Greatest free SSL certificates
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You need a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate to keep information on your website private. It also tells Google that your website is safe and trustworthy.
It's really important. Some web hosting providers like Bluehost provide a free SSL certificate when you sign up.
If you don't get this digital certificate yourself, I can show you how to get it as many free SSL certificates as you need.
Don't postpone that. You can get one in a few minutes.
Why?
If you don't have an SSL certificate, all major browsers like Chrome and Safari will warn users that your website may be unsafe:
I can't think of a better way to scare people off.
Would you click your way through?
So what about those free SSL certificates? It's much better to get one and let every potential visitor know that your website is safe and trustworthy.
Once you have an SSL certificate, users can access your site from any device and know that the information they are sharing, such as: B. Credentials or credit card numbers, remain private.
SSL is like sending a message in a sealed envelope instead of passing an open note.
Of course, it's more technical than that, but the simple truth is this: If you own a website, you need an SSL certificate.
Instead of an aggressive warning, you'll see a closed padlock logo next to your web address:
Ahhhhh. That is much better.
Okay, let's set you up.
Here is my list of the only four free SSL certificate options you need to check out. After the reviews, there is a brief buying guide that highlights important considerations in your decision.
A good word: there are many more "free" SSL certificate options. BUT they're either not free forever or have annoying limits on the number of certificates you can get. Don't waste your time – these are the best free SSL certificates you can get.
# 1 – Bluehost Review – The Best Web Hosting With a Free SSL Certificate
Advantages:
- Free SSL certificate included in hosting
- Incredibly easy to activate and renew
- Protects unlimited free subdomains
Disadvantage:
- You still have to pay for hosting
- Additional SSL Certificates aren't free (but it might not matter)
Bluehost is one of the most affordable web hosting solutions out there. It is a well known and widely trusted company that offers a lot of value to its customers.
For example, Bluehost includes a free SSL certificate when you sign up for a hosting plan.
You also get a free domain name for the first year. This makes it a perfect all-in-one package for people looking to get their first website online. Domains typically cost $ 10-15 a year, which helps keep costs down.
You still have to pay for the hosting, but you have to do that one way or another. Why not go with the host who gives you a free SSL?
I recommend the shared hosting plans as they are the best value and make SSL security as easy as possible. You are limited to a single shared SSL certificate per hosting account. However, this may be all you need.
This is because the free SSL certificate through Bluehost covers all of your parked domains and subdomains. Whoa.
Usually you have to pay for a wildcard SSL certificate to cover all of your subdomains e.g. B. www.neilpatel.com, www.mail.neilpatel.com, etc. Wildcards can cost a pretty penny, but you don't have to worry with Bluehost Shared Hosting.
It also includes parked domains, which are basically websites that point to your main website. For example, I could buy up www.neilpatelmarketing.com and point it to www.neilpatel.com.
Maybe I want this for future development or to make sure no one uses my name. Whatever the reason, securing parked domains is free with Bluehost Shared Hosting.
With VPS and dedicated hosting, you have more control over how many SSL certificates you can use. Get it when you need it, but customizability comes with an increased responsibility. It's a lot less straightforward than making plans together.
Also, since you are a reader of my blog, you can get an exclusive Bluehost shared hosting offer:
In addition to their phenomenal pricing, Bluehost makes it remarkably easy to install and renew SSL Certificates on your site.
Bluehost uses Let's Encrypt as a certification authority, but almost all technical work is no longer possible.
Instead of having to set up the automated monitoring and renewal process on your server, press a button. It's pretty smart.
Below is an example where the free SSL certificate was activated with one click for a WordPress site. Just turn it on and Bluehost will do the rest.
No wonder Bluehost is one of the most popular ways for WordPress website and blog users to keep their visitors' personal information safe.
Renewing the certificate is just as easy. Just make sure that AutoSSL is enabled. If you are on the shared hosting plan and the free SSL certificate is enabled, AutoSSL is already running.
I can only recommend Bluehost if you don't have a hosting provider. Hosting, domain and SSL are done in one fell swoop.
If you already have a web host, they should help you install SSL certificates as it is likely not as easy as it is with Bluehost.
And if your hosting customer support isn't helping, it's time to jump in the ship. SSL encryption is a must for any website and there is no point in staying here if the service is missing something so essential.
