SSL Certificate Cost vs Free Calculator
Compare the multi-year cost of a paid SSL/TLS certificate against a free automated one like Let’s Encrypt, including your setup and renewal labour.
How it works
Paid total = years × (price/yr + renewals × labour) · Free total = years × (automated ? 0 : renewals × labour) · Saved = paid − free
For ordinary domain-validated HTTPS, a free automated certificate from an ACME provider like Let’s Encrypt gives the same browser padlock and encryption as a paid DV certificate — the cryptography is identical. The real comparison is cost of ownership: the paid licence fee plus any manual renewal labour, versus a free cert whose auto-renewal usually removes the labour entirely. Paid certificates earn their price only when you need something free ones do not offer: organisation or extended validation, a warranty, longer support, or a wildcard/multi-domain package your automation cannot easily issue.
Worked example
A $80/year DV certificate renewed once a year with 30 minutes of manual work at $60/hour costs 80 + 0.5 × 60 = $110 a year, or $330 over three years. A free auto-renewing certificate costs $0 in both licence and labour, saving about $330.
Frequently asked questions
Is a free certificate less secure?
No. Encryption strength depends on the key and protocol you configure, not the price of the certificate. A free DV cert and a paid DV cert both give browsers the same padlock and the same TLS security; the difference is validation level, warranty and support, not cryptographic strength.
When is a paid certificate worth it?
When you need organisation-validated (OV) or extended-validation (EV) certificates that verify your legal entity, a warranty for relying parties, or vendor support and specific wildcard/SAN packaging that your automation cannot easily provide. For a typical website, free DV is enough.
Why do free certificates renew so often?
Providers like Let’s Encrypt issue 90-day certificates and expect automated renewal roughly every 60 days. Short lifetimes limit the damage of a leaked key and force automation, which is more reliable than a human remembering a yearly renewal — as long as the automation is monitored.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.