Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AWS Certificate Manager VS AWS Shield

Compare AWS Certificate Manager VS AWS Shield and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

AWS Certificate Manager logo AWS Certificate Manager

AWS Certificate Manager from Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS Shield logo AWS Shield

AWS Shield is a managed Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection service that safeguards web applications running on AWS. 
  • AWS Certificate Manager Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-15
  • AWS Shield Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-21

AWS Certificate Manager features and specs

  • Automated Certificate Management
    AWS Certificate Manager automates the creation, renewal, and deployment of SSL/TLS certificates, reducing manual effort and the risk of human error.
  • Seamless Integration
    AWS Certificate Manager integrates easily with other AWS services such as Elastic Load Balancing (ELB), Amazon CloudFront, and Amazon API Gateway, simplifying the process of securing web applications.
  • Free Public Certificates
    AWS offers free public SSL/TLS certificates through AWS Certificate Manager, allowing users to secure their domains without additional cost.
  • Enhanced Security
    Automated renewal and deployment of certificates help ensure that your applications and services remain secure and compliant with industry standards.
  • Scalability
    AWS Certificate Manager can handle a large number of certificates, making it suitable for enterprises with many domains and subdomains.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Certificate Manager

  • AWS Ecosystem Dependency
    AWS Certificate Manager is deeply integrated with AWS services, which can be a limitation for businesses that utilize multi-cloud or hybrid cloud strategies.
  • Limited Customization
    Users have less control over certificate details and configurations compared to managing their own certificates manually or through other certificate authorities.
  • Proprietary Limitations
    AWS Certificate Manager's certificates can only be used with supported AWS services, which restricts their use in non-AWS environments.
  • Region Availability
    Some AWS regions may have limited support or features for AWS Certificate Manager compared to others, which can affect global deployment strategies.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may find it challenging to understand and utilize all the features and integrations provided by AWS Certificate Manager without sufficient AWS knowledge.

AWS Shield features and specs

  • Comprehensive Protection
    AWS Shield provides strong protection against DDoS attacks, including Layer 3/4 infrastructure attacks and Layer 7 application attacks, ensuring reliable service availability.
  • Fully Managed
    AWS Shield is a fully managed service, meaning that it requires minimal effort to deploy and maintain, allowing businesses to focus on their core operations.
  • Global Coverage
    AWS Shield provides protection across all AWS regions, ensuring consistent security for applications deployed across different geographic areas.
  • Cost Efficiency
    With AWS Shield Standard, businesses receive basic DDoS protection at no additional cost, which can be particularly advantageous for smaller enterprises or startups.
  • Advanced Protection Plans
    For businesses needing enhanced protection, AWS Shield Advanced offers additional features such as 24/7 support from the DDoS Response Team and financial protections under specific conditions.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Shield

  • Cost for Advanced Features
    While AWS Shield Standard is free, AWS Shield Advanced incurs additional costs, which might be significant for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets.
  • AWS Ecosystem Dependency
    AWS Shield is designed to work within the AWS ecosystem, which may not be suitable for businesses using a multi-cloud strategy or relying heavily on on-premises infrastructure.
  • Complex Configuration for Advanced Settings
    Configuring advanced protection features might require specialized knowledge and understanding of AWS security best practices, potentially increasing administrative overhead.
  • Potential Overhead
    There might be additional overhead in terms of managing AWS Shield alongside other security measures, particularly for organizations with complex environments.
  • Limited to DDoS
    AWS Shield is specialized in DDoS protection. Organizations requiring a full spectrum of threat mitigation will need to integrate it with other security services.

AWS Certificate Manager videos

How can I add certificates for websites to the ELB using AWS Certificate Manager?

AWS Shield videos

AWS Shield Overview

More videos:

  • Review - DNS DDoS mitigation using Amazon Route 53 and AWS Shield - February 2017 AWS Online Tech Talks

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS Certificate Manager and AWS Shield)
Network & Admin
100 100%
0% 0
Web Application Security
0 0%
100% 100
Domain Name Registrar
100 100%
0% 0
CDN
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using AWS Certificate Manager and AWS Shield. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS Certificate Manager should be more popular than AWS Shield. It has been mentiond 24 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS Certificate Manager mentions (24)

View more

AWS Shield mentions (13)

  • Understanding AWS Regions and Availability Zones: A Guide for Beginners
    AWS CloudFront is the star of the show here. It caches static content (like media, scripts, and images) to ensure fast, reliable delivery. Other AWS services that run at the edge include Route 53 for DNS routing, Shield and WAF for security, and even Lambda via Lambda@Edge — giving you the ability to run serverless logic closer to the user. - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago
  • AWS Serverless Security: Preventing HTTP Flood DDoS Attack
    In the diagram below, we can see where the AWS WAF sits in our serverless architecture. Basically, it’s our shield in front of all requests coming into our system. But, don’t confuse this service with AWS Shield (lol, AWS has everything). - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Protect nginx ingress with AWS WAF and AWS Shield
    AWS Shield is primarily used to protect from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. It automatically detects threats to the environment. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Ask HN: Reasonably priced EU hosting with DDoS filtering?
    OVH offers more than a firewall. They provide all of their OVHCloud custoemrs with anti-DDoS services that will block most attacks automatically at no additonal charge. https://us.ovhcloud.com/security/anti-ddos/ AWS offers their Shield product, although your requirement of "reasonably priced" may exclude AWS in general https://aws.amazon.com/shield/ . Cloudflare Spectrum can protect TCP/UDP services including... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Enigma cold war IP global banning people trying to join their server when full.
    You just dont hear bout much these days as a consumer since most games go FULL GREED (aka Live Service) and do not let you host your own server. Big companies use AWS etc and have ways to deal with this sort of thing. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS Certificate Manager and AWS Shield, you can also consider the following products

Google Authenticator - Google Authenticator is a multifactor app for mobile devices.

CloudFlare DDoS Protection - Mitigate a DDoS attack of any size using Cloudflare's advanced DDoS protection including DNS Amplification, SYN/ACK, Layer 7 Attacks. Don't get ddos attacked!

Authy - Best rated Two-Factor Authentication smartphone app for consumers, simplest 2fa Rest API for developers and a strong authentication platform for the enterprise.

Imperva Cloud Application Security - Deploy your applications and data where you want. When you want. Imperva keeps them secure in the cloud, on premises, and in hybrid clouds.

Azure Multi-Factor Authentication - Azure Multi-Factor Authentication helps safeguard access to data and applications while meeting user demand for a simple sign-in process.

VeriSign - VeriSign Authentication Services provides solutions that allow companies & consumers to engage...