Let's Encrypt vs DigiCert
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Let's Encrypt and DigiCert.
Quick Verdict
4.4/5
Let's Encrypt
0 reviews
3.8/5
DigiCert
0 reviews
Let's Encrypt is rated higher (4.4 vs 3.8). Powers HTTPS on 700M+ websites 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.
Let's Encrypt Free SSL certificates for everyone | DigiCert Enterprise SSL and TLS certificate authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.4 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.8 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | paid |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From $372/mo |
| Best for | Every website and API endpoint where domain validation is acceptable — the default TLS layer for personal sites, SaaS products, and automated infrastructure. | 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 Let's Encrypt → | Visit DigiCert → | |
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
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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