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WireGuard VS Pritunl

Compare WireGuard VS Pritunl and see what are their differences

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WireGuard logo WireGuard

Fast, Modern, Secure VPN Tunnel

Pritunl logo Pritunl

Pritunl is an open-source enterprise distributed OpenVPN and IPsec server.
  • WireGuard Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-24
  • Pritunl Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-24

WireGuard features and specs

  • Simplicity
    WireGuard is noted for its simplicity in terms of codebase and configuration, making it easier to understand, audit, and maintain.
  • Performance
    WireGuard offers high performance, low latency, and minimal overhead, which results in faster connections compared to other VPN protocols.
  • Security
    WireGuard uses state-of-the-art cryptographic protocols and algorithms, providing a high level of security.
  • Cross-Platform
    WireGuard is compatible with many operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
  • Modern Design
    Designed with modern networking use-cases in mind, WireGuard supports advanced features like roaming and easier NAT traversal.
  • Efficient Codebase
    With approximately 4,000 lines of code, WireGuard's minimalism reduces the attack surface and potential for vulnerabilities.

Possible disadvantages of WireGuard

  • Limited Features
    WireGuard primarily focuses on being a secure VPN protocol and lacks some advanced features found in other protocols.
  • Still Evolving
    As a relatively new technology, WireGuard may still undergo significant changes and improvements, which could impact stability and support.
  • Static IP Assignment
    WireGuard assigns static IP addresses to each peer, which can be less flexible compared to dynamic IP allocation in other VPN solutions.
  • Server Compatibility
    Some legacy infrastructures and older systems may not support WireGuard natively, creating challenges for widespread deployment.
  • No Built-in Authentication
    WireGuard itself does not include built-in authentication mechanisms, relying solely on public key cryptography for peer identification.
  • No Built-in Traffic Obfuscation
    WireGuard lacks built-in mechanisms for traffic obfuscation, making it easier for restrictive networks to detect and block WireGuard traffic.

Pritunl features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Pritunl provides a web-based interface that simplifies the management and configuration of VPN servers and clients, making it accessible even to users with limited technical skills.
  • Multi-Cloud Support
    Pritunl is designed to work across various cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, which facilitates seamless deployment in diverse cloud environments.
  • Scalability
    The software is scalable, allowing businesses to expand their VPN infrastructure as needed, making it suitable for organizations of different sizes.
  • Security
    Pritunl offers robust security features, including support for OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols, providing encryption and secure connections for enhanced data protection.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Pritunl allows users to review, modify, and contribute to the code base, thereby fostering community collaboration and transparency.

Possible disadvantages of Pritunl

  • Complex Initial Setup
    The initial setup and configuration of Pritunl can be complex, particularly for users without advanced technical knowledge or experience with VPN solutions.
  • Limited Support
    While Pritunl offers documentation and community support, users might find the lack of direct commercial support challenging if they encounter issues.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Pritunl can require significant server resources which may lead to higher operational costs, especially in environments with heavy VPN traffic.
  • Cost for Enterprise Features
    Although the standard features are free under the open-source model, advanced features like enterprise support, auditing, and more require a commercial license.
  • Dependency on Cloud Services
    While supporting multiple cloud platforms is an advantage, organizations relying heavily on on-premises infrastructure might not fully benefit from Pritunl's cloud-centric design.

Analysis of WireGuard

Overall verdict

  • Yes, WireGuard is generally regarded as a good choice for VPN solutions, particularly for those who prioritize speed, security, and ease of use.

Why this product is good

  • WireGuard is considered good due to its simplicity, efficiency, and strong security features. It offers a minimal codebase, which reduces the surface for potential vulnerabilities and enables high performance. Additionally, WireGuard uses modern cryptographic protocols and algorithms, ensuring robust protection for data being transmitted over the network.

Recommended for

  • Individuals looking for a straightforward and efficient VPN solution
  • Organizations requiring secure and high-performance VPNs
  • Developers and IT professionals who need a reliable VPN with a modern codebase
  • Users who prioritize privacy, security, and low latency in their network connections

WireGuard videos

+ Add

WireGuard Overview

More videos:

  • Review - What is WireGuard? Should You Use it? Best VPN for WireGuard?
  • Review - OpenVPN vs WireGuard vs IKEv2 vs PPTP - Which is the Best VPN Protocol to use in 2020?

