SD-WAN vs MPLS - A Thorough Comparison
Oct 11, 2025
In an era of rapidly changing dynamics in the business IT world, network connectivity and performance have become very critical to the success of an organization. The network infrastructure provides the basis for almost all business communication, data transfer, and connectivity across regions.
The two popular technologies to manage and optimize network traffic are SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Networking) and MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching). While both technologies work to improve network performance, they differ a lot in terms of cost, flexibility, setup, and scalability.
In this Blog we will delve deeply into both technologies, elaborating on their specific differences, and bring together a simplified comparison to help you to determine which solution between SD-WAN and MPLS will best suit your environment.
What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN is a relatively new technology that changed the way network managers dealt with wide area networks (WAN). Unlike in traditional networking methods, SD-WAN controls the network and the traffic via software. The whole idea behind SD-WAN is to optimize the use of current Internet connections for its wider purpose: broadband, 4G, and, mainly, LTE, thereby creating a much more flexible and cost-effective infrastructure.
With this technology, a company can now automate and simplify the management of its connectivity, while maintaining the performance of its applications and increasing the level of security. The SD-WAN enables companies to respond in a timely manner to any changes that come about in IT requirements, easily scaling up or down when necessary. As SD-WAN is software-driven, it provides a high level of centralization and automation for managing network policies, thus enabling monitoring and control of the entire network infrastructure through a single interface.
Different organizations looking to optimize their networks will benefit from the offerings of SD-WAN. Some of the key characteristics are:
Cost-Effective: By utilizing existing Internet connections (such as broadband or LTE), SD-WAN lowers expensive leasing lines.
Secure: Encryption, segmentation, and advanced threat protection for robust network security give SD-WAN enhanced security features.
Agility: New business requirements change through SD-WAN, which allows companies to quickly change and scale their infrastructure without the burden of heavy costs.
Simplified Administration: Software provides centralized control that makes monitoring and adjusting network performance and security settings easier.
What is MPLS?
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is an older networking technology that was developed in 1990. Large enterprises and service providers alike have widely adopted MPLS as a means of directing network traffic through predetermined paths, or labels, rather than through the traditional IP routing mechanism. This essentially acts to speed up and make more efficient the collation of packets by working outside of the usual IP address identification and routing.
MPLS is a highly reliable and high-performing way for organizations to control WAN traffic, especially in processes that require low latencies and high-quality service. However, it does not provide as much flexibility as more recent technologies, such as SD-WAN, since it relies on dedicated private circuits that are often rented from service providers and demand large fixed costs to set up and maintain.
A few important characteristics of MPLS are:
Dedicated Circuits: MPLS requires the use of private leased lines, which could be expensive to roll out and maintain.
Reliability: Known to provide steady and predictable performance, especially for real-time applications such as VoIP and video conferencing.
Traffic Management: MPLS permits the prioritization of certain types of traffic to ensure that mission-critical applications receive the necessary bandwidth.
Limited Flexibility: Given its use of dedicated lines, MPLS enjoys very limited flexibility compared to more modern technologies such as SD-WAN.
A detailed comparison between SD-WAN & MPLS
Cost Considerations:
The difference in cost essentially separates SD-WAN from MPLS. It is noted that SD-WAN is quite cost-effective since it does not require companies to install and maintain expensive private circuits. Instead, it utilizes the existing public internet connection of broadband or LTE, significantly reducing the costs associated with managing the network.
On the contrary, the MPLS solution requires organizations to lease dedicated circuits, which makes the installation and maintenance costly.
Network Control:
In terms of control, SD-WAN allows its end user, in this case, the enterprise, to centrally manage the state of the network, the monitoring of network conditions, and the changing of network policies, all in real time according to shifts in traffic in line with business needs. The ability to manipulate network performance with a few clicks allows IT teams to easily give precedence to applications that need resources.
MPLS, on the other hand, is managed by the gateway service provider, which means that businesses have less flexibility and control over their networks. Once again, while MPLS can provide a reliable service, making a change in the architecture would have to be done in cooperation with the provider, potentially causing long delays and service level interruptions.
Flexibilities and Types of Connection:
With SD-WAN, there are broad-ranging types of flexibility with many connection types, including broadband internet, 4G/5G, and even MPLS education suitable within adjustable connection policies. This kind of flexibility allows organizations to mix and match types of connections suited to their varying performance needs and cost-related constraints. SD-WAN also gives businesses the capability to prioritize traffic such that more bandwidth gets channeled to more critical applications while congestion is minimized.
MPL, S, on the other hand, suffers from less flexibility. It mainly relies on leased private lines, which are also costly to scale and less adaptive to changing conditions in the network. If a business needed to grow its MPLS network, it would need to charge for its circuits, which could be time and cost-draining.
Implementation and Set-up:
In terms of general setup, SD-WAN is way easier and quicker to implement than MPLS. With SD-WAN, a deployment would call for no installation of physical appliances. The whole network could henceforth be configured through a software platform. This makes SD-WAN suitable for organizations that have to implement changes to their network quickly or require scaling.
MPLS installation, on the other hand, can prove to be literally a long, drawn-out procedure. Normally, physical installations of circuits and equipment would be required in addition to all modifications requiring intermediary action with a service provider. This makes MPLS rather unresponsive, especially for businesses in need of tremendous agility to meet challenges.
Security:
In contrast, security and SD-WAN usually come with more advanced specifications compared to those of an MPLS network. SD-WAN is built with encryption and segmentation to protect data while it is carried in transit or at rest. It comes with integrated detection and threat mitigation mechanisms, helping organizations in defending against modern security threats and risks like DDoS attacks.
Although MPLS cannot be considered traditionally secure when winning against internet-based connections, it would never match up to SD-WAN-built security. Given the fact that the circuits composed of MPLS are special and dedicated; therefore, it offers some measure of isolation from the public internet, which, however, cannot be put alongside SD-WAN's advanced security features and encryption.
Scalability:
SD-WAN is also highly scalable in available options for the enterprise to add or remove connections as needed, without changing the network infrastructure greatly. So, it is a great choice for any company that is rapidly growing or has dynamic network requirements.
Inversely, scaling MPLS is a whole lot harder. They require the installation of new private circuits that are time-consuming and expensive if the setup of an MPLS network needs to be expanded. This poses a great disadvantage for companies that may need to skill up very quickly.
Conclusion
Both SD-WAN and MPLS have some strengths and weaknesses, and most of the working decision depends on the organization's needs. SD-WAN is more seen as modern, offers flexibility and good pricing capabilities, especially for companies that need agility, scalability, and security. Moreover, it can provide such services using existing external internet connections and by providing centralized software management, rendering it very appropriate for organizations wishing to minimize their network infrastructure.
MPLS, on the other hand, would still be regarded as a reliable and efficient technology, though it becomes more costly and inflexible. It suits businesses with more predictable networking requirements and a place to invest in outlaid circuits. Yet with the blossom of SD-WAN, many organizations are moving to an SD-WAN-enabled approach for their larger site connectivity from MPLS.
