acme.sh vs GeoTrust

acme.sh is a free Unix shell ACME client for automating SSL/TLS certificate issuance, renewal, and installation. Its installer creates a daily cron job to check certificates and renew them when needed. Written purely in shell, it is compatible with Bash, dash, and sh; the README says general use needs neither Python nor root or sudo access. It supports ECDSA, RSA, SAN, and wildcard certificates, with validation modes including webroot, standalone, standalone TLS-ALPN, Apache, Nginx, DNS, DNS alias, stateless, and DNS persist. ZeroSSL is the default certificate authority. Listed alternatives include Let's Encrypt, SSL.com, Google Public CA, Actalis, Pebble strict mode, and any RFC8555-compliant CA. The project says API integrations cover most DNS providers. Renewal uses a CA’s ACME Renewal Information when available, with a 30-day fallback rule otherwise. Manual DNS mode cannot renew automatically because each renewal requires a new TXT record to be added by hand. Tested systems listed include macOS, Windows through Cygwin, FreeBSD, and multiple Linux distributions. The project is GPLv3 licensed and officially maintained by ZeroSSL; release tags from version 3.1.6 onward are signed with the maintainer’s SSH key, while earlier tags are unsigned.

GeoTrust Horizon is a security platform for SSL certificates, certificate automation and monitoring, and vulnerability management. GeoTrust says it is intended for small and medium businesses and fast-moving builders. It offers DV, OV, and EV certificates issued from DigiCert trusted roots. AutoInstall SSL automates certificate installation, re-issuance, and renewal, supporting Apache, NGINX, IIS, LiteSpeed, cPanel, Kubernetes, Docker, and more. With automatic renewal enabled, certificates renew 28 days before expiry. SSL Monitor checks domains and subdomains daily for certificate expiry, trust issues, HTTPS vulnerabilities, and more than 110 SSL issues. Vulnerability Manager scans servers daily for more than 375,000 vulnerabilities and provides remediation instructions; scans can be internal with an installed agent or external without one. GeoTrust says the tool uses Qualys vulnerability detection technology. SSL Monitor costs $2 a month per standard domain, and Vulnerability Manager costs $12 a month per server. Technical chat support is available 24/7; email support uses tickets and phone support is available five days a week.