Pritunl videos

+ Add

Pritunl, a free, self-hosted, open source VPN tunnel with a simple web ui and cross platform clients

More videos:

  • Review - Building My Own VPN with AWS EC2 + Pritunl (cheap/easy virtual machine)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to WireGuard and Pritunl)

WireGuard

Pritunl

Security & Privacy
86 86%
Security & Privacy
14% 14
VPN
84 84%
VPN
16% 16
Cloud VPN
86 86%
Cloud VPN
14% 14
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
Monitoring Tools
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using WireGuard and Pritunl. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare WireGuard and Pritunl

WireGuard Reviews

Best Top 20 OpenVPN Alternatives (Pros and Cons)
Wireguard is a VPN alternative that is under development. Yet it is faster and carefully designed when compared to other similar products.
Source: cloudinfrastructureservices.co.uk
6 Types of VPN Protocols, Compared: Which is the Best to Use?
In essence, every VPN has to strengthen WireGuard’s wobbly privacy to benefit from its speed and security. That’s why we recommend using WireGuard-based protocols only if they come from reputable VPN providers. NordVPN, for example, fixes WireGuard’s privacy issues with the so-called “double NAT system” (network address translation). This allows them to establish secure...
Source: vpnoverview.com
OpenVPN vs WireGuard: Which protocol is best?
WireGuard was not designed to obfuscate user traffic to this degree, and only supports UDP. This means that a simple, standalone WireGuard connection is easy to detect. However, as WireGuard is so extensible, most VPN providers have added their own obfuscation methods on top. The efficacy of these varies, but we’ve seen services with WireGuard support that even work in...
Source: www.comparitech.com
The 10 Best Open Source VPN Apps
In addition to using the latest encryption techniques, Mullvad is based on some of the VPN protocols in WireGuard and OpenVPN. So, users will be able to decide for themselves which VPN client to opt for. Also, you can find Mullvad on Windows, macOS, and Linux-based systems, as well as Android and iOS. There is no paid version of Mullvad, either, so you need not worry about...
Source: www.fosslinux.com
WireGuard vs OpenVPN
WireGuard was designed for speed and security. It was not specifically designed for people like us, who look to their VPN service for both security and privacy. However, in order to give users the benefits of WireGuard, VPN services have come up with WireGuard solutions that add strong privacy protections without sacrificing what makes WireGuard special. Here’s the problem:
Source: restoreprivacy.com

Pritunl Reviews

Best Top 20 OpenVPN Alternatives (Pros and Cons)
Pritunl is another open-source software that is used to create VPN networks. It integrates with third-party services such as Amazon AWS VPC and SSO (Single Sign-On) authentication.
Source: cloudinfrastructureservices.co.uk

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pritunl should be more popular than WireGuard. It has been mentiond 24 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

WireGuard mentions (9)

  • Remote access from work/corporate network
    Wireguard. Wireguard uses UDP only and runs TCP sockets over UDP. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Central reverse-proxy ssh access?
    Look at Wireguard. I know you don't want Yet Another VPN running alongside your IPSec, but it's less VPN and more encrypted point-to-point UDP. You can set it up on any port you wish, including common ports that might be open on an outbound smart firewall not doing deep packet inspection. That way, it can stay out of the way of your existing IPSec deployment. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Official /r/rust "Who's Hiring" thread for job-seekers and job-offerers [Rust 1.69]
    We use Elixir/Erlang for our control plane, and Rust for our data plane, built on the excellent WireGuard® tunneling protocol. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Globally distributed Elixir over Tailscale
    Both products are based off Wireguard which is available for all new linux distributions. https://wireguard.com . I'm not saying OP's solution is wrong, just curious what the advantages are. Other than potentially simpler client setup, what are the advantages of paying for tailscale. With the opensource tailscale, I'm not sure if you get access to an api you can use to look up the hosts. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Whisper: wraps any Go io.ReadWriter in a secure tunnel using Ed25519/X25519
    Noise Protocol Framework (used by Wireguard). Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Pritunl mentions (24)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing WireGuard and Pritunl, you can also consider the following products

OpenVPN - OpenVPN - The Open Source VPN

ProtonVPN - ProtonVPN is a security focused FREE VPN service, developed by CERN and MIT scientists. Use the web anonymously, unblock websites & encrypt your connection.

NordVPN - NordVPN offers VPN technology that encrypts data twice.

ZeroTier - Extremely simple P2P Encrypted VPN

Hamachi - Hamachi is a VPN service scaled to the unique needs of business owners.

Cisco Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client - Get much more than industry-leading VPN client connectivity. Cisco AnyConnect protects your enterprise resources through a single agent. See how.

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