name8 Best Websites to Buy SSL Certificates in 2023
Looking for a reliable website to buy an SSL Certificate for your website?
SSL certificates are essential for all websites to ensure safe and secure data transmission between the server and web browsers. Plus, it is mandatory for eCommerce businesses to set up SSL for their sites.
An added bonus is that SSL certificates help you gain the trust of the audience and rank well on search results.
In this guide, we’ve reviewed the best website to buy SSL certificates that are affordable and authentic.
Before we start, let’s learn what an SSL certificate is and the importance of using it on your site.
What is an SSL Certificate and Why Do You Need It?
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is a globally-recognized technology that authenticates a website’s identity. In simpler terms, it encrypts the connection between a web server and a web browser.
This guarantees the visitors on your website that their personal information such as name, email, and credit card details are protected.
So you need an SSL certificate to provide secure online transactions for your customers and prevent the risk of data and identity theft.
On top of that, Google has announced that not using SSL will affect your website rankings. So, if you want your website to rank well and have a good online presence, then you need to install an SSL certificate.
Once you do that, SSL adds an ‘S’ to HTTP making it HTTPS. Your site will run become https://mysite.com and you’ll see a padlock appear next to the URL in the address bar.
If your site does not have a valid SSL certificate, Google and other search engines will display this ‘not secure’ warning:
Now you should know that there are different levels of SSL certificates. They are:
- Domain-Validated (DV) Certificate: The least expensive level which gives you the basic encryption and standard SSL features. You can buy and receive this certification in a few hours.
- Organization-Validation (OV) Certificate: This adds more features such as authentication of website owners’ details like name, address, and email. After you purchase this certificate, you’ll get it in a few days.
- Extended Validation (EV) Certificate: It is the highest level for SSL certificates because it is strictly investigated by the CA (Certificate Authority) before issuing. This authenticates the identity of the legal entity that controls the website along with the basic encryption features.
Depending on your website security requirements, you can choose from different variations of these SSL certificates i.e. for a single website, wildcard, and multiple domains.
Learn more about SSL here: What’s an SSL Certificate (and Why Do You Need One)?.
Added to that, you should know that you need to enable SSL on every domain and subdomain you create. Though many web hosting plans offer unlimited subdomains, you need to keep in mind that you need atleast basic free SSL enabled on these sites. We’ve covered that here: How to Get SSL Certificate Working on Subdomains (2 Methods)
With that, let’s take a look at our picks for the best websites to buy SSL digital certificates.
Best Sites to Buy SSL Certificates
You’ll find many SSL certificate providers on the market. But, it is important that you buy from a credible source that offers affordable prices.
Now, let’s dive into our list of the best websites to buy an SSL certificate for your website.
1. Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the most popular hosting providers that offer hosting services for all types of businesses. You can choose from shared, dedicated, and WordPress hosting plans according to your needs.
It offers hosting services for WooCommerce users as well. So this is a perfect solution for business owners that want to set up their online store.
The reason to choose Bluehost is it offers a free domain and a free SSL certificate with any of the hosting plans. It saves you time and money as you don’t need to worry about registering a domain name and purchasing an SSL certificate yourself.
To help you set up the SSL certificate for your site, Bluehost provides 24/7 customer support. You’ll also find helpful guides and documentation for this.
Highlights:
- Fast and reliable hosting
- Free SSL certificate for web security
- Automated renewals
- Affordable pricing
- eCommerce support
- User-friendly control panel
Pricing:
The plans range from $2.75 to $79.99 per month. There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee on their plans.
2. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a popular domain registrar that provides tons of services such as web hosting, domain name registrations, and website builder. The attractive features and huge discounts for first-time customers make it a top choice for beginners.
Additionally, it offers SSL certification services for its users. It comes with flexible pricing for the organization and extended validation certificates. This is available for both single domain and multi-domain SSL.
GoDaddy also gives you the option to choose their Managed SSL service which is targeted at its hosting service users. After you choose a plan and set up your account, you’ll receive your SSL certificate from GoDaddy in a matter of minutes.
Highlights:
- Discounted initial costs
- Unlimited reissues
- Affordable SSL certificates
- Responsive customer support
Pricing:
SLL packages start at $63.99/Year and go up to $179.99/Year.
3. Domain.com
Domain.com is another domain registrar that offers a wide range of domain name extensions including TLDs(Top Level Domain Extensions). It comes with a powerful domain name search tool that checks the availability of a domain name.
Apart from this, Domain.com lets you buy SSL certificates for different types of websites at cheaper rates. You can choose from Domain Validated SSL, Wildcard SSL, and E-commerce SSL plans as per your preference.
Highlights:
- Customer information protection
- Seal of trust graphic to show your site is secure
- Up to $1.75 million warranty
- Single site and multiple subdomain support
- eCommerce support
Pricing:
Starts at $2.67 per month for Domain Validated SSL.
3. Network Solutions
Network Solutions is a renowned domain registrar that offers all the top-level domain name extensions such as .com, .net, .org, and more. It also offers services such as web hosting and SEO tools.
Moreover, Network Solutions is a great SSL certificate provider that offers budget-friendly options for all types of businesses.
There are pricing plans for the domain, organization, and extended SSL certificates. So, you can choose the one that matches your website requirements.
Highlights:
- 256-bit data encryption
- The closed padlock icon in the browser
- Live support services
- Warranty up to $1 million
- Cheaper entry pricing
Pricing:
Starts at $59.99 per year for a 2-year term.
Get started with Network Solutions!
