WireGuard is faster than traditional VPN protocols because of a 'less is more' philosophy: its in-kernel implementation is only ~4,000 lines, versus hundreds of thousands for OpenVPN — a smaller attack surface and fewer context switches.
Three reasons it's faster
- Lean code: fewer branches and copies, a shorter packet path;
- Modern crypto: a fixed, efficient suite (ChaCha20-Poly1305) with no cipher negotiation;
- Kernel integration: packets are handled in kernel space, avoiding frequent user/kernel switches.
In practice WireGuard keeps connections nearly seamless even when switching networks (Wi-Fi to cellular), thanks to its connectionless UDP design and fast handshake.