The short answer
An SSL certificate costs from $0 to about $600 a year for a certificate authority's entry-level product, and more for premium ones. As of October 10, 2026, the cheapest one-year certificate on each CA's own store cost $29 to $249 for domain validation (DV), $129 to $349 for organization validation (OV) and $344 to $599 for extended validation (EV), while Let's Encrypt charges nothing. The encryption is the same at every price, and a certificate issued since March 15, 2026 lasts 200 days at most, so a year of HTTPS means at least two installs.
A note before the numbers: My-SSL sells Certum certificates, including some of the ones priced below, and Certum comes out cheapest in several rows. Our own prices are on the SSL certificate pricing page; everything in this article is the CA's own list price, so you can check each figure yourself.
How much does each type of SSL certificate cost?
Each type of SSL certificate is priced by how much the certificate authority checks before issuing it, so the cheapest DV, OV and EV products sit in three different bands. The table shows the cheapest one-year product of each type on each CA's own store, in US dollars, as checked on October 10, 2026.
| Type | What the CA checks | One-year price | CA list prices checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free DV | Control of the domain, checked automatically | $0 | Let's Encrypt; AWS ACM inside AWS services |
| DV | Control of the domain | $29 – $249 | Certum $29 · Sectigo $110–$120 · GlobalSign $249 |
| OV | Domain plus the organization's legal existence | $129 – $349 | Certum from $129 · DigiCert $218 · Sectigo $250 · GlobalSign $349 |
| EV | Domain plus extended checks on the organization | $344 – $599 | DigiCert $344 · Certum $369 · Sectigo $390 · GlobalSign $599 |
| DV wildcard | Control of the domain; covers one level of subdomains | $85 – $849 | Certum $85 · Sectigo $630 · GlobalSign $849 |
These are entry prices for buying straight from the certificate authority. Premium products from the same CAs cost more: DigiCert lists its Secure Site Pro OV certificate at $995 and its Secure Site Pro EV certificate at $1,495. Certum labels its store prices as gross; other stores may add tax at checkout. Resellers set their own prices, so the same certificate can cost a different amount depending on where you buy it. For the detail behind each row, see the guides to DV certificate prices, OV certificate prices, EV certificate prices and wildcard certificate prices.
Are free SSL certificates really free?
Free SSL certificates cost no money, and they are publicly trusted. Let's Encrypt says plainly that it does not charge a fee for its certificates, and its default certificates are valid for 90 days. What they cost is renewal: something has to replace the certificate before it expires, and only domain validation is on offer.
Most free certificates are renewed by an ACME client such as Certbot running on the server or built into the hosting panel. When that works, a free certificate costs nothing at all. When it breaks, the site shows a certificate error until someone notices. Our comparison of Let's Encrypt and paid certificates covers where the free option stops being enough.
Cloud providers are the other free route. AWS Certificate Manager issues public certificates at no cost for use with AWS services integrated with ACM. The free certificate stays inside AWS. If you want to use an ACM certificate outside AWS, there are two paid routes: an exportable public certificate at $7.00 per domain name or $79.00 per wildcard name, charged at issuance and again at every renewal, or ACME-enrolled certificates, charged per domain at issuance and at each automatic renewal and valid for 45 days at most.
Why do prices for the same certificate type differ so much?
Prices for the same certificate type differ because each certificate authority prices its brand, support and terms differently, while the certificate does the same job. A one-year DV certificate cost $29 at Certum and $249 at GlobalSign on the same day, for the same validation type and the same single domain.
The headline price is also often not a one-year price. Sectigo's DV page says single-domain DV certificates start "at $66 when you choose a six year subscription", while its one-year price is $110 or $120 depending on which Sectigo page you read. DigiCert lists "No Savings for 1-Year Plan" and shows its Basic certificate saving $47 on a three-year plan. Before you compare two vendors, check that both prices are for the same term.
