From simple domain validation to extended validation with vetted company identity. Warranty at every tier.
Issued within minutes via DNS or HTTP validation. Ideal for blogs, small sites and internal tools. Browser padlock, 256-bit encryption, USD 10,000 warranty.
Vetted business identity embedded in the certificate. Recommended for commercial sites, B2B and regulated sectors. USD 250,000 warranty.
Highest assurance. Rigorous legal and operational verification. Prominent identity display in compatible browsers. USD 1.75 million warranty.
Let's Encrypt is genuinely excellent. For most personal sites and many small-business sites, a free DV certificate is perfectly adequate.
A paid certificate earns its keep when the authority has vetted the organisation behind the site. OV and EV certificates bind a legal entity to a domain, which matters when you are accepting payments, handling sensitive data, or operating in a regulated sector.
The warranty also matters. If a certificate authority mis-issues a certificate and you suffer a loss, the warranty is what pays out. Let's Encrypt does not provide one.