Certify The Web vs Let's Encrypt
Certify The Web
certifytheweb.comLet's Encrypt
letsencrypt.orgSide by side
| Figure | Certify The Web | Let's Encrypt |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.92/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 13 | 3 |
| Spec score · Certificate Management Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.6 (#5) |
| API | Management Hub exposes a web API with scoped API authentication and service-principal access. | The production ACME directory endpoint is https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory and a separate staging endpoint is provided for testing. |
| Company founded | The vendor says the business was established in 2017. | LinkedIn lists Internet Security Research Group as founded in 2013. |
| Company size | The vendor describes itself as a small business based in Western Australia. | LinkedIn lists ISRG as having 11–50 employees. |
| Headquarters | Wembley, Western Australia, Australia | LinkedIn lists San Francisco, California as ISRG headquarters. |
| Self-hosting | Management Hub can run on Windows, Linux, containers, Kubernetes or OpenShift and can use SQLite, SQL Server or PostgreSQL. | Boulder can be adapted to operate an internal, non-publicly-trusted ACME certificate authority, although its maintainers say it is often not the right production fit for organizations evaluating it. |
| Support | Every license includes email support tickets, and the free evaluation includes helpdesk guidance. | Let’s Encrypt does not offer direct subscriber support and points users to its documentation and community support forums. |
| What it does | Certify The Web automates requesting, deploying and renewing TLS certificates through ACME certificate authorities. | Let's Encrypt is a free, automated, open certificate authority that provides TLS certificates for websites. |
Plans
Certify The Web
- Free evaluationFree
- Free evaluationFree
- Certify Certificate Manager cloud managed license$4.99 a month
- Cloud Managed License$4.99 a month
- Starter$59 a year
- Starter$59 a year
- Certify DNS (Standard)$60 a year
- Professional$149 a year
- Professional$149 a year
- Power Pro$1,199 a year
Let's Encrypt
- Let's Encrypt certificatesFree
- Let's Encrypt certificatesFree
- Short-lived certificatesFree
In their own words
Certify The Web
Certify The Web provides products for requesting, deploying, and renewing TLS certificates. Certificate Manager is intended for Windows servers or desktops, Management Agent for headless Linux and macOS systems, and Management Hub for central administration of multiple instances. The tools support ACME authorities including Let's Encrypt, Google Trust Services, ZeroSSL, Actalis, and private or enterprise CAs. Domain checks can use HTTP or DNS, with options ranging from built-in providers and Certify DNS to manual TXT records or custom scripts. Deployment tasks cover IIS, Apache, nginx, Tomcat, Exchange, ADFS, RDP, Azure App Service, Azure Key Vault, HashiCorp Vault, and IIS Centralized Certificate Store. Other deployments can use scripts, webhooks, SSH/SFTP, or UNC shares. Hub offers a web interface, API, role-based access, managed DNS challenges, and certificate monitoring across instances. A free evaluation has no feature limits or time limit. Cloud-managed licensing starts at $4.99 a month per install; other plans have annual or longer billing terms. Licenses do not bypass certificate authority rate limits.
Let's Encrypt
Let’s Encrypt is a global Certificate Authority that provides SSL/TLS certificates for HTTPS connections. The ACME protocol verifies control of a domain, and compatible clients can automate issuance, management, and renewal. Its client directory includes Apache HTTP Server, Caddy, nginx, Kubernetes, Docker, and Windows/IIS environments. Certificates are Domain Validation only; Let’s Encrypt says it does not plan to issue Organization Validation or Extended Validation certificates. Wildcard certificates are available through the DNS-01 challenge. Standard certificates last 90 days, with an optional six-day lifetime; these periods cannot be adjusted. Subscribers generate and manage private keys on their own servers. Issued and revoked certificates are publicly recorded, and the service says its certificates are trusted by most browsers and operating systems. Certificates cost nothing. A registered domain can receive up to 50 certificates every seven days under published rate limits. Direct subscriber support is not offered.