Since you began searching for a low cost SSL certificate for your site, you’ve probably seen many websites claiming they have the best SSL certificate for the lowest price. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret: all SSL/TLS certificates, regardless of brand, offer the same level of encryption. That’s because there’s an industry standard all publicly trusted certificate authorities have to meet.

What differs between SSL certificates is:

• The brand name and reputation of the certificate authority (CA) that issues the certificate.
• The level of validation/vetting that each one requires (this is based on whether the certificate requires domain validation [DV], organization validation [OV], or extended validation [EV]).
• What each certificate secures — a single domain, multiple domains, a single domain and unlimited subdomains, or multiple domains and all of their subdomains.
• The type of site seal (static vs dynamic) each certificate comes with — and whether a certificate comes with a site seal at all.
• Whether a certificate comes with free certificate reissuances and/or server licenses.
• The level of customer service that the certificate vendor (CA vs authorized reseller) offers and the availability of their support team.
• What money-back guarantees, if any, the certificate vendor offers.
• The amount of the warranty ($10,000-$1.75 million depending on the certificate) that each certificate comes with.
• Any other benefits a vendor offers when you buy a certificate from them.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of five low cost SSL certificate options to consider for securing your website. We’ll explore what each certificate offers and how they can help you meet your business’s needs.

Explore the 5 Best Low Cost SSL Certificates in 2021

The lowest-priced SSL certificates are domain validated certificates. The CA (certificate authority) will only verify the ownership of the domain before issuing the certificate. Many CAs have employed a fully automated process for the verification. As a result, you can obtain a validated certificate within minutes. Let’s look at some of the most affordable and reliable low cost SSL in the market.

1. Thawte® SSL123 Wildcard (DV)

The Thawte® SSL123 Wildcard (DV) is a premium certificate that is affordable and trustworthy. As it is a wildcard certificate, it secures your main domain and all the single-level subdomains (no limit on the maximum number) registered under this domain under a single certificate. Therefore, you can reduce administrative work considerably when you opt to buy this certificate.

The reputation of the Thawte brand is impeccable. Some of the features of this low cost certificate are as follows:

So, what do you pay for this product? If you buy it from RapidSSLonline.com, you pay the price starting from just $215.55 a year. We offer a discount of up to 63% to all customers who buy this certificate.  

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2. GeoTrust® QuickSSL® Premium Wildcard (DV)

This wildcard certificate can cover your primary domain and all the subdomains registered under that particular domain with just one certificate. You can buy this certificate if you want to cut down your paperwork significantly. There is no maximum limit to the number of subdomains that you can include in your certificate as long as they are registered under the primary domain.

GeoTrust is one of the most respected names in the market. This certificate can turn on the padlock and HTTPS sign on the address bar. The other features of this product are:

So, what do you pay for this product? If you buy it from RapidSSLonline.com, you pay the price starting from just $201.65 a year. We offer a discount of up to 60% to all our customers who buy this certificate. 

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3. GeoTrust® QuickSSL Premium Certificate

One more option from a trusted CA, GeoTrust, to help you secure your domain is QuickSSL Premium Certificate. Powered with a dynamic GeoTrust seal, this certificate is trusted by a large percentage of people all over the globe. If you want a quick HTTPS and a padlock on your website, you can buy this certificate. So, what are the features of this certificate?

If you buy this certificate from RapidSSLonline.com, you pay the price starting from just $58.41 a year. We offer this product at half the vendor price.

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4. Thawte® SSL123 Certificate

From a CA house that is considered one of the innovators of SSL certificates internationally, this is an affordable DV certificate. This certificate allows you to have free unlimited server licenses. You can get this certificate almost instantly as this is a domain validated certificate. Thawte has a multi-lingual support system for small businesses all over the world. Let’s have a look at some of the features of this certificate:

If you buy it from RapidSSLonline.com, you pay the price starting from just $38.94 a year. We offer a discount of up to 67% to all our Thawte SSL123 certificate customers. 

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5. RapidSSL® Certificate

Lowest-priced product on our list but not a product to be under-estimated the slightest. This SSL certificate can is a high-valued product in our minds due to its affordability and reliability. You can have a secure connection instantly by applying for this certificate. The best features of this RapidSSL certificate are listed below:

If you buy this certificate from RapidSSLonline.com, you pay the SSL certificate’s lowest price, starting from just $11.59 a year. We offer a discount of up to 75% to all our customers. 

