TUX.RE Forum

TCP vs UDP – What Is the Difference?

When devices communicate over a network or the internet, they use protocols to send data. Two of the most important transport protocols are:

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

Understanding the difference between them is essential for networking, servers and applications.

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1. What is TCP?

TCP is a connection-oriented protocol.

This means:

• A connection is established before data is sent
• Data is delivered in order
• Errors are checked and corrected
• Lost packets are retransmitted

Advantages:

• Reliable
• Ordered delivery
• Error checking

Disadvantages:

• Slower than UDP
• More overhead

Typical use:

• Web browsing (HTTP/HTTPS)
• Email (SMTP, IMAP)
• File transfer (FTP)

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2. What is UDP?

UDP is a connectionless protocol.

This means:

• No connection setup
• Data is sent directly
• No guarantee of delivery
• No retransmission

Advantages:

• Very fast
• Low latency
• Less overhead

Disadvantages:

• No reliability
• Packets

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