Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Certbot VS Let's Encrypt

Compare Certbot VS Let's Encrypt and see what are their differences

Certbot logo Certbot

Automatically enable HTTPS on your website with EFF's Certbot, deploying Let's Encrypt certificates.

Let's Encrypt logo Let's Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority brought to you by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).
  • Certbot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-26
  • Let's Encrypt Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12

Certbot features and specs

  • Free of Charge
    Certbot, developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, provides SSL certificates for free, which can help reduce costs for individual users, small businesses, and startups.
  • Ease of Use
    Certbot automates the process of obtaining and renewing SSL certificates, simplifying the often complex setup and maintenance tasks associated with manual certificate management.
  • Security
    By providing SSL certificates, Certbot enables websites to use HTTPS, securing data transmitted between the server and clients. This helps protect user privacy and data integrity.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Certbot supports a wide range of operating systems and web servers, including Apache, Nginx, and more. This versatility makes it suitable for a diverse array of environments.
  • Community Support
    As an open-source project with a large user base, Certbot benefits from strong community support, providing extensive documentation, user forums, and other resources for troubleshooting and development.

Possible disadvantages of Certbot

  • Short Certificate Lifespan
    Certbot issues certificates that are valid for only 90 days. While Certbot offers automated renewal, this short lifespan can be a drawback for users who prefer long-term certificates.
  • Resource-Intensive
    The automation scripts and background processes required for Certbot's functionality can be resource-intensive, potentially impacting performance, particularly on low-spec systems.
  • Learning Curve
    While designed to simplify certificate management, setting up Certbot initially can be challenging for those unfamiliar with command-line operations and server configurations.
  • Dependency on Let's Encrypt
    Certbot exclusively relies on certificates from Let's Encrypt. Users who need advanced features or certifications that Let's Encrypt does not offer may find this limiting.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    Certbot focuses on providing basic SSL certificates. It may lack advanced features or customization options that are available from commercial certificate authorities.

Let's Encrypt features and specs

  • Free of Charge
    Let's Encrypt provides SSL/TLS certificates at no cost, making it an economical choice for individuals and businesses.
  • Automated Certificate Issuance and Renewal
    The process of obtaining and renewing certificates can be automated using the ACME protocol, reducing manual intervention and administrative overhead.
  • Ease of Use
    Let's Encrypt simplifies the process of enabling HTTPS for websites, even for users with limited technical expertise.
  • Security
    Let's Encrypt certificates provide strong encryption, improving the security of data transmitted between clients and servers.
  • Widely Recognized
    Certificates issued by Let's Encrypt are trusted by all major web browsers and operating systems.
  • Promotes Secure Web Practices
    By making SSL/TLS certificates freely available, Let's Encrypt encourages more websites to adopt HTTPS, contributing to a more secure internet.

Possible disadvantages of Let's Encrypt

  • Short Duration of Certificates
    Let's Encrypt certificates are valid for only 90 days, requiring more frequent renewals compared to traditional certificate authorities.
  • Limited Support Options
    Let's Encrypt relies on community support and documentation, and does not offer dedicated customer support for troubleshooting and assistance.
  • No Extended Validation (EV) Certificates
    Let's Encrypt does not issue Extended Validation (EV) certificates, which provide additional verification and a higher level of trust for business websites.
  • Potential for Misuse
    Since certificates are issued for free and with minimal validation, there is a risk that cybercriminals might use them for phishing or other malicious activities.
  • No Wildcard Certificates for Multi-Level Subdomains
    While Let's Encrypt supports wildcard certificates for single-level subdomains, it doesn't support them for nested subdomains (e.g., *.sub.example.com).
  • Reliance on Third-Party Tools for Automation
    Users may need to rely on third-party tools or scripts for automation, which could introduce additional complexity or security risks.

Analysis of Certbot

Overall verdict

  • Certbot is widely considered to be a reliable and efficient solution for obtaining and managing SSL certificates. Its automation capabilities and thorough documentation make it a preferred choice for many users.