4. Namecheap
Namecheap is one of the best domain registrars and hosting services that offers a collection of features at affordable pricing.
It comes with a complete selection of SSL certificates that fit the budgets of all types of businesses. From domain to extended validation certificate, you’ll find different SSL certificates with many features.
What’s great is that Namecheap offers expert customer support to help you if you have any issues with these SSL products.
Highlights:
- Free and unlimited reissues
- SSL site seal
- 24/7 live chat support
- Compatible with all popular browsers
- 246-bit or 128-bit encryption
Pricing:
Starts at $5.99 per year for a domain validation certificate.
5. HostGator
HostGator is a web hosting provider that offers web hosting plans for beginners, small businesses, and more. It is known for its cheap hosting plans and good customer service.
Plus, you get a free domain name + SSL certificate for the first year of your web hosting plan. This SSL certificate includes all the basic encryption and website authentication options.
For more advanced security, you can purchase the paid SSL certificates that offer more features such as a green address bar, the seal of trust, and more.
Highlights:
- Recognized by major web browsers
- Industry-standard encryption
- Fast SSL certificate issue
- Support via live chat and call
Pricing:
Pricing starts at $2.78 per month with a free domain name + SSL certificate for 1 year.
6. DreamHost
DreamHost is one of the oldest web hosting companies that offer powerful security services. You’ll find a range of hosting plans with a competitive pricing structure.
The good thing is, DreamHost offers a free domain name and SSL certificate with all the hosting plans. It gives you secure SSL certificates for free with Let’s Encrypt, a new Certificate Authority (CA).
Highlights:
- Automatic setup and renewal
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Easy to use dashboard
- Customer support via live chat and email
Pricing:
Prices range from $2.59 to $13.75 per month.
7. SSL.com
As the name suggests, SSL.com is a website that lets you purchase an SSL certificate for your site. It is a top certificate authority that offers a huge collection of certificates for different sizes of businesses.
SSL.com has plans for domain validation, organization validation, and extended validation at different price points. Wildcard and multiple domain SSL certificates are also available.
Highlights:
- Free site seal
- Works with 99% of all browsers
- Padlock symbol
- 24/7 support
- Free certificate reissues
Pricing:
Starts at $36.75 per year for Basic SSL.
8. DigiCert
Next on our list of the best websites to buy SSL certificates is Digicert. It is a reputed SSL certificate provider that is also involved in developing new SSL technology.
They offer SSL certificates for different user needs such as domain validation, organization validation, and extended validation.
DigiCert is also a founding member of the CA/Browser forum. This forum was created by certificate authorities and web browsers to improve the quality of the certificates and security.
Highlights:
- Free unlimited reissues
- Fast certificate issuance
- Certificate management tools
- 256-bit encryption
- Outstanding customer support
Pricing:
Starts at $268 per year for the basic plan.
Which is The Best Website to Buy SSL Certificates?
We’ve listed the best SSL certificate providers on the market. If you’re still having trouble choosing the best one, you can go ahead with our recommendations:
- Bluehost: The best option for beginners and business owners. You get affordable hosting services and at the same time get the benefit of a free SSL certificate to secure your site.
- Domain.com: Offers different levels of SSL certificates like domain, organization, and extended. The pricing starts as cheap as $2.67 per month.
And that’s all! We hope this article helped you find the best website to buy an SSL certificate for your website.
SSL FAQs
1. What is TLS?
TLS stands for Transport Layer Security. Similar to SSL, TLS certificates use encryption to protect the transfer of data and information but TLS is an improved version of SSL.
If your website deals with highly sensitive information, TLS is a better choice.
2. Are there more options to buy SSL?
Yes, you can get SSL from many SSL providers like Comodo SSL, GlobalSign, Sectigo, Thawte, RapidSSL, and GeoTrust.
All of these providers offer all types of SSL certificates including PositiveSSL, Multi-domain SSL, Wildcard SSL certificate, and DV, OV, and EV SSL certificate. However, we kept our list to the ones we think are the best and easiest for website owners to get SSL.
3. What is OV SSL and DV SSL?
DV certs offer the lowest, most basic level of validation. In DV certificates, the CA (certificate authority) will only verify the ownership of the domain.
OV SSL is a higher level of validation. With OV SSL, the CA will verify the business details along with domain ownership.
4. What is CSR?
CSR is certificate signing request. You need to generate this if you are adding your own SSL to your website server.
The CSR will hold information such as common name, organization, country that the Certificate Authority (CA) will use to create your SSL certificate. It also contains the public key that will be included in your certificate and is signed with the corresponding private key.
5. Can you purchase your own SSL certificate?
Yes, most web hosts offer SSL certificates and when you purchase it from them, it’s very easy to install it. In fact, most web hosts install it for you.
However, you are free to purchase and upload your own SSL certificate for every website. There may be a more technical process involved where you need to copy and paste the certificate contents into your website server records.
6. Is it expensive to get a SSL certificate?
You can get a basic SSL certificate for free. There are also premium SSL certificates that offer much higher levels of SSL/TLS protection. These are priced differently according to the features provided.
Next, you can check these helpful resources:
- How to Buy a Domain Name for Cheap
- How to Choose the Best Domain Name Extension
- 8 Best Domain Name and IT Tools
These posts will help your find the best domain name with the best domain extensions at cheaper pricing.
You missed ClickSSL.net in your list which provide cheap price as they are platinum partner of such brands.
The number of insecure websites has been increasing over the past few years, which is the reason why many website owners are turning to SSL certificates to ensure that everything is in good order. Good list for those who want to know the things to consider in buying an SSL certificate.