem maturity compared to OpenVPN

MikroTik + WireGuard

Supported from RouterOS 7.x. Setup is relatively straightforward, performance is excellent even on budget models like the hEX.

OpenVPN: the time-tested standard

OpenVPN has existed since 2001 and is the most widely supported VPN solution in the world. Virtually any router, OS, and most corporate firewalls can work with it.

OpenVPN advantages

  • Maximum compatibility — clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, RouterOS

  • TCP mode — works even through strict corporate filters on port 443 (HTTPS)

  • Configuration flexibility — hundreds of parameters for fine-tuning

  • Large community — extensive documentation and ready-made configurations

OpenVPN drawbacks

Complex PKI setup (Certificate Authority, client certificates). Lower performance due to SSL/TLS overhead. In TCP mode — the "TCP over TCP" problem with unstable connections.

MikroTik + OpenVPN

Supported, but with limitations: before RouterOS 7 — TCP mode only without UDP, reducing speed. For a full OpenVPN server, a separate Linux server is preferred.

IPSec/IKEv2: the enterprise standard

IPSec is a network-layer security protocol built into most enterprise routers and operating systems. IKEv2 is the modern version of the key negotiation protocol for IPSec.

IPSec/IKEv2 advantages

  • Native support — built into Windows, macOS, iOS, Android without extra clients

  • MOBIKE — automatic reconnection when switching networks (Wi-Fi → 4G) without session interruption

  • High performance — hardware AES acceleration on modern hardware

  • Site-to-site — de facto standard for connecting offices to each other

IPSec drawbacks

Complex configuration, especially when using NAT. Can be blocked by firewalls (UDP 500, 4500). Greater complexity when troubleshooting issues.

MikroTik + IPSec

Excellent support. MikroTik + IPSec/IKEv2 is the ideal combination for corporate site-to-site VPN between offices. Hardware IPSec acceleration on most CCR and hEX models.

Final recommendation

  • For employees working from home → WireGuard (speed, simple client)

  • To bypass strict filters → OpenVPN TCP on port 443

  • To connect offices together → IPSec/IKEv2 on MikroTik

  • For mobile iOS/macOS users without extra software → IKEv2 (built-in client)

For most mid-sized companies, the optimal solution is hybrid: WireGuard for employee remote access and IPSec for inter-office connections. This delivers maximum performance with minimal maintenance complexity.