I'll give you a guess who I would recommend instead. Sign up for Bluehost today. Get big and relax with the 30-day money-back guarantee.
# 2 – encrypt review – The best source for free SSL certificates
Advantages:
- Virtually unlimited free SSL certificates
- Free wildcard and SAN certificates available
Disadvantage:
- Some technical skills are required for setup
- Recommended certificate renewal every 60 days
Let's Encrypt is a well-known certification authority operated by the Internet Security Research Group, a non-profit organization. Their mission is to "make the web safer and more privacy-friendly".
This goal is achieved by offering SSL certificates that are free, easy to renew, and easy to manage. You can use it for any server that uses a domain name, e.g. B. a web server, an FTP server or a mail server.
The rate limits for creating SSL certificates in Let's Encrypt are quite high:
- 50 per registered domain per week
- 100 subdomains per certificate
This is enough to issue certificates for 5,000 unique subdomains every week. The vast majority of people will never reach this limit.
One of the main advantages of Let's Encrypt over other free options is that you can create Wildcard and Subject Alternative Name (SAN) certificates. That means the same Let's Encrypt certificate can be used to secure multiple domains and subdomains.
For users with many websites, the ability to generate SANs and wildcards can make managing SSL certificates much easier. Instead of having to install, monitor and renew a separate certificate for each domain / subdomain, you can manage several that cover them all.
You may have seen wildcard and SAN certificates for hundreds and thousands of dollars. In particular, these are associated with much more stringent validation processes, in which the certification body carries out a background check of your organization. Encryption only authenticates that you control the domain.
In addition, the chargeable SSLs are part of an online platform that simplifies the installation and management of certificates. With Let's Encrypt, you'll have to figure this process out for yourself.
This can be a challenge for people who are not tech geeks, especially wildcards and SANs, but by no means impossible. Thousands of users without a computer science degree rave about Let's Encrypt. Yes, it takes some time to learn, but it doesn't cost a penny.
There are plenty of videos and documentaries out there to help you with this. Let's Encrypt wants users to use SSL certificates. So the nonprofit has made it as easy as possible, even if it doesn't feel like it at first.
Renewing certificates is similar. A bit of learning with a big payoff. Let's Encrypt uses the Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) protocol to make protecting your servers a lot easier.
The purpose of ACME is to automate the process of certificate renewal without human intervention. Here's how it works. There are many ACME client options that work better on non-Windows servers.
If your web host supports Let's Encrypt, setting up the ACME software should be pretty straightforward.
Some web hosts like Bluehost are partnering with Let's Encrypt to take the technical backend out of the equation. With Bluehost's AutoSSL tool, users can simply activate SSL protection once and certificates that are about to expire are automatically renewed with new Let's Encrypt certificates.
If you want privacy and security for your website but don't want to spend your money, then you should look for Let's Encrypt first.
# 3 – Cloudflare review – The best free alternative for SSL certificates
Advantages:
- The simplest form of implementation of SSL security
- Faster page load times
Disadvantage:
- Free Plan does not encrypt data between your servers and Cloudflare
- It is still advisable to get a traditional SSL certificate
Cloudflare is a content delivery network that helps users improve the security and performance of their website. It's not a CA like Let's Encrypt, so it doesn't issue SSL certificates, but it can help you achieve some of the same goals.
You can start using Cloudflare right away, regardless of the platform you're on. Just open a free account and change your domain nameservers to Cloudflare. This way, all traffic to your website will be directed through Cloudflare, where malicious attacks will be stopped.
You don't have to worry about SAN and wildcard certificates as you can cover as many domains and subdomains as you want with Cloudflare.
Basically, you let Cloudflare process all SSL certificates on their servers. Instead of managing your own certificates, Cloudflare is like the bouncer of your nightclub. No bad apples come in the door.
This has the advantage that you simply activate SSL with Cloudflare and don't have to worry about renewing certificates. Here is a breakdown that shows the difference between traditional SSL management and configuring with Cloudflare:
By simply enabling Cloudflare, you can ensure that visitors to your website never receive a warning from Google that your website is unsafe.
Is there a downside to having Cloudflare handle SSL security?
If Cloudflare was ever compromised, you'd be in trouble, but the same goes for Let's Encrypt or any other service you trust. I wouldn't worry about that.
