acme.sh vs ManageEngine Key Manager Plus

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.

ManageEngine Key Manager Plus centralizes SSL/TLS certificate lifecycle management across enterprise networks, from discovery and acquisition to deployment, renewal, and expiry tracking. It finds certificates across endpoints and stores, including Microsoft CA, self-signed, public CA, mail server, load balancer, and AWS-hosted certificates. Renewal can be automated, with expiry alerts sent by email, SNMP traps, or syslog. Listed public CA integrations include Let's Encrypt, DigiCert, GlobalSign, RapidSSL, GoDaddy, and Thawte. It also manages SSH and PGP keys in a digital-key vault. Audit features cover key and certificate operations, privileged-session video, and activity reports. Controls include role-based access, two-factor authentication, SAML single sign-on, audit logging, and external storage for the master encryption key. The product is offered as SaaS and on premises. A free plan and 30-day trial are listed. The on-premises license for 25 managed keys is $59.00 per month, billed monthly.