Free SSL Certificates and Free HTTPS
Which certificate authorities and services a startup can secure its site with HTTPS for free today, how long free certificates last and how they renew, what the free option limits, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Certificate services change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Free SSL certificate services a startup can use today include Let's Encrypt (Free TLS certificates, no fee), Cloudflare Universal SSL (Free Universal SSL for each domain), ZeroSSL (3 free 90-day certificates), AWS Certificate Manager (Free public certs for AWS services), and Google Trust Services (Free public TLS certs via ACME). Each of the 8 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, how long certificates last, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Browsers mark sites without HTTPS as not secure, and visitors and search engines notice. Free certificate authorities issue TLS certificates at no cost, and many hosts, CDNs and web servers turn on HTTPS for you automatically.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free certificates usually last 90 days and must renew automatically, some free plans cap the number of certificates, and free cloud certificates may work only inside that provider. Each option below shows what is free, its main limit, how long certificates last, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which services we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which services are listed or where.
Free SSL certificate authorities
Issue free TLS certificates through ACME clients or a dashboard.
- 1
Let's Encrypt
Any domain you control, with automated renewal
Let's Encrypt does not charge a fee for its certificates. Each default certificate is valid for 90 days, and up to 50 certificates can be issued per registered domain every 7 days.
- Validity and renewal
- 90 days; renew every 60 days (source: letsencrypt.org)
Start free at Let's EncryptTerms read on letsencrypt.org on Let's Encrypt: the free allowance and how to start - 2
ZeroSSL
A few free 90-day certificates, with ACME support
ZeroSSL's Free plan gives 3 free 90-day certificates with no credit card needed. The first paid plan, Basic + Protect, is $14.99 a month billed yearly.
- Validity and renewal
- 90 days, issued and renewed (source: zerossl.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: zerossl.com)
- 3
Google Trust Services
Teams with a Google Cloud project and an ACME client
Google Trust Services offers publicly trusted TLS certificates for free through its ACME API. New certificate requests are capped at 100 an hour.
Start free at Google Trust ServicesTerms read on pki.goog on Google Trust Services: the free allowance and how to start - 4
Actalis
European sites wanting a no-commitment DV certificate
Actalis's Free plan gives unlimited 90-day DV certificates when ACME is used. Without ACME, manual activation gives four 90-day certificates, renewed quarterly for a year.
- Validity and renewal
- 90 days; renewed quarterly if manual (source: actalis.com)
Free HTTPS included with a CDN or host
Turn on HTTPS for a site with a certificate the provider manages, free.
- 1
Cloudflare Universal SSL
Sites that already use Cloudflare DNS or proxy
Cloudflare issues and renews a free Universal SSL certificate for every domain it activates. Each certificate is valid for 90 days, and Pro costs $20 a month billed annually.
- Validity and renewal
- 90 days, renewed automatically (source: developers.cloudflare.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $20 a month billed annually (source: cloudflare.com)
Start free at CloudflareTerms read on developers.cloudflare.com on Cloudflare Universal SSL: the free allowance and how to start - 2
AWS Certificate Manager
AWS sites on services that integrate with ACM
AWS issues public certificates at no cost for use with services integrated with ACM. Those free certificates are non-exportable, and exportable ones cost $7.00 per domain.
Start free at Amazon Web ServicesTerms read on aws.amazon.com on AWS Certificate Manager: the free allowance and how to start - 3
Caddy
Anyone running their own web server or app
Caddy is free software that relies on sponsorships to survive. It serves public DNS names over HTTPS using certificates from Let's Encrypt or ZeroSSL, and keeps them renewed.
- Validity and renewal
- Kept renewed automatically (source: caddyserver.com)
- 4
Certbot
Admins who run their own web server by hand
Certbot is a free, open source tool for using Let's Encrypt certificates on websites you administer by hand. It renews certificates when less than a third of their lifetime remains.
- Validity and renewal
- Renews when under 1/3 of life remains (source: certbot.eff.org)
Start free at Electronic Frontier FoundationTerms read on certbot.eff.org on Certbot: the free allowance and how to start
Also useful for founders
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
ScraperAPIScraping API that handles proxies, browsers and CAPTCHAs for you1,000 API creditsReferral link
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How this comparison is built
The list covers SSL certificate authorities and services a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each service's terms. Every term comes from the service's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. Certificates that last 90 days and must renew automatically, a cap on certificates, wildcard or multi-domain kept for paid plans can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these services pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a service appears, and no service pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
Where can I get a free SSL certificate?
By the terms each provider states, Let's Encrypt issues free TLS certificates with no fee, ZeroSSL's free plan gives 3 free 90-day certificates, Actalis issues unlimited 90-day DV certificates through ACME, and Google Trust Services issues free public certificates through ACME.
How long does a free SSL certificate last?
Usually 90 days. Let's Encrypt certificates last 90 days with renewal every 60 days, and Cloudflare, Caddy and Certbot renew certificates automatically.
Is ZeroSSL free?
ZeroSSL's free plan gives 3 free 90-day certificates; its Basic + Protect plan is $14.99 a month, billed yearly.
Do AWS free certificates work outside AWS?
No. AWS Certificate Manager's free public certificates are non-exportable and work with AWS services; exportable certificates cost $7.00 per domain.
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