Validation level is the other real cost. A DV check only confirms control of the domain, while OV and EV need the CA to confirm your organization, which is why the ranges climb from DV to EV. If you only need encryption on a site you control, OV or EV pays for identity checks you may not need. A domain-validated certificate is the cheapest paid option that does the job.
What does 200-day validity do to the price of an SSL certificate?
The 200-day limit changes what the price of an SSL certificate buys: fewer days per certificate, more certificates per year. Under CA/Browser Forum ballot SC-081, a certificate issued since March 15, 2026 may be valid for 200 days at most, so a one-year purchase now means at least two certificates, and that number doubles again in March 2027.
The schedule is in section 6.3.2 of the Baseline Requirements: 398 days before March 15, 2026, then 200 days, then 100 days from March 15, 2027 and 47 days from March 15, 2029. The rule says certificates "SHOULD NOT" exceed 199 days and "MUST NOT" exceed 200, which is why some CAs quote 199. The same ballot shortens how long a CA may reuse a domain check: 200 days now, 100 days from March 2027 and 10 days from March 2029.
CAs have changed what a one-year product is to fit. Certum's store warns that "when purchasing a one-year product, at least one free of charge reissue will be required". A multi-year plan works the same way: you prepay for coverage, and reissue a certificate each time the current one runs out. You keep the multi-year discount, and you install a new certificate every few months for the whole term. The guide to the 2026 lifetime changes covers the timeline in more depth.
Which SSL certificate price tier do you actually need?
The SSL certificate tier you need depends on two questions: must the certificate name your organization, and can your server renew certificates by itself? Answer those and the tier follows. The certificate authority's brand then moves the price within that tier, not the tier itself.
Paying for DV makes sense when your server or panel has no ACME support, or when you want a CA's support desk behind the certificate. It does not save you the reissues: a paid DV certificate follows the same 200-day limit as a free one. If you are weighing several types, the overview of SSL certificate types explains each one in depth.
How do you compare two SSL certificate quotes?
To compare two SSL certificate quotes fairly, put them on the same footing: the same validation type, the same number of names, the same term and the same reissue terms. Most price gaps that look large shrink, or flip, once a six-year "from" price is set beside a one-year price.
- Same validation type. Compare DV with DV and OV with OV. The ranges overlap, so a cheap OV can undercut an expensive DV.
- Same term. Divide a multi-year price by its years and compare it with a one-year price only after you have done that.
- Reissues included. With a 200-day maximum, a one-year product needs at least one reissue. Check that reissues are free for the whole term.
- Renewal path. Ask whether the vendor supports ACME. From March 2027 you will install at least four certificates a year, and from March 2029 at least eight. If your current vendor falls short, our guide to switching certificate authorities without downtime covers the overlap window and CAA records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to related questions.
Is a multi-year SSL certificate still worth buying?
It can be, as long as you know what it is. A publicly trusted certificate issued since March 15, 2026 may be valid for 200 days at most, so a multi-year purchase is a prepaid subscription: you get the discount, but you still install a new certificate at least twice a year, and at least four times a year from March 15, 2027.
Does a more expensive SSL certificate give stronger encryption?
No. The key type and size you choose, and the TLS settings on your server, decide the encryption. A $599 EV certificate and a free DV certificate with the same key protect the connection the same way. The price pays for how much the certificate authority checks about you, how many names the certificate covers, and the support and terms around it.
How much does an SSL certificate cost on AWS?
AWS Certificate Manager issues public certificates at no cost when you use them with AWS services integrated with ACM. For use outside AWS, an exportable public certificate costs $7.00 per fully qualified domain name or $79.00 per wildcard name, charged at issuance and again at each renewal; ACME-enrolled ACM certificates are charged per domain and last 45 days at most.
Pricing a certificate for your own site
Once you know the tier, the remaining question is what a year of it costs you, reissues included. Certum's one-year products include the free reissue the 200-day limit now requires. Compare our DV, OV and EV certificate prices and pick the one that matches your answer above.
Updated October 10, 2026: prices re-checked on each CA's own store, validity rules aligned with Baseline Requirements v2.3.1, and free and cloud options added.