cert-manager vs step-ca
cert-manager
cert-manager.iostep-ca
smallstep.comSide by side
| Figure | cert-manager | step-ca |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · Public Key Infrastructure Software | 8.0 (#10) | 8.2 (#7) |
| Installation | Installation options include static manifests applied with kubectl, Helm, and continuous deployment tools such as Flux and Argo CD. | Official installation options cover macOS Homebrew, Windows Winget or Scoop, Linux packages and binaries, Kubernetes and Docker. |
| Integrations | Satellite projects include istio-csr, approver-policy, Kubernetes CSI drivers, csi-driver-spiffe, and trust-manager. | Documented integrations include Kubernetes cert-manager, Envoy SDS, ACME clients, OIDC providers, PKCS#11, Google Cloud KMS, AWS KMS and YubiKey PIV. |
| Purpose | cert-manager obtains X.509 certificates from public and private issuers, keeps them valid and up to date, and attempts renewal before expiry. | step-ca is an online Certificate Authority for secure, automated X.509 and SSH certificate management. |
| Support | Palo Alto Networks offers commercial support and FIPS builds as part of its Long Term Support offering. | Open-source users are directed to community Discord support, with optional paid support contracts available from Smallstep. |
| Target users | The product is described for Kubernetes and OpenShift workloads that need managed certificates for public-facing or internal services. | The project is positioned for DevOps teams that need a private CA for certificates used by VMs, containers, APIs, databases, Kubernetes pods and people. |
Plans
step-ca
- step-ca (open source)Free
- step-ca open sourceFree
- Smallstep PlatformPriced on request
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.
step-ca
step-ca is an online Certificate Authority for automating X.509 and SSH certificate management. It issues X.509 certificates for TLS, mutual TLS, document signing and authentication, as well as SSH certificates for users and hosts. Provisioners can authorize issuance through ACME challenges, OIDC tokens, cloud instance identity documents and short-lived JWK tokens. Automated issuance and renewal are supported for clients, servers and Kubernetes workloads, alongside passive revocation. Templates can customize SANs or OIDs, restrict domains or key sizes, and create longer certificate chains. For CA signing-key protection, step-ca integrates with Google Cloud KMS, AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, PKCS#11 HSMs, TPM 2.0 and YubiKey PIV. Its intended PKI design uses an offline root CA and a configured intermediate CA that issues end-entity certificates. Installation options include macOS, Windows, Linux, Kubernetes and Docker, and database choices include Badger, BoltDB, MySQL and PostgreSQL. The open-source plan costs nothing. Community help is available through Discord, with dedicated support contracts from Smallstep.