Let’s Encrypt vs Comodo CA: Which One is Right for Your Website?

Confused or having a hard time choosing between Comodo CA and Let’s Encrypt? Well, here are some key things to consider

Let’s Encrypt vs Comodo CA — this has become one of the most head-scratching debates for people looking for an ideal SSL/TLS certificate for their website. As you’re reading this post right now, you must be in the same boat. And as far as we can tell, you’re headed in the right direction. In this post, we’ll help you learn about Comodo CA and Let’s Encrypt — two of the most popular certificate authorities (CAs) on the internet.

Let’s get going then!

Comparing Let’s Encrypt vs Comodo CA: Weighing the Advantages & Disadvantages

In this article, we’re going to lay out the benefits and drawbacks of SSL certificates from these two heavyweight CAs.

Let’s Encrypt: A Popular Free Certificate Authority

Let’s Encrypt is a free, non-profit certificate authority that’s run by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRC) to promote web security by providing free SSL certificates. It survives on the support of its corporate and private patrons. SSL certificates provided by Let’s Encrypt work the same way as paid certificates in terms of encryption and give you the same level of security.

However, there are more disadvantages than advantages for these certificates:

Advantages of Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates

• They’re free.
• Implementing them on a server is quite easy.
• They offer the same level of encryption as paid SSL certificates.
• You can choose from single domain, multi domain, or wildcard options.

Disadvantages of Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates

• Compatibility: Although Let’s Encrypt is compatible with major platforms, there are some platforms that don’t support it. This includes platforms such as Blackberry and Nintendo 3DS.
• No Customer Support: Sometimes, SSL implementation and maintenance can be a tricky proposition to deal with. It could result in technical issues that you might not be familiar with. That’s where support from an SSL expert can save the day for you. Being a non-profit platform, Let’s Encrypt doesn’t have the resources to provide customer service to you. The only hope you have is browsing through old support forum posts or a plethora of bland documents.
• No Business Validation Options: Let’s Encrypt only offers SSL certificates with basic domain validation (DV). Organizations that want to display their business/organization details to establish customer trust don’t get any option to do so. That’s because the certificates that are capable of asserting identity involve human verification of your business/organization details — organization validation (OV) and extended validation (EV) certificates — aren’t offered by Let’s Encrypt. That’s because Let’s Encrypt doesn’t have the resources to dedicate to such a task. This is a huge disadvantage for business and ecommerce websites.
• Certificate Life of 90 Days: SSL certificates provided by Let’s Encrypt come with the validity period of only 90 days. This means that you must renew your SSL certificates before 90 days to keep your website security intact. It could put your web security at risk if you forget to renew your certificate. Certificate expirations are costly both in terms of your reputation and any financial damages.
• No Warranty: Unlike paid SSL certificate authorities such as Comodo CA, Let’s Encrypt doesn’t provide any warranty in case something goes wrong on their end. That means you’re on your own if things take a turn for the worst.

Comodo: World’s Most Popular Paid Certificate Authority

Comodo CA, now known as Sectigo, was founded way back in 1998 and has since grown by leaps and bounds to become the world’s leading certificate authority. This has been possible on the back of their competitive pricing, innovating products options and remarkable partnership model.

In 2018, Comodo CA announced that it had issued more than 100 million SSL/TLS certificates.

Advantages of Comodo CA SSL Certificates

• Trusted Certificate Authority: Comodo CA is the most widely adopted certificate authority in the world. It holds around 40% market share when it comes to Alexa Top 1 Million websites. Its popularity is a testament to the trust and credibility Comodo CA carries.
• Super-Competitive Pricing: Comodo CA offers the most affordable certificate authorities in the paid SSL industry. Comodo CA’s SSL certificates start from as low as $5.45/year.
• Across-the-Board Product Options: One major thing Comodo CA has focused on since its inception is serving each type of user. Comodo CA has one of the largest product portfolios that serve individual bloggers as well as multi-billion dollar enterprises.
• Customer Support: When you purchase a Comodo SSL certificate from CheapSSLsecurity.com, you get exclusive support from our SSL experts. All you need to do is submit a ticket and our team of experts will take care of the rest.
• Longer Certificate Validation: Unlike free certificates from Let’s Encrypt, Comodo CA SSL certs are valid for up to two years! Want some more good news? If you buy your Comodo CA SSL certificate from CheapSSLsecurity.com, you’re in for great treatment: We notify all of our customers 60 days prior to their certificate expiry dates. This way, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to renew your certificates before they expire.
• Warranty: When you purchase an SSL certificate from Comodo CA, you get the assurance of a warranty if something goes wrong on the certificate authority’s end. The warranty ranges from $10,000 to $1 million depending on the type of certificate you buy.

Disadvantage of Comodo CA SSL Certificates

• You have to Pay for SSL Security: Unlike free SSL platforms such as Let’s Encrypt, you have to pay for an SSL certificate to secure your website with encryption. This price is not for the encryption, but the support, infrastructure, and assurance you get from Comodo CA.

COMODO CA Limited: The ultimate choice for Website Security