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The Top 10 SSL/TLS Certificate Software

Explore the top best SSL/TLS certificates software with features like multi-domain support, automatic renewals, and certificate transparency logs.

Last updated on Jun 26, 2024

Written by Caitlin Harris

Technical review by Laura Iannini

The Top 10 SSL/TLS Certificate Software include:

1. AWS Certificate Manager
2. Comodo SSL Store
3. Entrust SSL Certificates
4. Digicert CertcentraL TLS/SSL Manager
5. GoDaddy SSL Certificates
6. Let’s Encrypt
7. ManageEngine Key Manager Plus
8. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certificates
9. Sectigo
10. SSL.com

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates—also known as digital certificates—are data files hosted in a website’s origin server that ensure the secure transmission of data between that web server and visitors’ browsers. SSL/TLS certificates encrypt all the data sent between a user’s browser, a website, and the web server. This helps protect sensitive information such as login credentials, personal information, and financial transactions.

These certificates also verify the identity of the domain that an end user is visiting, ensuring they’re connecting to a legitimate website and not a fraudulent or malicious domain. Finally, all websites with an SSL/TLS certificate can use the HTTPS protocol, which is the most secure protocol for sending data between a website and a browser.

Using HTTPS not only enhance security, but it also displays to end users that your website is legitimate and secure; without HTTPS, users may decide to browse elsewhere.

SSL/TLS certificates are issued by Certificate Authorities (CAs), which verify the ownership and legitimacy of a website. After successfully validating the domain owner, the CA provides a digital certificate that can be installed on the server. This certificate contains information such as the domain and any subdomains that the certificate was issued for, which CA issues the certificate, and the certificate’s issue and expiry dates. Because digital certificates expire, organizations using them must make sure to keep track of which certificates they have in place and renew them when needed. For larger enterprises that may require multiple certificates, this can be a time-consuming and tedious task.

That’s where SSL/TLS certificate management software comes in. Certificate management software helps organizations to keep track of their SSL/TLS certificates, ensuring they’re configured properly, automatically renewed, and revoked if they become compromised.

In this article, we’ll explore the top SSL/TLS certificate software platforms. We’ll highlight the key use cases and features of each solution, what levels of validation and certificate types are offered, automation alerting, and encryption. To help you find the right software for your website, we’ve included both solutions that offer full certificate lifecycle management, and some that offer the certificates themselves.

AWS Certificate Manager

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) offers a solution for provisioning, managing, and deploying SSL/TLS certificates for use with AWS services and internal connected resources. By automating the certificate management process, ACM eliminates the need for manual purchasing, uploading, and renewing of SSL/TLS certificates.

ACM helps protect and secure websites and applications by managing certificates for secure traffic termination. It also enables secure communication between private network components, such as servers and IoT devices. The automated certificate management feature maintains SSL/TLS certificates and facilitates certificate renewals to improve uptime. Users can centrally manage their SSL/TLS certificates through the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or ACM APIs, and they can audit the usage of each certificate by reviewing AWS CloudTrail logs.

ACM is also integrated with other AWS services, allowing for seamless provisioning and deployment of SSL/TLS certificates with Elastic Load Balancers, Amazon CloudFront distributions, and the Amazon API Gateway. Users can monitor imported certificate expiration dates and import replacements as needed, or request a free certificate from ACM, which handles future renewals.

Comodo SSL Store

Comodo offers both SSL Certificates and certificate management tools that enable businesses to streamline the certificate management process, from validation to installation, and authenticates their business to reinforce credibility among website visitors.

Comodo’s SSL certificates offer a strong encryption system, providing 256-bit symmetric encryption to ensure the highest level of website security. They also help protect ad revenue by preventing ISPs from injecting ads onto a website. As well as the certificates themselves, Comodo also offers a range of useful tools and features for certificate management, including the “Why No Padlock?” tool to check for insecure links on your site, SSL certificate conversion, CSR/Private Key matching, certificate information checking, and user-friendly guides for generating Certificate Signing Requests (CSR) and Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records. Finally, every Comodo SSL Certificate comes with a substantial warranty to support businesses in case of any issues on Comodo’s end that result in financial loss.

Entrust SSL Certificates

Entrust is a provider of TLS/SSL Certificates that deliver validated identity and encryption to ensure the security of websites, users, and data. Their certificates comply with industry standards, including SHA2, X.509, and support for 2048-bit or higher keys. Entrust aims to prevent browser error messages and offers support for RSA and ECC encryption methods.

With Entrust certificates, retail accounts can secure up to 50 additional domains, while enterprise accounts can cover up to 250 extra domains. Their services also provide extended identity validation and the ability to secure unlimited subdomains. Entrust’s Enterprise Certificate Management offers web-based tools for 24/7 access to valuable technical insights, status updates, and website scanning essential for end-to-end lifecycle management of digital certificates. In addition to TLS/SSL Certificates, Entrust offers various digital signing certificates to assure identity and maintain document security. These include Document Signing Certificates for validating signatures and authentication, Code Signing Certificates for securing scripts and executables, Secure Email S/MIME Certificates for digitally signing and encrypting emails, and Mobile Device Certificates for securing and authenticating mobile devices.

