{"id":1226,"date":"2018-12-19T18:29:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T18:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/?post_type=article&#038;p=1226"},"modified":"2022-03-07T13:29:34","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T13:29:34","slug":"free-lets-encrypt-ssl-vs-paid-ssl-certificate","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/article\/free-lets-encrypt-ssl-vs-paid-ssl-certificate\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Difference Between Free Let&#8217;s Encrypt SSL and a Paid SSL Certificate?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1227\" src=\"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/https-ssl-secured-1024x527.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"432\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In this tutorial, you will learn what is the difference between a free Let&#8217;s Encrypt SSL and a\u00a0Paid SSL Certificate.<\/p>\n<p>Before we can start it is important for you to know why you should care about HTTPS and about the\u00a0benefits of using HTTPS for your website.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mkb-shortcode-container\">\n<div class=\"mkb-anchor mkb-clearfix mkb-back-to-top-inline\">\n<h3 id=\"why-should-you-care-about-https\" class=\"mkb-anchor__title\">Why Should You Care About HTTPS?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The question \u201cWhy should I care about HTTPS?\u201d is an easy one to answer: Because\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.de\/2014\/08\/https-as-ranking-signal.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google says so<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0According to Google \u2013 HTTPS is now a ranking signal among some other factors.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mkb-shortcode-container\">\n<div class=\"mkb-anchor mkb-clearfix mkb-back-to-top-inline\">\n<h3 id=\"what-are-the-benefits-of-https\" class=\"mkb-anchor__title\">What Are the Benefits of HTTPS?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Your data is encrypted and secure. No plain text is ever passed. This is an important aspect of e-commerce transactions\u00a0but also for even logging into your website.<\/li>\n<li>Google has officially said that HTTPS is a ranking factor.<\/li>\n<li>The green padlock bar helps build trust and credibility for your visitors.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid the Chrome warning that is coming in January 2017 which is going to mark HTTP pages that collect sensitive information as non-secure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"so-what-is-lets-encrypt\">So What Is Let\u2019s Encrypt?<\/h3>\n<p>Let\u2019s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority brought to you by the non-profit Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).<\/p>\n<p>While Let\u2019s Encrypt certificates are only valid for 90 days (paid SSL Certificates generally expire after one or two years), auto-renewal is available to ensure that a website won&#8217;t be\u00a0left without HTTPS.<\/p>\n    \t\t<div class=\"hts-messages hts-messages--success    \"   >\r\n    \t\t\t    \t\t\t    \t\t\t\t<p>\r\n    \t\t\t\t\tDid you know that we have Let\u2019s Encrypt integration with all of our <a href=\"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>web hosting<\/strong><\/a> plans? This means free SSL Certificates for all of your websites hosted by us.    \t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n    \t\t\t    \t\t\t\r\n    \t\t<\/div><!-- \/.ht-shortcodes-messages -->\r\n    \t\t\n<h3 id=\"what-is-the-difference-between-a-free-lets-encrypt-ssl-and-a-paid-ssl-certificate\">What Is the Difference Between a Free Let&#8217;s Encrypt SSL and a Paid SSL Certificate?<\/h3>\n<p>So with Let&#8217;s Encrypt SSL certificates available for free, why would you pay for one? In terms of the actual encryption method, there\u2019s no difference between a certificate issued by Let\u2019s Encrypt and one from a commercial provider.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are various reasons why Let\u2019s Encrypt can\u2019t compete with a paid SSL Certificate:<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"1-validation-levels\">1. Validation Levels<\/h4>\n<p>There are three basic types of SSL Certificates available from commercial CAs: domain validation (DV), organization validation (OV) and extended validation (EV).<\/p>\n<p>Domain Validation SSL Certificates (DV) offer an economical and quick way to implement SSL to your website. Domain Validated certificates verify you own the domain, but do not perform any additional organization level validation.<\/p>\n<p>Organization Validated SSL Certificates (OV) provide instant identity confirmation and strong SSL protection for your website and business.<\/p>\n<p>EV SSL is an Extended Validation Certificate, the highest class of SSL available today and gives more credibility and trust to your website compared to using an organization or domain validated SSL Certificate.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the way its automated systems are set up, Let\u2019s Encrypt can only provide DV certificates. While this may be enough for many sites, if you are looking for a higher level of verification \u2013 and the increased trust that comes with it,\u00a0you will need to look for a premium type of SSL Certificate.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"2-warranty\">2.\u00a0Warranty<\/h4>\n<p>Premium SSL Certificates will come with a warranty \u2013 essentially a form of insurance against the unlikely event of certificate failure, fraudulent transactions and end-users losing money. Warranty value starts from\u00a0USD $10,000 and can go up to USD $1,500,000 based on the type of SSL Certificate.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s Encrypt certificates do not offer any form of warranty.<\/p>\n<h4 id=\"3-trust-site-seal\">3. Trust Site Seal<\/h4>\n<p>Premium SSL Certificates come with a trust seal that you can place on your website that has been proven to increase visitor confidence and customer conversions.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s Encrypt certificates do not offer any type of site seal.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>With Google and major web browsers pushing the entire websites towards HTTPS, Let\u2019s Encrypt is ideal for taking the first step into the world of HTTPS. For smaller personal sites and blogs, Let\u2019s Encrypt is a great choice.<\/p>\n<p>But for enterprise-level sites, that handle sensitive data, the benefits of a premium SSL Certificate are unbeatable. If you\u2019re running an e-commerce platform or any business that takes online payment, the safety of your customer data is crucial \u2013 something for which you\u2019ll always want to ensure the maximum level of security and protection. While Let\u2019s Encrypt can provide SSL protection, it can\u2019t offer the comprehensive coverage and reliability provided by a premium SSL Certificate.<\/p>\n<p>At ChemiCloud, we provide a wide range of premium <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lab.chemicloud.com\/store\/ssl-certificates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SSL Certificates<\/a> <\/strong>from some of the most trusted brands in Online Security.<\/p>\n<p>We offer highly competitive pricing and if you already have an existing certificate with a different web host, we&#8217;ll add any remaining validity that you have on your existing competitor SSL Certificate up to a maximum of an additional 12 months.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lab.chemicloud.com\/store\/ssl-certificates\/switch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn more\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this tutorial, you will learn what is the difference between a free Let&#8217;s Encrypt SSL and a\u00a0Paid SSL Certificate. Before we can start it is important for you to know why you should care about HTTPS and about the\u00a0benefits of using HTTPS for your website. Why Should You Care&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[183],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-1226","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-ssl-certificates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/1226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1226"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/1226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7073,"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/1226\/revisions\/7073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=1226"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemicloud.com\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=1226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}