In which scenario is UDP typically preferred over TCP?

UDP is typically preferred over TCP in scenarios where speed is a primary concern and latency needs to be minimized. This is largely because UDP is a connectionless protocol that does not establish a handshake before data transmission and does not guarantee delivery, ordering, or error recovery. As a result, it provides lower latency and a faster transmission rate, making it suitable for real-time applications such as video streaming, online gaming, or VoIP, where timely delivery is more important than ensuring every single packet arrives intact.

In contrast, TCP is designed to ensure reliable communication, which adds overhead that can slow down the transmission speed due to its mechanisms for acknowledging receipt of packets and retransmitting lost data. Therefore, in situations where the focus is on real-time performance and speed rather than flawless delivery, UDP is the preferred choice.