How Much Does an SSL Certificate Cost?

A breakdown of the different types of SSL Certificates and their costs.

In today’s cyber world, an SSL Certificate is no longer an optional nicety. Google has lead an effort to make SSL standard for every website, with their browser penalizing sites who don’t have an SSL Certificate by showing their site as “Not Secure”.

Not only that, but an SSL Certificate allows your site to:

• Show your visitors that it is secure, ensuring that they don’t navigate away because of a browser warning.
• Keep your visitor’s information secure by encrypting all data-in-transit from and to your site.
• Rank higher in search engines like Google, potentially increasing its’ traffic.

That being said, there are many different SSL certificates that you can choose from. And with the variations in features across certificate types and companies, also comes a change in price. It really all depends on what you need, whether you’re running a basic WordPress website or an enterprise-scale e-commerce store.

How Do I Know What SSL Certificate Is Best for Me?

Before you buy an SSL Certificate you need to be able to understand what types are available, how much an SSL certificate costs for each type, and what they each offer to your site. The first (and most important) factor that distinguishes an SSL Certificate is its level of validation. There are three levels of validation available for an SSL Certificate—Domain Validated (DV), Organization Validated (OV), and Extended Validated (EV).

Domain Validated (DV)

Domain Validated certificates are the most basic SSL Certificates that require the lowest level of validation – as a result, they are very easy to obtain, but they do not provide the same level of assurance that, say, an EV would.

Domain Validated certificates are perfect if your site doesn’t receive data from the visitor. For example, if your site is a blog or informational website, where there is no interaction from the reader. If you need a DV certificate, RapidSSL Certificate has you covered. Starting at just $12.42/year (82% savings!), this is one of the cheapest certificates available in the market.

Here is pricing information for more DV SSL certificates:

Organization Validated (OV)

Organization Validated certificates offer the same level of encryption to visitors as a DV, but there are extra verification steps needed, such as proving that the organization that owns the domain actually exists. As a result, they are more expensive than DV’s.

OV certificates are great for bigger corporations who want to be able to effectively track and manage certificates, and an OV Certificate helps by showing the Organization that the certificate is linked to under certificate details, making the process of knowing if a site belongs to a specific company much easier.

If you need an OV certificate, the GeoTrust True BusinessID SSL Certificate is a great option for you. Starting at 79.60/yr (60% savings!), having an OV will give you the benefit of easier certificate management, as your organization name will be linked to the certificate.

How much does an OV SSL certificate cost? Get the lowest pricing here:

Extended Validated (EV)

Extended Validated certificates are often seen as “premium” certificates and offer the highest level of assurance for a website visitor. These require both domain and organizational information validation, and as a result are the most expensive option available.

The biggest advantage of an EV over a DV or OV is that an EV displays the organization name next to the web address along with a green lock (on Mozilla and Internet Explorer). This allows visitors to know that the website they are visiting is officially affiliated with a certain company without having to check SSL Certificate details (which let’s admit—most people don’t).

EV certificates are perfect for e-commerce store owners or any websites where the user inputs data (logins or credit card info, for example). Customers are more likely to purchase from a site with an EV Certificate because of the green lock that is displayed next to the web address– since this is considered a strong indicator that the site is secure.

If you need an EV certificate, look no further than the GeoTrust TrueBusinessID w/ EV Certificate. Starting at $137/yr, this is seen as a “premium” option by many, but with the premium price come premium features. What distinguishes an EV from other types of certificates is that an EV displays the organization name next to the address bar as well as a lock icon.

Get the lowest prices on EV SSL certificates here:

Where can I get the best price on an SSL Certificate for my website?

Since there are so many different CAs and types of certificates available for purchase, it can be hard to know what company to go with or what the advantage of a certain CA is. Thankfully, RapidSSLOnline has you covered, no matter what you need: you can save as much as 82% on the SSL Certificate of your choice.

Shop SSL certificates and save up to 82%!

On an ending note, here’s an in-depth look at the differences between each of these certificates, to make choosing your next SSL Certificate easier.

Compare SSL Certificate Prices

	RapidSSL Certificate	GeoTrust True BusinessID	GeoTrust True BusinessID w/ EV
Pricing	Retail Price: $276 Our Price: $12.42/yr	Retail Price: $796 Our Price: $79.60/yr	Retail Price: $1,196 Our Price: 137.54/yr
Validation Level	Domain Validated – Verifies that the domain name is in your control	Organization Validated – domain ownership and company verification are required	Extended Validated – domain, organization, and additional validation steps required, set forth by the CA/B Forum.
Green Address Bar
256-bit Encryption
99% Browser Recognition
IDN Support
Speed of Issuance	Minutes	1-3 days	1-5 days
Domains Included	Single Domain Name (both www and non-www)	Single Domain Name (both www and non-www)	Single Domain Name (both www and non-www)
Technical Support	Telephone, Email, Online FAQ	Telephone, Email, Online FAQ	Telephone, Email, Online FAQ
Warranty Coverage	$10,000	$1,250,000	$1,500,000
Site Seal
	RapidSSL DV Buy Now	GeoTrust DV SSL Buy Now	GeoTrust EV SSL Buy Now