Let's Encrypt vs acme.sh
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Let's Encrypt and acme.sh.
Quick Verdict
4.4/5
Let's Encrypt
0 reviews
4.2/5
acme.sh
0 reviews
Let's Encrypt is rated higher (4.4 vs 4.2). Powers HTTPS on 700M+ websites 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.
Let's Encrypt Free SSL certificates for everyone | acme.sh Free ACME client for automated SSL/TLS certificate management | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.4 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.2 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | free |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Best for | Every website and API endpoint where domain validation is acceptable — the default TLS layer for personal sites, SaaS products, and automated infrastructure. | 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. |
| 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 Let's Encrypt → | Visit acme.sh → | |
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
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
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