TCP vs UDP: Protocols Comparison

When transmitting data over a network, two major protocols come into play: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). TCP ensures reliable, ordered data delivery, while UDP prioritizes speed with minimal overhead. This guide breaks down their key differences, advantages, and ideal use cases, helping you choose the right protocol for your needs.

What are TCP and UDP?

Let's start with the essentials – what are the TCP and UDP protocols, and where do they come in handy?

TCP

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a connection-based network protocol ensuring reliable data transmission from devices to servers. TCP is designed to ensure reliable transmission through the implementation of mechanisms like:

• Error correction – TCP assures accurate data reception by checking for and correcting errors in transmission through checksums.
• Data segmentation and reassembly – TCP assembles data into smaller units or packets and reassembles it at the destination.
• Flow control – TCP prevents data overflow by controlling the amount of data transmitted from the device to the servers.
• Data acknowledgement – the receiver provides proof of transmission through an acknowledgement system and retransmits data in case of transmission failure.

For these features, TCP is prioritized for data security and utilized in applications requiring integrity and reliability. TCP is often associated with web browsing (HTTP/HTTPS), email (SMTP), and file transfers (FTP).

UDP

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a speed-based network protocol that prioritizes speed and works without a dedicated end-to-end connection. UDP sets itself apart from TCP through the following mechanisms:

• Lowering overhead – UDP transmits data packets without interference, increasing the overall transmission speed.
• Multiple casting – UDP does not require end-to-end connection and thus can broadcast data to multiple addresses.
• Broader range – with a multicasting facility, UDP allows simultaneous data access for all network devices.

Due to these features, UDP is utilized for critical real-time performance-based applications. It is mostly implemented for Remote Procedure Call (RPC) applications, Domain Name System (DNS), and protocols like Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and more.

How TCP and UDP work

For TCP, a connection is established in the first stage between the sender and receiver. The connection includes a three-way handshake process as a part of the protocol and is described in the next steps:

• In TCP, every data packet has an attached indicator to identify and sequence data in order.
• On reaching its destination, data gets corrected and sorted in the order it was sent, providing a reception acknowledgement to the sender.
• In case of data loss, no acknowledgement is given indicating a need to resend the same data. The sender can retry and repeat the steps.

In contrast, UDP skips the indicative and data sequencing steps in lieu of it being connectionless. The steps for UDP transmission are simpler and as follows:

• Data packets are directly transmitted without a connection and acknowledgement receipts.
• In case of both data transmission or loss, no assurance is provided by the receiver. Hence delivery may not be guaranteed by UDP.
• UDP is thus utilized for applications that can compromise on data loss for higher speed and efficient communication.

TCP and UDP comparison

TCP vs UDP protocols have features, advantages, and disadvantages. However, TCP and UDP also have stark differences in uses and technical utilities as described in the table below:

TCP and UDP support in Smartproxy

Smartproxy offers a range of proxy types, supporting TCP and UDP protocols, housing 65M+ IPs in 195+ worldwide locations.

Depending on your use case and the website you're targeting, you can choose from a range of proxy types:

• Residential proxies from $1.8/GB that are perfect when you need a human-like connection for multi-accounting, ad verification, or SEO monitoring.
• Static residential (ISP) proxies from $0.35/IP provide stability and security for accessing “mission critical” apps or when scraping advanced websites.
• Mobile proxies from $4.5/GB help to test mobile applications, replicating ad campaigns on different devices and scraping various targets online.
• Datacenter proxies from $0.026/IP are perfect for traffic-intensive web scraping from targets that don't have advanced anti-bot mechanisms.

Bottom line

Both TCP and UDP are part of the Internet Protocol with varying functions. Both protocols are useful to proxy power users and specific use cases. TCP is prioritized for data protection, and UDP is the best match when efficiency and speed are a must. With differing functions, TCP and UDP have contrasting roles but can be used with added advantages when paired with Smartproxy.