SSL Certificates for your eCommerce

In the table below, we see a comparison between the paid SSL certificates and the free SSL certificate of let’s encrypt, which we include for free with each hosting account.

Brand	Comodo	Let’s Encrypt
Validation	Domain Validation	Domain Validation
Site Seal		No
Protected Domains	Depends on the certificate	Single
Issuing time	Minutes	Minutes
Encryption Strength	256-bit	256-bit
Support	24/7 Phone and chat	None
Browser compatibility	99.9%	99.9%
Guarantee	Yes, the amount varies depending on the certificate	No
Vulnerability Scanning	Free trial	None
PCI Scanning	Free trial	None
Price	from 18€/year	Free

Nowadays, Comodo and Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates are two of the most widespread solutions. The most frequently asked questions are: which of these certificates is best for me and my website? Is free always better than paid? Are there any differences between having a certificate that expires in 2 years and one that expires in 3 months? Let’s make a comparison to understand which of these solutions is best suited to your needs.

Please note that all SupportHost hosting plans have a free SSL certificate issued by Let’s Encrypt (the certificate is automatically activated in the 24 hours following your hosting account activation). Therefore, you will not need to do anything to activate the SSL certificate of your website.

Furthermore, the most used search engine (Google), along with all the others, focuses mainly on the user experience. So, using a secure connection is among the ranking factors.

What is an SSL certificate?

When we talk about a certificate, we always use the term SSL. Actually, when we use an HTTPS connection and a certificate, we are using TLS Transport Layer Security, a more updated and reliable version of SSL.

The certificate allows the encrypted exchange of data between the browser and the server. It ensures a secure connection when a sensitive information exchange occurs, such as your users’ personal information or credit card numbers.

If the certificate is present, you will see a padlock icon in the browser address bar. When you see the green lock, you can be sure that the sensitive data you are communicating is safe.

Let’s start with the analogies. What do Let’s Encrypt and a paid SSL certificate have in common? There are quite a few things in common:

• Domain name validation
• 2048-bit RSA encryption key
• Encryption strength up to 256-bit
• Connection with HTTPS protocol
• Removal of the wording “not secure” from the browser bar

From a technical point of view, data encryption works the same way. Both certificates can be used for your website and allow you to use a secure HTTPS connection. Encryption security also does not change.

There are differences. The SSL Certificates we sell offer features that Let’s Encrypt does not offer:

• Technical support
• Guarantees
• Certificates valid for 1 and 2 years
• Certificate management tools
• Secure website seal

Comodo is a commercial certification body. It means that it earns and reinvests some of the profits in support and tools for managing the certificate. Conversely, Let’s Encrypt is free, it cannot afford to offer support, management tools, or guarantees. It means that you will have to take care of everything personally.

For support, it is advisable to use a paid certificate type. We also recommend you to choose the paid SSL certificate when you need to process credit cards on the website.

When you make a purchase, it is safe to know that there is a guarantee if you are not satisfied with the service, so if something does not go as planned, you do not come up empty handed.

The same goes for SSL Certificates. When you choose e to secure a website with a SSL Certificate, you are protecting the personal data of your users. You need to know that, in the event of a security breach, your customers may decide to sue you.

That’s not good news, especially if you haven’t had anything to do with the data leak. For this reason, SSL Certificates provide a guarantee. In case of problems concerning the certifying body, (an error in issuing the certificate or in their SSL protocol), you are covered by the guarantee.

These guarantees start at $ 10,000 for most Domain Validated and Organization Validated certificates. Each certificate gives you a different guarantee, up to $ 1750000 in some particular certificates.