Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Keybase VS Let's Encrypt

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

Keybase logo Keybase

Keybase will be a public directory of publicly auditable public keys.

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).
  • Keybase Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-26
  • Let's Encrypt Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12

Keybase features and specs

  • End-to-End Encryption
    Keybase provides end-to-end encryption for messages and files, ensuring that only the intended recipients can read the data.
  • Cross-Platform
    Keybase is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, making it accessible from virtually any device.
  • Public Key Directory
    It serves as a public key directory, simplifying the process of finding and verifying colleagues and acquaintances for secure communication.
  • Integration with Social Media
    Users can verify their identities by linking their social media profiles, providing an additional layer of trust and authenticity.
  • Team Collaboration Features
    Keybase offers robust team collaboration features, including secure team messaging and file-sharing capabilities.
  • Open Source
    Keybase is open-source, which allows for community review and greater transparency about its security features.

Possible disadvantages of Keybase

  • User Base
    The user base is relatively small compared to mainstream messaging apps, which may limit its usefulness for communication with non-tech-savvy individuals.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may find Keybase complicated to set up and use, especially those who are not familiar with encryption and public key infrastructure.
  • Resource Intensive
    The application can be resource-intensive, potentially affecting performance on older or low-specification devices.
  • Centralized Service
    Despite its security features, Keybase's reliance on a centralized service can be a point of failure or a target for attacks.
  • Dependency on Linked Services
    The identity verification process relies heavily on linking to external social media profiles, which may not be ideal for users who prefer to maintain strict separation of their online identities.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Keybase requires an internet connection for most of its functionalities, making it less useful in offline scenarios.

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 Keybase

Overall verdict

  • Keybase is generally considered a good platform for users who prioritize security and privacy. It has received positive feedback for its robust encryption protocols and ease of use when it comes to secure communication and file sharing.

Why this product is good

  • Keybase is known for providing secure messaging and file-sharing services with strong encryption. It's valued for its focus on privacy and its ability to integrate with various platforms like GitHub, Twitter, and more, verifying the identities of its users. This makes it a good choice for individuals and groups who require security and integrity in their communications.

Recommended for

  • Individuals who need secure and private messaging services.
  • Teams that want a reliable platform for encrypted communication.
  • Developers and tech-savvy users who appreciate integration with services like GitHub.
  • Anyone who values verifying identities through multiple social media and professional platforms.

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.

Keybase videos

Zoom Acquires Keybase: Should I keep Using It?

More videos:

  • Review - Keybase for iOS: Review
  • Review - Introduction to Keybase.io | Tooling Tuesday!

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 Keybase and Let's Encrypt)
Security & Privacy
30 30%
70% 70
Communication
100 100%
0% 0
Identity And Access Management
Messaging
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Keybase and Let's Encrypt. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Let's Encrypt should be more popular than Keybase. 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.

Keybase mentions (54)

  • A New Form of Verification on Bluesky
    It might have been Keybase? https://keybase.io/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Ask HN: Are there web-of-trust style online communities?
    Perhaps Lobsters? https://lobste.rs/about#invitations >The full user tree is public and each user's profile shows who invited them. This provides some degree of accountability and helps identify voting rings. For a single community like Lobsters, you don't need the digital signatures part at all. Keybase https://keybase.io/ has a feature to help you aggregate different identities/accounts, though I'm not sure how... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    KeybaseKeybase is a FOSS alternative to Slack; it keeps everyone's chats and files safe, from families to communities to companies. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Why Keybase?
    Along with many others, I did the Keybase identification thingy - adding the key on my Hacker News profile. Do you still use Keybase, how, why — what’s different?
      https://keybase.io
    . - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Privacy on RM2
    I've been using Quiver for a few years, configured to store its notes in a Keybase directory so they're stored securely and sync'ed across my machines. However, Quiver has its own issues - you can add tags on items but you can't do anything with them. Also, it seems the developer has stopped doing any maintenance on the program, the last update was a few years ago, so I'm looking for another solution. I keep... Source: over 1 year ago
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Let's Encrypt mentions (339)

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What are some alternatives?

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

Microsoft BitLocker - BitLocker is a full disk encryption feature included with Windows Vista and later.

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 …

VeraCrypt - VeraCrypt is a free open source disk encryption software for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux.

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

FileVault - FileVault is a method of using encryption with volumes on Mac computers.

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