acme.sh vs DigiCert
A detailed comparison to help you choose between acme.sh and DigiCert.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
acme.sh
0 reviews
3.8/5
DigiCert
0 reviews
acme.sh is rated higher (4.2 vs 3.8). Lightweight shell script that automates ACME certificate issuance and renewal across Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services and more. Integrates with 100-170+ DNS providers (counts vary by source) without requiring root or external dependencies. DigiCert is the world's leading enterprise SSL/TLS certificate authority. OV, EV, wildcard, and multi-domain certificates with industry-leading validation speed and $1.75M warranty.
acme.sh Free ACME client for automated SSL/TLS certificate management | DigiCert Enterprise SSL and TLS certificate authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.8 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | paid |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From $372/mo |
| Best for | DevOps engineers and sysadmins automating free TLS certificates across many domains and DNS providers — especially wildcards, scripted fleets, and resource-constrained Unix environments where Python-based clients do not fit. | Enterprises, e-commerce and regulated industries buying validated organisational identity, warranty coverage and managed PKI — especially large certificate inventories that need CertCentral automation. |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen source | team featuressso |
| Visit acme.sh → | Visit DigiCert → | |
acme.sh
Pros
- + Free GPLv3 tool with no runtime dependencies beyond a POSIX shell — runs on servers, routers, NAS boxes, and containers alike
- + Broadest DNS-01 provider coverage of any ACME client, plus DNS alias and stateless modes for awkward zones
- + Wildcard, SAN, RSA and ECDSA (default) certificates with HTTP-01, DNS-01 and TLS-ALPN-01 challenge support
- + Multi-CA support (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL default, Google Trust Services, SSL.com, Actalis) with a single --server flag
- + Self-installing daily renewal cron and deploy hooks with service reload commands — automation once configured
Cons
- - No support contract, no SLA, and community-only help (wiki, GitHub issues, Gitter) when renewals break
- - Learning curve beyond the basic case: shell flags, environment credentials, DNS propagation behavior
- - DNS API tokens stored on the renewing host are a standing credential — scoping and protecting them is on you
- - GPLv3 copyleft complicates embedding in closed commercial products
- - High maintainer concentration and the curl|sh install idiom warrant release pinning and verification in production
DigiCert
Pros
- + Enterprise-grade validation quality and universal browser trust — the CA procurement teams accept without debate
- + Public list pricing and clear product tiers, unusual at the enterprise end of the market
- + CertCentral management portal with ACME/REST automation, RBAC and private PKI for large certificate inventories
- + Warranty coverage up to $1.75 million on Secure Site products, with unlimited reissues inside the subscription term
- + Validation support staffed by real engineers — 24x5 standard, priority handling on Secure Site tiers
Cons
- - Several multiples of budget CAs for the same encryption — $372/yr entry versus $50 competitors and free DV certificates
- - Product families, validation levels, SAN pricing and reseller discounts make fair pricing hard to navigate
- - 199-day maximum certificate validity since February 2026 means multiple issuance cycles per year per certificate
- - No free tier or trial; EV's browser trust indicators have depreciated, weakening the flagship argument
- - Warranties are procurement signals more than realistically claimable coverage
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