The real problem is that Cloudflare doesn't protect the traffic between your servers and Cloudflare. With their free version, you only encrypt the traffic between Cloudflare and the people who try to visit your website:
With Cloudflare's paid SSL options, you can also encrypt the traffic between your servers and Cloudflare.
If you want full encryption, use Cloudflare along with a free SSL certificate from Buypass or Let's Encrypt.
That way, you can still get full encryption without spending a dime.
So why not just choose one of the other free options when Cloudflare offers incomplete encryption?
Because Cloudflare also improves the performance of your website. It's a content delivery network, after all, so you get faster page loads and better rankings on Google. This will also reduce the risk of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, which are very common.
Depending on your site, Cloudflare may handle all of the SSL security. Others may want to use a free SSL certificate in addition to Cloudflare to protect their own servers.
Ultimately, this will increase the performance and security of your website without you having to work for it.
Start Cloudflare today to see the difference it makes.
# 4 – Buypass – The best for free 180 day SSL certificates
Advantages:
- SSL certificates are valid for 180 days
- Secure multiple domains and subdomains with a single certificate
Disadvantage:
- No wildcard certificates
- Some technical skills are required for setup
Buypass is a relative newcomer to the SSL certificate scene, but has built a solid reputation for robust, reliable solutions. Buypass is classified as trustworthy by all common browsers.
It offers both free SSL certificates – known as Buypass Go SSL – and paid options for people who need to verify their company's legal status.
The main benefit of using Buypass is that the SSL certificates are valid for 180 days compared to the 90 day period for SSL from Let's Encrypt. So you don't have to worry about renewing certificates that often.
Like Let's Encrypt, Buypass uses the ACME protocol to automate the renewal of certificates, which makes the process even easier. It takes a bit of effort to set it up. Once you've installed the ACME client on your server, the renewal process is fully automated.
With Buypass you can secure multiple domains and subdomains with a single SSL certificate, but it does not offer a real wildcard for securing unlimited domains. Let's Encrypt still has that leg up there.
The tariff limits for Buypass are not as generous as for Let's Encrypt, but still more than adequate for most people. You can create up to 20 certificates per domain every week.
If the rate limit is not an issue and you don't need wildcard certificates, Buypass Go SSL is a great free option forever. It has more or less the same features as Let's Encrypt, but with an SSL certificate twice as long.
Check out Buypass today and see why this emerging certification body is growing in popularity.
What I looked at to find the best free SSL certificate
I wanted to find forever free SSL certificates. Free trials are great, but you have to pay after relying on their service, and sometimes quite a bit.
The options I have chosen will never add a penny to your budget.
Why is someone paying for an SSL certificate?
The short answer is that only one type of SSL certificate is free and some companies require the other types. My guide to SSL Certificates explains all three types: Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validated (OV), and Advanced Validation (EV).
If you need an OV or EV certificate, I'm sorry, but there is no way to get one for free. The real validation process takes too much work. If you're watching an OV or EV for free, this is definitely a scam to avoid.
The good news is that a DV certificate will still protect your website and stop Google from warning others that your site is not secure.
When it comes to releasing SSL certificates forever, you still have some great options. Every company does things a little differently. Here are the main criteria you should use to decide which option is best for your situation.
Rate limits for SSL certificates
How many free SSL certificates do you need?
If you need one or just a few, you can choose one of the options from this list. On the other hand, when you need a lot, the rate limits are important.
Let's Encrypt has the highest rate limits (50 certificates per domain per week), which means that you can generate the most free SSL certificates with their platform. With Buypass you get less (20 certificates per domain per week), although it's still quite a lot.
Another option for people who need to protect a lot of websites is Cloudflare. Since all SSL certificates are processed, the rate restrictions do not matter. Note that this does not protect the traffic between your server and Cloudflare. Therefore, you may want to use a combination.
Free SAN and Wildcard SSL Certificates
Now you no longer have to get an individual SSL certificate for every domain and subdomain you have. A DV certificate usually works for a single domain, but there are special types of SSL certificates that can do more.
Depending on the SSL certificate provider you choose, you might be able to get:
- placeholder: With these you can use a single SSL certificate to protect an unlimited number of subdomains. For example, I could use a wildcard certificate to protect both neilpatel.com, mail.neilpatel.com, support.neilpatel.com, and so on.
