ZeroSSL vs DigiCert
A detailed comparison to help you choose between ZeroSSL and DigiCert.
Quick Verdict
3.5/5
ZeroSSL
0 reviews
3.8/5
DigiCert
0 reviews
DigiCert is rated higher (3.8 vs 3.5). OV/EV and full certificate lifecycle management are offered through parent company HID Global's Enterprise SSL product, not as standard ZeroSSL plans. 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.
ZeroSSL Free SSL alternative to Let's Encrypt | DigiCert Enterprise SSL and TLS certificate authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.5 (0 reviews) | 3.8 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | paid |
| Starting price | Free tier available✓ | From $372/mo |
| Best for | Freelancers and agencies managing certificates across many client domains who want a browser console, email validation, a REST API and one invoice — or teams wanting a second CA for diversification | 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 tierapi access | team featuressso |
| Visit ZeroSSL → | Visit DigiCert → | |
ZeroSSL
Pros
- + Genuine free tier with no credit card: 3 × 90-day certificates plus multi-domain, wildcard and ACME support
- + Strong automation story for a UI-first CA: REST API, ACME clients, monitoring and installation checks
- + Vienna-founded CA (2016) backed by HID Global since 2024, with a clear enterprise path for OV/EV and lifecycle management
- + Transparent published pricing including fixed Platinum tiers up to $6,719.90 per year
Cons
- - Paying for DV certificates is hard to justify when Let's Encrypt is free and equally trusted in browsers
- - Vendor's own pages disagree on free certificate count and on issuance/client volume
- - No published uptime SLA outside HID's enterprise offering; support priority scales with plan price
- - Credit-based annual certificate quotas and Basic/+ Protect variants make the plan matrix hard to compare
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
Stay in the loop
Get weekly updates on the best new hosting and infrastructure providers, deals, and comparisons.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.