While it\u2019s true that there are some free\nmulti domain SSL certificates available in the market, the million-dollar\nquestion is why do people still prefer paid multi domain SSL certificates?\nWhat\u2019s the catch? Sure, it\u2019s your website and your financial investment \u2014 hence,\nthe final decision is yours as to whether you want a free product or paid one.\nBut you have all the rights to know the aspects involved with free multi domain\nSSL certificates. So, let\u2019s explore some crucial points that you must take into\nconsideration before deciding whether to buy or install one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You won\u2019t get free organization\nvalidated (OV) and extended validated (EV) multi-domain SSL certificates for\nfree. Period. And this is a major concern because OV and EV SSL certificates\nare preferable for medium and large-scale organizations that handle users’\nfinancial information (credit card\/debit card numbers, bank account numbers,\netc.), personal, and health-related information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Certificate authorities are required to\nfollow strict guidelines stipulated by the CA\/B Forum<\/a> to issue OV and EV SSL certificates. The entire\nverification process is manually performed by each CA’s staff, and they need\nproper infrastructure, resources, and training for the same. They must log\neverything, too. This process requires massive investment from a CA, and that’s\nwhy no certificate authorities can afford a free OV\/EV multi domain SSL\ncertificate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You won\u2019t get any warranty with free\nSSL certificates. If a user becomes a victim of data theft or any kind of\ncybercrime due to unlikely event where the encryption somehow fails, the\ncertificate authorities must pay the penalty up to the warranty amount to the\nvictim. In other words, the liability to pay reimbursement to the victim is\nshifted from the website owner to the certificate authorities. So, the SSL\nwarranty works like a type of insurance in a sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, free SSL certificates don\u2019t come\nwith any such warranties. All the commercial multi-domain SSL certificates, on\nthe other hand, offer generous warranties. For example, our PositiveSSL Multi Domain\nSSL certificate, which costs only $29 per year, comes with a $50,000 warranty.\nThis warranty covers all the additional websites (SANs) you have installed\nunder a multi-domain certificate along with a fully qualified domain name\n(FQDN).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free multi domain SSL\ncertificates offer a certificate validity that lasts up to 90 days, whereas a\ncommercial certificate validity period is two years. In other words, you need\nto renew your SSL certificate manually every 90 days. If you forget to renew,\nall the browsers would show a\u201d your connection is not secure\u201d warning page with\nthe SEC_ERROR_EXPIRED_CERTIFICATE error. There is only one client \u2014 certbot \u2014\nthat allows autorenewal for free multi domain certificate. However, it involves\nyou having to add complex scripts. If you\u2019re a non-technical user, this might\nnot be your cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With paid SSL, on the\nother hand, you only need to reissue your certificate every two years. The\nreissuance process is easy. You can use even your old certificate signing\nrequest (CSR). You just need to revalidate your SSL certificate (this just\ninvolves clicking on a validation link on your email) and reinstall it, which\nmakes it ideal for non-technical users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all hosting platforms support free\nmulti domain SSL certificates. Some of the major hosting providers such as hostmonster.com,\ninmotionhosting.com, namecheap.com,\n1and1.com, netsons.com, 247-host.com, hostripples.com, GoDaddy etc., don\u2019t\nsupport free SSL certificates. So, either you ended up buying their expensive\nSSL certificates, getting free self-signed certificates (not preferable), or\ngetting free SSL certificate for one year and paying unreasonably higher\nrenewal rates for subsequent years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But these all\nplatforms accept paid SSL certificates from any third-party certificate\nauthorities. So, if your webhosts don\u2019t support free SSL certificate, the only\noption you have is to buy one from an outside provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You will get free attractive site seals\n(what are sometimes known as trust logos or trust seals) with all our multi-domain\nSSL certificates. You can upload it on your footer and checkout pages to boost\nusers’ trust and to help them feel more comfortable sharing their information\nwith you. A site seal is a visual indicator that confirms your website is\nprotected by Sectigo, who are recognized among the leaders of the cyber security\nindustry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re not going to get any type of\nsupport with free SSL certificates. This is unfortunate considering that the SSL\ncertificate installation can be a bit of a daunting process for new users. When\nit comes to multi domain certificates, if you make a single mistake while\nadding the new SAN, the browsers will start showing pesky SSL related warning\npages. Thankfully, SectigoStore.com offers 24\/7 live customer support via chat,\nphone, and email to assist you in the entire installation process. No free\nmulti domain SSL certificate provider does that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s Encrypt\u2019s free multi domain SSL\ncertificate offers the option of covering up to \u201c100 names per certificate,\u201d but\nthat will only take you so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where a commercial certificate\nreally shines. For example, our PositiveSSL Multi-Domain SSL certificate allows\nyou to secure up to a total of 2,000 domains under a single SSL certificate.