ass=element-to-stretch src=/v1.20/blog/2020/large-scale-security-policy-performance-tests/mtls_plaintext.svg alt="MTLS vs plaintext"></a></div><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The difference of latency between MTLS mode STRICT and plaintext is very small in lower loads. As the `qps` and `conn` increase, the latency of requests with MTLS STRICT increases. The additional latency increased in larger loads is minimal compared to that of the increase from having no sidecars to having sidecars in the plaintext.<