Free SSL Vs Paid SSL

Why pay for SSL when you can get it for free? What advantage do Paid SSLs hold?

What is Free SSL?

SSL is the protocol which secures the data transfers between your website and your client’s web browser. We examine the aspects of Free SSL Vs Paid SSL.

If you are searching for a good web hosting plan, more often than not you will see “Free SSL” as a feature being offered. This is so because, apart from securing your website it also helps your SEO ranking with Google. Since 2018, Google has actively moved to rate such website higher in its search result. Hence, it remains in the best interest of website owner to ensure they have SSL Certifications.

Free SSL gives your website the HTTPS tag that it requires to secure your website. Now, one might wonder, there are paid SSL certificates too. What are they for? And, How are they different? The level of encryption you get with free SSL as well as paid SSL are essentially the same. So why then must one pay for an SSL Certification?

Paid SSL: What added benefits do these present?

To understand the difference, you need to understand what a Certification Authority (CA) is. You may have heard of names like DigiCert, LetsEncrypt, GlobalSign, IdenTrust and more. These are some of the leading Certification Authorities (CAs) in the world. As the name suggests a CA is an authority responsible for issuing an SSL certificate.

Think of the CA as a third party who ensures that the website owner follows the best practices in website security. Once the CA is certain that the website does that, with or without its help, it issues the website an SSL Certification. This certification may or may not be backed by an in-depth validation process. But rest assured, it does not compromise on security at any level

Paid SSL certification comes with the added benefit of the CA verifying that a website owner is a genuine entity involved in the business he/she claims to be it.

Simply put, most ecommerce sites or financial services portal or any big business which relies on the internet will want their clients to trust them. The CA via its paid SSL certification acts on the behalf of the clients to verify and ensure the trust is maintained. If this means physically verifying the business, CAs do it. This is achieved with the use of the latest technology coupled with audits to ensure adherence to best practices.

Why choose Paid SSL?

• Monetary backing: CAs provide millions of dollars’ worth, of Warranty to ensure that their security infrastructure does not fail a website. If it does, they are liable to make good this money to the website owner.
• Help: CAs provide customer support to their client who have signed up for their services. Unlike with Free SSL, where clients would pretty much have to fix their own problems.
• Trust: Clients who sign up for Paid SSL certifications are given privileges by the CA. These range from security seals which clients can display on their website to URL customization and more.
• Validity: Free SSLs usually come with a significantly shorter duration of validity. Hence, if you forget to renew it you could possibly lose out on traffic to your website. Today, most good web hosting companies take on the responsibility to ensure your website’s Free SSL Certification is up to date. On the other hand, typically, Paid SSL Certificates have a validity in multiples of years.

Free SSL Vs Paid SSL: The Final Word

Free SSL is great for small business/website owners and bloggers whose requirement is fairly limited. Most such client feel the need for SSL, but do not stake their reputation on it. This may be so, as the scope of their website it limited to giving out information. As opposed to, getting sensitive data from the client. Further, a Free SSL will suffice for small websites who seek to sell their products online as well. These websites are serviced well by their web hosting companies, in most cases.

On the other hand, big ecommerce brands or financial services providers base a significant amount of their operation on their reputation. This reputation is very fragile. Therefore, companies pay special attention to it. Security of data is imperative to maintain this reputation. Hence, to win and retain the trust of their customers, such companies will choose the Paid SSL certification. Not only does it project them to be professional, it also contributes significantly to their client’s comfort and trust.