Loading...There are many factors that affect an SSL certificate’s price. This includes things such as brand, utility type, validation level, site seal designs, and warranty amount.
In this article, we’ll cover the cheapest SSL certificates available in the market and compare their features. After that, we’ll discuss how several key factors affect the SSL price so that you can evaluate the certs that are available and choose the best certificate for your website.
An SSL Certificate Price Comparison: The Cheapest SSL Certificates in the Market
| Certificate Name | PositiveSSL Certificate | InstantSSL Certificate | PositiveSSL EV | Positive Multi-Domain SSL Certificate | PositiveSSL Wildcard Certificate |
| SSL Price | As low as $5.45/year | As low as $23.51/year | As low as $69.85/year | As low as $18.02/year | As low as $52.95/year |
| Type | DV SSL Certificate | OV SSL Certificate | EV SSL Certificate | Multi-Domain SSL Certificate | Wildcard Certificate |
| Encryption Strength | 256 bits | 256 bits | 256 bits | 256 bits | 256 bits |
| RSA Signature Key | 2048 bits | 2048 bits | 2048 bits | 2048 bits | 2048 bits |
| Coverage | One Domain | One Domain | One Domain | Up to 250 Domains | One Domain + Unlimited Subdomains (on a Single Level) |
| Validation Level | Domain Validation | Organization Validation | Extended Validation | Domain
Validation |
Domain Validation |
| Validation Time | Within Minutes | 1-3 Days | 1-5 Days | Within Minutes | Within Minutes |
| Usage | Personal websites, blogs, and informative websites | Medium to large business organizations and non-profits that accept donations/charity online | Large businesses and organizations, financial institutions, healthcare institutions, and ecommerce websites | For securing multiple domain names under the same certificate | For securing one domain and all of its accompanying single-level subdomains |
| Warranty | $10,000 | $50,000 | $1,000,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Site seals | Static | Dynamic | Dynamic | Dynamic | Static |
| Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Factors That Influence the SSL Certificate Price
Why SSL certificate’s prices differ so much? Let’s explore the various factors and features of the SSL certificates that cause price variations.
Brand Name
Some brands (like DigiCert and Symantec) are considered premium brands that are designed for reputed and large organizations. Some other brands (like Comodo CA, RapidSSL) have positioned themselves as those that offer affordable cybersecurity products to all types of businesses, including bloggers, startups, and even personal websites.
It’s kind of like a Prada/Gucci handbag vs. a knock-off handbag that you purchase from the street: They both have the same functionality, but one comes with a price tag that’s 10 times smaller than the other!
Certificate Utility
It’s obvious that a single-domain SSL certificate would be cheaper than a multi-domain one. In the same way, a wildcard is more expensive because it covers an unlimited number of subdomains. A multi-domain wildcard is the most expensive one because you can cover up to a total of 250 different domains and an unlimited number of subdomains under the same certificate.
Validation Level
A domain validated SSL certificate’s validation process is easy. It’s automated and just requires a click on the verification link from the email address or placing some files in an instructed folder of your hosting site. That’s why this type of certificate is cheaper.
For organization validated (OV) and extended validated (EV) SSL certificates, the certificate authority (CA) must employ staff to conduct the verification process manually. Staff members need to check online records and physical documents. This is a time-consuming process. That’s why OV and EV SSL certificates are more expensive.
Site Seal Designs:
Site seals, also known as trust logos or trust badges, are small images that work as visual indicators of trust. They contain details of your SSL certificate, the issuing CA, certificate issuance and expiry dates, etc.
TrustLogos are placed in footers, checkout pages, login pages, and nearby forms (if any) to boost customers’ trust.
An SSL certificate’s price differs according to the site seal’s designs, too. Some designs are considered more trustworthy and attention grabbing than others.
Warranty
SSL certificate price also varies on the certificate’s warranty amount. The bigger the warranty is, the more protection it offers your customers and, hence, the more expensive the certificate will be. If a CA fails to properly validate the information contained within a digital certificate and a website visitor suffers a financial loss as a result, the visitor may be eligible for compensation (up to the warranty amount). Such warranties work like insurance for website owners in the event of lawsuits.
Wrapping Up the Topic of SSL Certificate Price Comparisons
The difference among the various SSL certificates’ prices might be a bit overwhelming for some users. To make an informed decision, you need to ask yourself a few key questions:
- How many websites and subdomains do I need to cover?
- Do I handle customers’ sensitive, personal, or financial information?
- Is a certificate’s brand name important?
- How much of a warranty do I need to offer my customers peace of mind?
Learn more about SSL certificate types in our blog on SSL certificate types by security experts. No matter which certificate you choose, don’t forget to check out SSL prices at CheapSSLsecurity. We provide the best deals and discounts on SSL certificates in the market.
