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Let's Encrypt VS InstantSSL

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

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Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Reviews
  3. » Alternatives

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).

InstantSSL logo InstantSSL

Learn what is SSL (Secured Sockets Layer), how SSL works etc. for secured transactions when shopping online
  • Let's Encrypt Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12
  • InstantSSL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-18

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.

InstantSSL features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

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.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Let's Encrypt and InstantSSL)

Let's Encrypt

InstantSSL

Security & Privacy
100 100%
Security & Privacy
0% 0
Web Hosting
0 0%
Web Hosting
100% 100
Identity And Access Management
100 100%
Identity And Access Management
0% 0
Domain Name Registrar
89 89%
Domain Name Registrar
11% 11

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Let's Encrypt seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 340 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.

Let's Encrypt mentions (340)

  • EU OS for the Public Sector
    > speaking about it in webinars and various conferences That's unfortunately the feeling I got from the landing page, lots of talking, bureaucracy and buzzword bingo and not much "doing". I might be wrong. For comparison https://letsencrypt.org, not a single mention of "webinars" or "stakeholders". - Source: Hacker News / 1 day ago
  • Cloudflare Tunnel for Home Assistant
    The good news is that the times when SSL certificates were a luxury feature are gone. Let's Encrypt makes them available to everybody for free. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How to Chat with Gemini 2.5 Pro from VSCode via AI Studio (Free and Unlimited)
    Create a local domain and generate SSL certificates for it using Let's Encrypt, and use it for my server. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Understanding Secure Communication: Encryption, Hashing, and Certificates
    Leverage existing trusted Certificate Authorities (Let’s Encrypt, DigiCert) or internal CAs for internal setups. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • East, west, north, south: How to fix your local cluster routes
    The ingress configurations in the cluster need to serve a certificate that is trusted by browsers and systems. One way could be registering a public (sub)domain for internal use, and use Let's Encrypt certificates, using DNS-01 challenge for verification. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
View more

InstantSSL mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of InstantSSL yet. Tracking of InstantSSL recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

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

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 …

Positive SSL - Positive SSL - Learn how to increase your conversions with our 2048-bit SSL Certificates, trusted by all popular browsers

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

COMODO SSL - Buy your Comodo SSL certificates directly from the No.1 Certificate Authority powered by Sectigo (formerly Comodo CA). Fast service with 24/7 support. Over 20 years of SSL Certificate Authority!

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

RapidSSL - Buy, switch and resell RapidSSL Certificates. Wildcard SSL Certificates also available from the leading data security software provider at low-cost.

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