acme.sh vs Let's Encrypt
A detailed comparison to help you choose between acme.sh and Let's Encrypt.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
acme.sh
0 reviews
4.4/5
Let's Encrypt
0 reviews
Let's Encrypt is rated higher (4.4 vs 4.2). 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. Powers HTTPS on 700M+ websites
acme.sh Free ACME client for automated SSL/TLS certificate management | Let's Encrypt Free SSL certificates for everyone | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews) | 4.4 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | free | free |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| 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. | Every website and API endpoint where domain validation is acceptable — the default TLS layer for personal sites, SaaS products, and automated infrastructure. |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen source | free tieropen source |
| Visit acme.sh → | Visit Let's Encrypt → | |
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
Let's Encrypt
Pros
- + Completely free certificates for any domain, including wildcards
- + Fully automated issuance and renewal via the ACME standard
- + Sponsor-funded nonprofit with no paid tier and no lock-in
- + Public issuance statistics and transparent incident communication
- + Huge client ecosystem (Certbot, acme.sh, Caddy, Traefik, control panels)
Cons
- - Domain validation only — no OV or EV certificates
- - 90-day lifetimes (64 days from February 2027) make automation mandatory
- - No support SLA or contractual recourse; community forum only
- - Rate limits can constrain large multi-tenant deployments
- - No warranty sums or multi-year terms for procurement checklists
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