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Frequently Asked Questions About Low Cost SSL Certificates

In this section, we’ll address some of the commonly asked questions relating to low cost SSL certificates. But what may surprise you to know is that low cost certs aren’t limited to just DV certificates — there are also OV and EV certificates you can get for the lowest prices, too!

What Are Wildcard Certificates?

A wildcard certificate secures one main domain and multiple single level subdomains under a single certificate. So, if your main domain is domain.com, then a wildcard certificate can secure it and all its single-level subdomains like mail.domain.com, about.domain.com, shop.domain.com, and user1.domain.com.

What Are the Advantages of a DV Certificate?

The advantages of a domain validated SSL certificate can be listed below:

1. A CA only validates the ownership of a domain. Therefore, you don’t need to submit any organizational information to get a DV certificate.
2. Because DV certificates require CAs to only verify domain ownership or control, you can get a DV within a few minutes. So, DV is your go-to certificate if you’re short on time or your site doesn’t collect users’ personal information.
3. The DV certificates are some of the lowest-priced SSL certificates. So, if you’re looking for a low cost SSL certificate, you should buy a DV certificate.
4. A DV comes with a security seal from the CA, so the website visitors will be able to trust the website’s security.
5. A DV certificate, like all other types of SSL/TLS certificates, can dispose of your “Not Secure” warning.

What Are the Disadvantages of a Domain Validated Certificate?

There are some disadvantages of a domain validated certificate. Let’s go through them, real quick:

1. A DV doesn’t verify your business details, and hence, there is a lack of validation of identity. Some customers might not trust an ecommerce site that uses a DV certificate because, without identity, they can’t be sure whether the website is legitimate.
2. Due to the lack of verification, a phisher can create a fake website to gather customer details.
3. A website visitor won’t be assured that the business is a running, legitimate business with a DV.  

What Are the Advantages of an OV Certificate?

Although OV certificates are usually more expensive than DV certs (with prices starting at $72.44 a year on RapidSSLonline.com), you can still find plenty of low cost OV SSL certificates to use. Let’s quickly explore a few of the advantages of an organization validated certificate:

1. In an OV certificate, the information about the business is displayed on the certificate but you usually have to dig around a bit in the certificate to find them. Have a look at the OV certificate of Amazon.com:

A screenshot of an OV certificate showing the information about the company

2. Because an OV certificate comes with basic business validation, your customers can trust the site more.
3. Warranties for OV certificates are higher than those that come with DV certificates and offer you and your customers greater peace of mind.
4. OV certificates aren’t as expensive as EV certificates.

What Are the Disadvantages of an OV Certificate?

There are few disadvantages of an OV certificate. They are listed below:

1. Depending on the brand and what functionalities the certificate covers, an OV certificate can be a little more pricy than DV certificates.
2. An OV certificate doesn’t offer validation that’s as in-depth as an EV.
3. The visitor cannot view the details of the company as easily as in an EV certificate.

What Are the Advantages of an EV Certificate?

Extended validation certificates offer the highest level of business validation. As such, EV certificates offer many advantages. Let’s have a look at some of them:

1. EV certificate issuance requires in-depth business validation. Hence, customers can rely on the legitimacy of your website. Even if a phisher imitates your website, the site visitors can verify whether your site is the real deal or a fake.
2. CA verification ensures your business is legitimate and in good standing, which helps customers feel more confident trusting your business.
3. An EV certificate features highest assurance from the certificate provider. Therefore, an enterprise can rely on the warranty amount in case of a mishap.
4. EV certificates display your verified organizational info right off the bat:

A screenshot of an EV

And they can look at the certificate subject details for additional/more in-depth business verification information:

Figure 2A screenshot of the details shown in an EV certificate

What Are the Disadvantages of an EV Certificate?

There are hardly any drawbacks as far as an extended validation certificate are concerned.

1. These certificates come at a higher price than the OV and DV. Although, the price is completely justified by the higher validation.
2. The CA takes longer to issue an EV as it needs in-depth validation (up to 5 business days).
3. People need to provide business documentation that proves their organizations are legitimate and in good standing.