KeyTalk CKMS vs step-ca
KeyTalk CKMS
keytalk.comstep-ca
smallstep.comSide by side
| Figure | KeyTalk CKMS | step-ca |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €5/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 12 | 3 |
| Spec score · Public Key Infrastructure Software | 8.8 (#2) | 8.2 (#7) |
| Integrations | Documented integrations include Microsoft Intune, MobileIron, VMware Workspace ONE, JAMF, RADIUS, LDAP, MySQL and HSMs. | Documented integrations include Kubernetes cert-manager, Envoy SDS, ACME clients, OIDC providers, PKCS#11, Google Cloud KMS, AWS KMS and YubiKey PIV. |
| Self-hosting | Customers can install the OVF/VMDK appliance on VMware ESXi or launch the CKMS AMI from AWS. | Install options cover macOS Homebrew, Windows Winget or Scoop, multiple Linux distributions, Kubernetes Helm and Docker. |
| Support | KeyTalk says it offers customers 24/7 support. | Open-source users are directed to community Discord support, with optional paid support contracts available from Smallstep. |
| What it does | KeyTalk CKMS automates enrollment, distribution, renewal and management of digital certificates and keys. | step-ca is an online certificate authority for automated X.509 and SSH certificate management. |
Plans
KeyTalk CKMS
- S/MIME on-premise€5 a month
- S/MIME hosted SaaS€6.50 a month
- CKMS 0–49 seatsPrice not published
- CKMS 100,000+ seatsPriced on request
- CKMS 10,000–24,999 seatsPrice not published
- CKMS 1,000–2,499 seatsPrice not published
- CKMS 25,000–49,999 seatsPrice not published
- CKMS 2,500–9,999 seatsPrice not published
- CKMS 250–999 seatsPrice not published
- CKMS 50,000–74,999 seatsPrice not published
step-ca
- step-ca (open source)Free
- step-ca open sourceFree
- Smallstep PlatformPriced on request
In their own words
KeyTalk CKMS
KeyTalk CKMS automates PKI implementation and the enrollment, distribution and management of digital certificates. It keeps certificates and keys in a central repository and supports automated or semi-automated deployment and renewal, alongside reporting, notifications and alerts. Smart Security Scan finds certificates and keys on a network so valid findings can be imported. The product includes a private certificate authority that can operate beneath an existing root or as a standalone root. Integrations and protocols include DigiCert, DigiCert QuoVadis, GlobalSign, Microsoft CA, Intune, MobileIron, load balancers, HSMs, Citrix, SCEP and ACME. Access controls include AD and Entra ID authorization, multifactor authentication and role-based controls. CKMS can run as a virtual machine on customer infrastructure, in private cloud environments such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, or as KeyTalk-managed PKI service. General CKMS pricing is on request, and a free trial is available. Separate S/MIME plans cost €5 a month for on-premise service and €6.50 a month for hosted SaaS, billed per user per month.
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.