\nThat means you need to go through the entire lengthy certificate management\nprocess just once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out our latest\nmulti-domain SSL certificates and their features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s okay to use free SSL certificates if you have a tight budget (so long as you don\u2019t collect or handle users\u2019 personal or financial information). But as stated above, there are many other things you are missing with free SSL certificates. Plus, paid multi domain SSL certificates are not that expensive. Starting for as little as $25.6\/year (just $2.13\/month), you can have access to a free site seal, warranty, 24\/7 live customer support, and an easy certificate management experience. This make it not only a totally affordable deal but a smart investment on your part. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warranty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Certificate Validity Period<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hosting Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Site Seals <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
24\/7 Live Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Certificate Management: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Multi-Domain SSL Certificate Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n <\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Free Multi-Domain SSL\n Certificate<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n PositiveSSL\n Multi-Domain<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Sectigo OV UCC SSL\n Certificate<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Positive SSL EV Multi-Domain<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Lowest Available Price<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n $0<\/strong>\n <\/td> $25.6\/year<\/strong> <\/td> $140\/year<\/strong> <\/td> $144.86\/year<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr> \n Warranty<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n N\/A\n <\/td> \n $50,000\n <\/td> \n $1,000,000\n <\/td> \n $1,000,000\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Validation Level<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Domain Validation\n <\/td> \n Domain Validation\n <\/td> \n Organization Validation\n <\/td> \n Extended Validation\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Issuance Time<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Within Minutes\n <\/td> \n Within Minutes\n <\/td> \n 1-3 Days\n <\/td> \n 1-5 Days\n <\/td><\/tr> \n What the Certificate\n Includes (Domain Coverage)<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Up to 100 names per\n certificate.\n <\/td> \n 1 main domain FQDN+ 2\n different SANs+ with the option of purchasing additional coverage for up to a\n total of 2,000 additional SANs.\n <\/td> \n 1 main domain FQDN + 4\n different SANs with the option of purchasing additional coverage for up to a\n total of 250 domains.\n <\/td> \n 1 main domain FQDN + 2\n different SANs + up to 250 additional SANs at an extra price\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Browser Security\n Indicators<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n It enables a padlock icon to appear in the web\n address bar.\n <\/td> \n It enables a padlock icon to appear in the web\n address bar.\n <\/td> \n It enables a padlock icon to appear in the web\n address bar and your organization\u2019s name to be listed in the certificate\n information.\n <\/td> \n It enables a padlock icon to appear in the web\n address bar and your organization\u2019s name to display more prominently in the\n browser. \n <\/td><\/tr> \n Eligibility<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Any website that\n doesn’t collect or handle users’ personal information. Most suitable for\n freelancers, bloggers startups, small businesses, etc.\n <\/td> \n Any website that\n doesn’t collect or handle users’ personal information. Most suitable for\n freelancers, bloggers startups, small businesses, etc.\n <\/td> \n Only legally registered\n business organizations with a physical address.\n <\/td> \n Only legally registered\n business organizations with a physical address + a minimum of 3 years in\n operation.\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Are Subdomains\n Included?<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Subdomains can be added if they are specified as\n SANs.\n <\/td> \n Subdomains can be added if they are specified as\n SANs.\n <\/td> \n Subdomains can be added if they are specified as\n SANs.\n <\/td> \n Subdomains can be added if they are specified as\n SANs.\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Cost to Include\n Additional Domains and Subdomains<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n $0\n <\/td> $7.92\/year per additional domain <\/td> $31.2\/year per additional domain <\/td> $63.20\/year per additional domain <\/td><\/tr> \n Encryption Strength<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n 256 bits\n <\/td> \n 256 bits\n <\/td> \n 256 bits\n <\/td> \n 256 bits\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Type of site seal<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n Not Provided\n <\/td> \n Dynamic\n <\/td> \n Dynamic\n <\/td> \n Dynamic\n <\/td><\/tr> \n Support<\/strong>\n <\/td> \n No Support\n <\/td> \n 24\/7 Live\n <\/td> \n 24\/7 Live\n <\/td> \n 24\/7 Live\n <\/td><\/tr> <\/td> \n \n <\/td> \n Buy Now<\/a>\n <\/td> \n Buy Now<\/a>\n <\/td> \n Buy Now<\/a>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Final Thoughts on Free Multi Domain SSL Certificates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n