{"id":531,"date":"2019-09-19T18:43:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T18:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/?p=531"},"modified":"2020-08-25T08:16:28","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T08:16:28","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/","title":{"rendered":"SAN Certificate vs Wildcard SSL Certificate &#8211; What\u2019s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re here because you\u2019re wondering about the difference between a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl-types\/multi-domain-san-certificates.aspx\">SAN certificate<\/a> vs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl-types\/wildcard-ssl-certificates.aspx\">wildcard certificate<\/a>, then you\u2019ve come to the right place. So, what\u2019s the answer to this great cosmic question about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl-types.aspx\">SSL certificates<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 A lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, seriously, when you\u2019re talking about a SAN certificate \u2014\nor what\u2019s also known as a multi domain certificate \u2014 there are a couple of\nsignificant differences between it and a wildcard certificate that need to be\ndiscussed. Let\u2019s go ahead and break them down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Comparing a SAN Certificate vs Wildcard Certificate: What is a SAN Certificate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s start by explaining what SAN means. SAN stands for\n\u201csubject alternative name,\u201d which is a field on your SSL certificate. This\nmeans that when we\u2019re talking about SANs, the term refers to digital\ncertificates that allow you to cover multiple hostnames (domain names, IP\naddresses, etc.) with a single SSL certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wait, that sounds like a multi domain SSL certificate,\nright? Yes, if you\u2019re thinking that, then you\u2019d be right. Multi domain SSL\ncertificates are sometimes called SAN certificates. Heck, sometimes they\u2019re\neven called UCC certificates, which stands for unified communications\ncertificates. But that refers to a type of multi domain SSL certificate that\nwas originally designed for just Microsoft Exchange and Communication servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Enough about UCCs, though. What do multi domain\/SAN\ncertificates cover?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why SAN Certificates are Beneficial<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A multi domain certificate allows you to cover multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifewire.com\/what-does-fqdn-mean-2625883\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"fully qualified domain names (opens in a new tab)\">fully qualified domain names<\/a> (FQDNs) with one certificate. This means that your primary domain and SAN domains \u2014 up to a total of 250 domains, depending on the issuing certificate authority (CA) \u2014 can be secure using a single certificate. Also, you can add, alter, or remove additional domains with this certificate at any point of its lifecycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are a few examples of the domains you\u2019d be able to\nsecure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>www.domain.com<\/li><li>email.domain.co.uk<\/li><li>www.domain2.org<\/li><li>login.domain2.com<\/li><li>dev.domain.com<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A little-known fact about SAN certificates is that they can\nbe used to secure a wildcard domain if you choose a wildcard enabled SAN\ncertificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAN certificates are also available at all three validation\nlevels: domain validation (DV), organization validation (OV), and extended\nvalidation (EV). This means that whichever validation level you choose, there\u2019s\na multi domain certificate to match your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"graysection\"><h2>Save Up to 82% on SAN Certificates from RapidSSLonline!<\/h2>\n<p>Protect multiple domains with a single Multi Domain\/SAN SSL Certificate from brands like GeoTrust, Symantec, and Thawte.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link floatnone\" style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl-types\/multi-domain-san-certificates.aspx\">Shop SAN Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Which brings us around to our next topic. What\u2019s a wildcard\ncertificate and what does it cover?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Comparing a SAN Certificate vs Wildcard Certificate: What is a Wildcard\nCertificate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/what-is-wildcard-san-certificate\/\">wildcard\nSSL certificate<\/a> is one that you can use to secure a primary domain and an\nunlimited number of subdomains on a single level. This means that regardless of\nwhether you have 10 subdomains or 10,000 on a single level, you\u2019d be able to\nsecure them all with just one certificate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re not sure what we mean by subdomain levels, we\u2019ll\ntake a moment to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every URL address is broken down into different segments,\nwith each additional subdomain level extending left away from the start of the\ndomain. For example, let\u2019s consider a first-level subdomain, which looks like <em>mail.domain.com<\/em>.\nIt\u2019s denoted on an SSL certificate with an asterisk (*.domain.com).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A second-level subdomain, on the other hand, looks like\nthis: login.mail.domain.com. This means that it\u2019s identified as <em>*.mail.domain.com<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A third-level subdomain looks like <em>something.login.mail.domain.com<\/em>\n(third-level subdomains are identified as *.login.mail.domain.com). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2026 So on and so forth. You get the idea. But, again, to\nreiterate: <strong>You can only secure the subdomains on a single level, not\nmultiple levels, with a wildcard SSL certificate.<\/strong> This means that to secure\nanother layer of subdomains, you\u2019d need to purchase a second wildcard cert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"graysection\"><h2>Save Up to 71% on Wildcard SSL Certificates<\/h2>\n<p>Securing all of your single-level subdomains doesn&#8217;t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Get Wildcard SSL certificates starting for as little as $118.36 per year!<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link floatnone\" style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl-types\/wildcard-ssl-certificates.aspx\">Shop Wildcard Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SAN Certificate vs Wildcard Certificate: Outlining the Differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that we know how both types of SSL certificates work, we\ncan discuss the difference between a SAN certificate and a wildcard\ncertificate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s briefly recall the differences between the two: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>SAN certificates cover multiple FQDNs and SANs\n(up to a total of 250 domains for some brands).<\/li><li>SAN certificates are available with any level of\nbasic or business validation (DV, OV, or EV). <\/li><li>Wildcard certificates are available with only DV\nand OV validation options.&nbsp; <\/li><li>Wildcard certificates can secure an unlimited\nnumber of subdomains on a single level. <\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re here because you\u2019re wondering about the difference between a SAN certificate vs wildcard certificate, then you\u2019ve come to the right place. So, what\u2019s the answer to this great<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-wpr-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/\" class=\"btn btn-green\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-comparisons"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SAN Certificate vs Wildcard SSL Certificate - What\u2019s the Difference?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not sure what the difference is between a SAN certificate vs wildcard certificate? 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It's pretty common to feel some confusion \u2014 let's break it all down.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SAN Certificate vs Wildcard SSL Certificate - What\u2019s the Difference?","og_description":"Not sure what the difference is between a SAN certificate vs wildcard certificate? It's pretty common to feel some confusion \u2014 let's break it all down.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/","og_site_name":"SSL\/TLS Certificates","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rsosslcertificates\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-19T18:43:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-08-25T08:16:28+00:00","author":"Casey Crane","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@RSOSSL","twitter_site":"@RSOSSL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casey Crane","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/"},"author":{"name":"Casey Crane","@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/#\/schema\/person\/24349032d0b90283d4682ad113e46d4d"},"headline":"SAN Certificate vs Wildcard SSL Certificate &#8211; What\u2019s the Difference?","datePublished":"2019-09-19T18:43:35+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-25T08:16:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/"},"wordCount":770,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Comparisons"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/whats-the-difference-between-a-san-certificate-vs-wildcard-ssl-certificate\/","name":"SAN Certificate vs Wildcard SSL Certificate - What\u2019s the Difference?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-09-19T18:43:35+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-25T08:16:28+00:00","description":"Not sure what the difference is between a SAN certificate vs wildcard certificate? 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