cert-manager vs Dogtag Certificate System
cert-manager
cert-manager.ioDogtag Certificate System
dogtagpki.orgSide by side
| Figure | cert-manager | Dogtag Certificate System |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Certificate Management Software | 8.0 (#10) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Spec score · Public Key Infrastructure Software | 8.0 (#10) | 7.9 (#11) |
| Purpose | cert-manager obtains X.509 certificates from public and private issuers, keeps them valid and up to date, and attempts renewal before expiry. | Dogtag is an enterprise-class open source certificate authority for deploying PKI at scale. |
Plans
In their own words
cert-manager
cert-manager is a free, open-source tool for obtaining and managing X.509 certificates on Kubernetes and OpenShift. It requests certificates from public or private issuers, keeps them valid, and attempts renewal before expiration. The project automates TLS certificate issuance for Kubernetes Ingress and supports private-PKI certificates for pod-to-pod mutual TLS. Documented authority options include Let’s Encrypt, HashiCorp Vault, CyberArk Certificate Manager, and private PKI. Installation can use kubectl-applied manifests, Helm, Flux, or Argo CD. Related projects include istio-csr, approver-policy, Kubernetes CSI drivers, csi-driver-spiffe, and trust-manager; trust-manager distributes X.509 trust bundles and can run independently. cert-manager publishes threat-model and hardening guidance covering secrets, RBAC, networking, and Kubernetes configuration. Its default Helm values prioritize installation ease and backward compatibility over hardened production security. The project has no LTS releases, though each release is supported until the second subsequent version.
Dogtag Certificate System
Dogtag Certificate System has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.