Why Use a Paid Wildcard SSL Certificate Instead of Free Wildcard SSL?

Although free wildcard SSL certificates are enticing, they lack the features paid wildcard SSL certificates offer

In today’s business world, having an SSL certificate on your site is no longer an option. It has become a standard that even big companies like Google are pushing, marking all HTTP sites as “not secure” starting as of 2018. And Google’s likely not the only one who’s pushing the switch — it should come as no surprise that other browsers, governmental bodies, and even customers themselves will soon expect all sites to be HTTPS given the security loopholes found within HTTP. This is why some people turn to free wildcard SSL certificates and single domain certificates.

Organizations such as Let’s Encrypt have made access to SSL certificates easier than ever. They offer free SSL certificates to anyone who wants to secure their websites but doesn’t want to spend any money on doing so. They offer basic domain validation (DV) certificates for single domains and wildcard SSL certificates as well. However, there are a few caveats when comparing free wildcard SSL certificates with paid wildcard SSL certificates that are worth mentioning, as they can cause headaches down the line. We’ll get into those more in a bit.

Before we dive into the differences between paid and free wildcard SSL certificates, let’s talk about what a wildcard SSL certificate is and why your business might need one.

What’s a Wildcard SSL Certificate?

A wildcard SSL certificate is an SSL certificate that covers a single domain as well as unlimited subdomains (*.domain.com, where the asterisk (*) is the subdomain) on a single level. That means that you can have both mail.domain.com and shop.domain.com under a single certificate, for example.

Wildcard SSL certificates save you both the headache of having tons of certificates to manage (if you have many subdomains) and the associated costs of having an individual SSL certificate for each subdomain.

Not only this, but wildcard SSL certificates also cover your main domain (domain.com), so you won’t need to get any other SSL certificates — a single wildcard SSL certificate will have you covered.

As for validation levels, this is the only place where wildcard SSL certificates fall short. Unlike regular SSL certificates, wildcard SSL certificates are only offered in domain validation or organization validation (OV) levels, but not extended validation (EV). This is because the CA/B Forum expressly prohibits EV wildcards from being issued.

Now that you understand what a wildcard SSL certificate is, let’s take a look at the differences between paid and free wildcard SSL certificates.

Paid vs Free Wildcard SSL Certificates — An In-Depth Comparison

When it comes to paid and free wildcard SSL certificates, the truth is that they both offer the same core benefit: they both facilitate the encryption of the connection between your client (the end user’s browser) and your server (your website) to secure data in transit. However, that doesn’t mean you should go and get the free wildcard SSL certificate without first taking a look at the other benefits a paid wildcard SSL certificate affords. That would be like ordering the cheapest dessert at the restaurant without knowing whether you’ll really like it, what the other options are, or if there’s something else you might prefer.

The first problem with free wildcard SSL certificates is that they offer no warranty or support. That means that if for any reason your free wildcard SSL certificate stops working, there won’t be anyone who you can rely on to fix your website. Your only solution would be to turn to public forums, which aren’t very reliable (or helpful). Paid wildcard SSL certificates, such as the RapidSSLOnline wildcard SSL certificates lineup, offer 24/7 support and warranties ranging up to $1.5 million in the event that anything goes wrong with the SSL certificates or encryption — which means that you’ll always be covered.

Not only this, but paid wildcard SSL certificates also offer higher validation levels than free wildcard SSL certificates. This makes your site’s visitors feel at ease as a result of the added identity that OV validation asserts on your site as well as the site seals that are included with a paid wildcard SSL certificate.

One example of a paid wildcard SSL certificate is the GeoTrust® True BusinessID® Wildcard (OV) certificate, which comes with 24/7 support, a $1.2 million warranty, and organizational validation..

However, we understand that your desired warranty coverage and validation levels may differ from others. This is why we’ve put together a chart showing the three most popular options when it comes to wildcard SSL certificates — both free and paid.

Which Wildcard SSL Certificate Should I Choose?

Now that we’ve discussed why a wildcard SSL certificate might benefit you — as well as the differences between free and paid wildcard SSL certificates — it’s time to make a choice. For the free wildcard SSL certificate, being free is where the benefits end. If you want access to 24/7 support, warranties, or site seals, you’ll have to go with a paid wildcard SSL certificate. One such example is the RapidSSL® Wildcard Certificate (DV), which offers all the benefits of a paid wildcard SSL certificate without breaking the bank.