SSL Automation
FairSSL vs Let's Encrypt
Let's Encrypt is free and works well for simple setups. But when you operate multiple servers, need OV certificates, or want central administration and monitoring, managed SSL is the right solution.
The full comparison
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| Feature | FairSSL | Let's Encrypt |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate types | DV (RapidSSL, Thawte SSL123) | DV |
| Certificate validity | 1–199 days | 90 days (6 days announced) |
| Permanent DNS validation (DNS-PERSIST-01) | ✓ One record, instant issuance (DigiCert brands) | Announced, staging only |
| EAB (account binding) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Supports multiple CAs | ✓ | ✗ |
| ACME client monitoring | ✓ | ✗ |
| Expiry alerts & reports | Email lists, daily/weekly/monthly | ✗ |
| Certificates per domain | No limit | 50 per week |
| Duplicate certificates | 1,000 | 5 per week |
| Names per certificate (SANs) | 250 | 100 |
| Wildcards allowed | ✓ | ✓ (requires DNS API key) |
| DNS validation | AutoDNS — set and forget | Requires DNS API key on client |
| Centralised management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Per-profile wildcard control | ✓ | ✗ |
| Per-client SAN locking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Order period | 1–3 years | No order, 90 days at a time |
| Installation guides | ✓ Step-by-step | Community documentation |
| Debug event log | ✓ Full traceability | ✗ |
| ARI (smart renewal) | ✓ | Partial |
| Support | Phone & email | Community forum |
| EAN invoicing | ✓ | ✗ |
* SSL.com’s free certificates are only issued when the account has no funds for a paid certificate. It is not a standalone free service.
Last verified: 8 July 2026
Price comparison: Real scenarios
Let's Encrypt is free. But competitors sell automation licenses per server. FairSSL sells certificates, not licenses.
| Scenario | FairSSL | Let's Encrypt |
|---|---|---|
| 1 domain (e.g. www.company.com) | €79/yr | €0 + your time |
| RapidSSL €46 + ACME automation €33 | ||
| Multiple named hosts in one certificate (SAN) | €119/yr | €0 + your time |
| Thawte SSL123 SAN DV €86 + ACME automation €33 | ||
| Same certificate on 10 servers | €119/yr | €0 + your time |
| Same certificate. Additional ACME clients cost nothing extra. | ||
FairSSL prices per certificate, not per server. The automation fee covers up to 25 servers using the same certificate. Let's Encrypt is free, but you are responsible for setup, troubleshooting and monitoring.
When to choose which?
Choose FairSSL when:
- ✓ You have security requirements and don't want to open ports or give DNS keys to servers
- ✓ You need OV certificates (organisation validation)
- ✓ You need a central overview and monitoring
- ✓ You want easy setup guides
- ✓ You want support you can call or email quickly
- ✓ You want to automate domain validation securely with AutoDNS
- ✓ You want to lock ACME clients to specific names
- ✓ You want to troubleshoot centrally from the control panel
- ✓ You want to lock firewalls to the ACME server IPs
- ✓ You need to recover many servers quickly (no rate limits on issuance)
- ✓ You are a public sector organisation (Electronic invoicing)
Let's Encrypt is fine when:
- ✓ You primarily have websites open to the internet
- ✓ You can validate all FQDNs in the certificate using HTTP on port 80
- ✓ You only need DV certificates
- ✓ You don't need multiple certificates with same content (duplicate limit)
- ✓ You don't need monitoring of expiry or errors
- ✓ You have 1-3 servers and don't need central administration
- ✓ You don't need to recover many servers simultaneously (rate limits block mass reissue)
- ✓ 90-day certificates are OK (more renewal points that can fail)
- ✓ You can handle setup and troubleshooting yourself
Certificates on many servers and appliances
A publicly trusted SSL certificate can be valid for at most 199 days now, 99 days by 15 March 2027 and 46 days by 15 March 2029. Each certificate then has to be replaced at least twice a year now and at least eight times a year from 2029, on every server, firewall and load balancer that uses it. sslbrain from FairSSL runs as an appliance in your own network and renews and installs the certificates from one place, including on devices without an agent.
sslbrain compared with Certbot, win-acme and lego(opens sslbrain.com in a new tab)Questions about FairSSL vs Let's Encrypt
Find answers to the most common questions about SSL certificates and FairSSL.
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