dev · 2026-05-01
Compare SSL certificate options — free (Let's Encrypt, ACM), paid DV ($), OV ($$), EV ($$$) — across N domains over 3 years.
| Domains to cover | 5 |
| Certificate type | Paid wildcard cert |
| Paid cert annual cost | $200 |
| Year horizon | 3 |
| Annual cost | $200 |
| Renewals required | 3 |
| Per domain / year | $40 |
For 95% of websites, free SSL (Let's Encrypt or AWS Certificate Manager) is the right answer. The 5% that benefits from paid certs are specific:
Yes. Trusted by 90%+ of major browsers, used by hundreds of millions of websites including major brands. Browsers don't differentiate between Let's Encrypt and paid CAs in any UI. Past concerns about CA reliability are obsolete.
Most thoroughly verified cert tier. CA verifies legal entity, business registration, physical address. Used to display green address bar in browsers — but Chrome/Firefox removed this UI in 2019. EV certs still useful for some compliance + trust signals but visual differentiation gone.
Wildcard (*.example.com): one cert covers all subdomains. Usually best for large footprints. Subject Alternative Name (SAN) certs cover specific list of domains. Use SAN when you need different domains on one cert (e.g. example.com + example.org).