Why this product is good

  • Certbot is a free, open-source tool developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that automates the process of obtaining and renewing Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates. It's praised for its ease of use, strong community support, and commitment to enhancing web security.

Recommended for

  • Website owners looking to implement HTTPS easily and at no cost
  • System administrators seeking automated solutions for SSL certificate renewal
  • Developers who prefer open-source tools with active community support

Analysis of Let's Encrypt

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Let's Encrypt is a good choice for many website owners looking to implement HTTPS. It is trusted by major web browsers and has gained a strong reputation for reliability and ease of use.

Why this product is good

  • Let's Encrypt is widely considered a good option for SSL/TLS certificates because it provides free, automated, and open certificate issuance, which makes it accessible and convenient for website owners to secure their domains. It's designed to eliminate the complexity and costs typically associated with obtaining and renewing SSL certificates. Its easy integration with various web server software and support for automated renewals via the Certbot tool further enhances its appeal.

Recommended for

    Let's Encrypt is recommended for small to medium-sized websites, blogs, personal projects, non-commercial sites, and anyone looking to quickly and easily obtain SSL/TLS certificates without incurring costs. Larger enterprises or businesses with specific security and compliance requirements might need additional features provided by commercial certificate authorities.

Certbot videos

How To Get FREE HTTPS in 10 Minutes with Let's Encrypt and Certbot

More videos:

  • Review - Free TLS In The Cloud With Certbot & Let's Encrypt

Let's Encrypt videos

No Let's Encrypt videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Certbot and Let's Encrypt)
Web Servers
100 100%
0% 0
Security & Privacy
22 22%
78% 78
Software Development
100 100%
0% 0
Identity And Access Management

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Let's Encrypt should be more popular than Certbot. It has been mentiond 339 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.

Certbot mentions (114)

  • Deploying Novu on a Virtual Machine
    We can secure our application by configuring SSL for our application using this LetsEcrypt guide. - Source: dev.to / 21 days ago
  • How to Set Up a Subdomain with Nginx and SSL on DigitalOcean
    I've always been passionate about contributing to the tech community, and this article is my way of sharing what I've learned. Before diving in, it's beneficial to have a basic understanding of deploying to a DigitalOcean droplet, whether through a CI/CD pipeline or manually uploading your JAR files and running the app on the server. In this guide, I’ll walk you through setting up Nginx, and Certbot, and securing... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • My Journey Deploying an API: From Novice to Docker Enthusiast
    This felt like the ultimate test. I discovered Certbot, an open-source tool for setting up Let's Encrypt certificates, and dived into its documentation. After configuring Certbot, the application crashed entirely. My first thought was to wait 24 hours for the DNS to propagate, but the next day, the domain was still unresponsive. Debugging this issue without GUI tools was grueling. Docker logs were empty, PM2... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Setting up Ruby on Rails with RVM, Puma, Mina, Nginx, Sidekiq and Redis on Amazon Linux 2
    If you need to setup SSL for your project I highly recommend to use Lets Encrypt and Certbot to basically do all the work for you. (Love those guys, when I go billionaire I will send some churros, promise). - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How to deploy a static website to DigitalOcean
    This guide describes how to deploy a static website to a $4 Droplet at DigitalOcean. We will be using Nginx to serve our website and Certbot to manage TLS certificates issued by Let's Encrypt. Finally, we setup GitHub Actions to automate the deployment of the website. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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Let's Encrypt mentions (339)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Certbot and Let's Encrypt, you can also consider the following products

Caddy - The HTTP/2 Web Server with Automatic HTTPS

OpenSSL - OpenSSL is a free and open source software cryptography library that implements both the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, which are primarily used to provide secure communications between web browsers and …

Nginx Proxy Manager - Docker container and built in Web Application for managing Nginx proxy hosts with a simple, powerful interface, providing free SSL support via Let's Encrypt

Ensighten - Ensighten provides enterprise tag management solutions that enable businesses manage their websites more effectively.

nginx - A high performance free open source web server powering busiest sites on the Internet.

AWS Certificate Manager - AWS Certificate Manager from Amazon Web Services (AWS)