- SAN: Alternate Name Certificates allow you to use a single SSL certificate to protect multiple domain names. For example, I could use a SAN certificate to protect neilpatel.com and npdigital.com. These can also be referred to as Unified Communications certificates (UCC).
Let's Encrypt issues both wildcard and SAN certificates. Buypass issues SSL certificates that can be used for multiple domains and subdomains, but not a real wildcard.
If all you have to worry about is one website, it's not that big of a deal.
However, people with many sites and subdomains can use wildcard and SAN certificates to drastically reduce the number of SSL certificates they use. This makes it much easier to manage and renew certificates.
With Cloudflare, you don't have to worry about these distinctions after you set it up.
Compatible hosting providers
Some hosting providers have partnered with Certificate Authorities like Let's Encrypt to make installing an SSL Certificate incredibly easy.
This is what Bluehost does, and activating your SSL certificate through them is very easy. As soon as you activate SSL by switching it on with one click, the certificates are installed and activated.
If you're thinking about Let's Encrypt or Buypass, make sure the host supports ACME protocols. Otherwise, you will not be able to automate the process of renewing SSL certificates, which means that you will no longer be able to do everything manually.
Sometimes the technology doesn't go well together. For example, if you're trying to use Let's Encrypt with ShDaddy Shared Hosting, you'll need to configure everything. Choosing Cloudflare or switching to Bluehost can save you a lot of time in this situation.
However, it really is on a case-by-case basis, so it's worth checking out which options work well with your current provider.
I recommend contacting your provider directly as the field is constantly changing. What was true of compatibility last year may no longer be true, for better or for worse.
Renewal of the SSL certificate
Here I see two things:
- How often do you need to renew the SSL certificate?
- How easy is it to manage the renewal process?
The vast majority of free SSL certificates require renewal every 90 days. The encryption is valid for 90 days. However, it is recommended to renew every 60 days.
Buypass stands out for its free SSL certificate, which is valid for 180 days. This means people have to renew it twice a year instead of four times.
If you don't renew your certificate before it expires, your website will no longer be protected. Potential visitors will see the same type of security warning as they would without an SSL certificate.
If you only have one site with an SSL certificate, renewing every three months isn't a huge hassle. However, when you have a lot of websites it can get quite complex to keep track of the updates.
Bluehost is nice because you can enable AutoSSL, which automates the process of identifying and replacing certificates that are about to expire.
With "Encrypt" and "Buypass" you can use the ACME protocol to automate the renewal process. It takes some time to configure, especially if the technical side of web hosting isn't your forte. Even so, there are plenty of videos out there that will help just about anyone get set up.
Cloudflare, on the other hand, takes the entire renewal process off your plate. Once you have activated your service, you can benefit from Cloudflare's SSL certificate management.
As mentioned before, when using Cloudflare it can still be a good idea to use a traditional SSL certificate to protect the unencrypted traffic from your servers to Cloudflare.
Conclusion
If you've had to find free SSL certificates in the past, you may be wondering why ZeroSSL and SSLforFree aren't on this list. They used to be a great source of free SSLs, but both companies have been bought by new owners who don't seem to be that generous.
Many people who use these options end up on the hook to pay. With the options outlined above, you don't have to worry about that at all:
- Bluehost – Best web hosting with a free SSL certificate
- Encrypt – Best source for free SSL certificates
- Cloudflare – Best Free Alternative to SSL Certificates
- Buypass – Best free for 180 day SSL certificates
For most people, Let's Encrypt helps issue and renew as many SSL certificates as they need, including wildcard and SAN certificates.
Buypass is a similar option to Let's Encrypt, but their SSL certificates only need to be renewed every 180 days instead of every 90 days. This can simplify the certificate administration considerably, although Buypass does not offer any real wildcards or SAN certificates.
Cloudflare is your SSL certificate alternative. Your website is safe for visitors, but you won't have any problems managing certificates. Plus, you get a boost in website performance through Cloudflare's content delivery network.
However, if you want full encryption, a traditional SSL certificate is required in addition to Cloudflare.
Ultimately, the best option for free SSL protection is to use a mix of these options. By enabling Cloudflare and one of the traditional SSL options, you can take full advantage of these free services without leaving any security gaps.
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