Digicert CertcentraL TLS/SSL Manager

Digicert CertCentral TLS/SSL Manager is a comprehensive certificate management platform designed to simplify and automate tasks related to issuing, installing, inspecting, remediating, and renewing TLS/SSL certificates. It allows businesses to efficiently manage high-volume TLS/SSL certificate issuance for multiple users and teams while saving time for more critical tasks.

With CertCentral, users can easily deploy certificates for devices and users across their networks using methods such as SCEP, REST, EST, or auto-enrollment. A single click allows them to scan all TLS/SSL certificates for vulnerabilities and weak configurations to maintain network security. The platform also provides analytics and reports about the network’s health at any given moment. If any issues are found, CertCentral offers remediation suggestions along with detailed answers to address certificate problems. Revoking a certificate can be done with just one click. To prevent unplanned outages caused by lapsed TLS/SSL certificates, the platform features an automatic renewal option that eliminates the need for manual tracking. Additionally, CertCentral allows for flexibility in automating certificate lifecycles through various methods, such as hosted, agent-based, or sensor-based automation and ACME URL options. This helps organizations avoid expiring certificates and tedious manual tasks.

GoDaddy SSL Certificates

GoDaddy offers SSL certificates to encrypt website data, such as login information and credit card numbers, providing a secure online experience for users. The Trust Seal present on websites with GoDaddy SSL certificates demonstrates that the organization prioritizes data protection. A lack of an SSL certificate leads to a “Not Secure” warning, which can deter potential customers. In contrast, having a GoDaddy SSL certificate removes this warning, fostering trust among users.

In addition to enhanced trust, GoDaddy SSL certificates also ensure compliance with various standards and regulations, including PCI-DSS, HIPAA, HITECH, and GDPR. This level of security can attract more customers, as they associate the presence of an SSL certificate with a trustworthy site. GoDaddy SSL certificates also offer end-to-end encryption protocol, an industry standard for protecting sensitive data from hackers. This added security measure allows customers to safely access their preferred payment methods, keeping them engaged throughout the checkout process. Overall, GoDaddy SSL certificates enhance user confidence, trust, and online security, leading to a better web experience for both the customers and the website.

Let’s Encrypt

Let’s Encrypt is a non-profit Certificate Authority that aims to create a secure and privacy-respecting web by providing TLS certificates to 300 million websites globally, without charging a fee. With the ultimate goal of promoting widespread adoption of HTTPS, Let’s Encrypt automates the process of setting up an HTTPS server and obtaining a browser-trusted certificate, utilizing a certificate management agent on the web server.

As a global Certificate Authority, Let’s Encrypt allows individuals and organizations to obtain, renew, and manage SSL/TLS certificates that enable secure HTTPS connections. It’s important to note that they offer Domain Validation (DV) certificates, but not Organization Validation (OV) or Extended Validation (EV), due to the automation limitations. Let’s Encrypt DV certificates can be used on any server with a domain name, including web servers, mail servers, and FTP servers. In addition to the certificates themselves, Let’s Encrypt offers comprehensive documentation and active community support forums, which provide valuable help and assistance.

ManageEngine Key Manager Plus

ManageEngine Key Manager Plus is a comprehensive SSL/TLS certificate management solution that helps businesses efficiently monitor and manage the entire life cycle of SSL certificates within their enterprise network. With Key Manager Plus, IT teams can gain critical visibility and control over their SSL environments, mitigating the risk of security breaches, outages, and compliance issues.

ManageEngine Key Manager Plus enables businesses to discover SSL/TLS certificates across heterogeneous environments and endpoints, consolidating them in a secure, centralized repository. It integrates with third-party Certificate Authorities and allows users to manage certificates from Microsoft certificate stores and those issued by Microsoft CA. ManageEngine, as well as a variety of X.509 certificates—regardless of the issuing authority—through a single unified console. The platform also streamlines certificate deployment in target systems and applications while monitoring and managing certificates from multiple vendors. When certificates approach their expiry date, Key Manager Plus provides timely renewal alerts. Key Manager Plus also provides users with valuable insights through tamper-proof audit trails and comprehensive reporting.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certificates

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certificates is a solution designed to create, deploy, and manage SSL/TLS certificates with ease. It offers a flexible Certificate Authority hierarchy that allows users to create private CAs for enhanced security controls. The service simplifies the process of deploying SSL/TLS certificates to integrated applications such as load balancers or API gateways, reducing the risk of errors associated with manual certificate management. Additionally, it automatically monitors and renews certificates, ensuring that they remain up-to-date.

With Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certificates, users benefit from the flexibility and security provided by creating private root CAs and subordinate CAs in hierarchies up to 10 branches deep. The platform streamlines certificate deployment by allowing users to either import their CSR or upload their existing certificate for automatic deployment to integrated services. Integration with load balancers or API gateways is also simplified; Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certificates takes care of monitoring, deploying, and renewing the certificates, ensuring there are no service disruptions due to expired certificates. Finally, by automating the deployment and renewal of certificates to cloud services such as Load Balancer as a Service (LBaaS) or API Gateway, IT professionals can focus on other critical tasks. This automation also helps prevent service disruptions tied to expired certificates, resulting in improved security and reliability.

Sectigo

Sectigo Certificate Manager (SCM) is a comprehensive platform designed to manage the lifecycles of digital certificates, ensuring the security of both human and machine identities across your enterprise. This versatile solution allows users to automate the issuance and management of certificates from various Certificate Authorities (Cas), including public and private entities like Microsoft AD CS, Google Certificate Authority Service, and AWS Private CA.

Key features of Sectigo Certificate Manager include seamless management of SSL/TLS certificates for web servers and load balancers, enhanced AD CS capabilities, secure email communication through S/MIME email certificates, and streamlined management of internal servers and devices with Sectigo’s Private CA solution. Additionally, SCM aims to simplify DevOps implementation with enforceable cryptographic security measures and offers dependable code signing across applications with Sectigo code signing certificates. SCM delivers a single interface and integration capabilities with leading technology providers. This allows users to benefit from seamless deployment flexibility and customization to suit their unique business environments.

SSL.com

SSL.com is a provider of SSL certificates that are compatible with over 99% of all browsers. Their certificates display a padlock symbol and “https” domain, indicating a secure connection. By providing robust encryption, seamless integration capabilities, and extensive customer support, SSL.com successfully caters to the security needs of organizations worldwide.

SSL.com certificates help organizations satisfy HIPAA and PCI compliance standards. Their service includes free lifetime certificate reissues, a 30-day no-questions-asked refund policy, and comprehensive 24/7 customer support via chat, email, and phone. In addition, SSL.com provides an easy-to-use Account Manager and a free SSL.com Site Seal for displaying on your website. They offer ACME and REST API integration support, granting users access to certificate life cycle management tools. Finally, all their SSL certificates come with 2048/4096 SHA2 RSA (ECDSA supported) encryption and full mobile support, ensuring the highest level of security.

Everything You Need To Know About SSL & TLS Certificates Software (FAQs)

What Are SSL/TLS Certificates?

Before we can talk about what SSL & TLS certificates are, you need to know what SSL & TLS are. When you send information over the internet, it passes through multiple computers to reach its final destination. In the past, data wasn’t encrypted, which meant that any of those computers could read your data along its journey. To protect data being transmitted over the internet, security experts developed a protocol for sending and receiving internet traffic. That protocol was Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Over the years, several security vulnerabilities were found in the SSL protocol. Eventually, this led to the protocol being replaced by another, more secure protocol called Transport Layer Security (TLS).

Today, most certificate providers still use the term SSL, because it’s more widely known. However, all “SSL” certificates that you see advertised are really SSL/TLS certificates, which means that you can use both protocols with it. So, if your organization is using SSL certificates, you don’t need to worry about replacing them.

Now, the SSL/TLS certificates themselves—which are also known as digital certificates—are data files that are hosted in a website’s origin server. They help ensure that data is sent securely over the internet, without being stolen or tampered with. They do this in three ways:

They encrypt all data sent between a user’s browser, the website a user is visiting, and the web server.
They verify the identity of the website’s owner, which helps prevent domain spoofing and ensures users are connecting to a legitimate website.
They enable websites to use HTTPS, the most secure protocol used to send data between a browser and a website. When a user connects to a website that uses HTTPS, SSL/TLS verifies the website server’s and encrypts their connection. This prevents threat actors from reading any data sent between the browser and the website.

To do all this, SSL/TLS certificates contain specific information:

The domain name that the certificate was issued for and the person, organization or device that it was issued to
Details of any associated subdomains
Which certificate authority (CA) issued it, along with that authority’s digital signature
The certificate’s issue date
The certificate’s expiry date
The public key (we’ll get into this more later)

How Do SSL/TLS Certificates Work?

SSL/TLS certificates work using public key cryptography. Every website that has an SSL/TLS certificate creates a mathematically related pair of encryption keys, which are long strings of characters used for encrypting and signing data. Each pair of keys consists of a public key and a private key. These keys are used to authenticate a web server, and to let that server encrypt and decrypt data.

When a browser connects to a website, the web server creates a digital signature using the private key. The browser then verifies that signature using the public key stored in the SSL/TLS certificate. This verification process ensures that the user is connecting to a legitimate server belonging to the domain name they’re visiting, and not a spoofed website. If the website’s certificate isn’t valid and doesn’t pass the verification check, the user may be presented with a message warning them that their connection isn’t private, which could cause the user to leave the website altogether.

Once the server’s identity has been verified, the web server authenticates a key exchange, which enables the transfer of encrypted and authenticated data between the server and the user’s browser.

What Features Should You Look For In SSL/TLS Certificate Software?

There are a few key features that you should look for in a strong SSL/TLS certificate management solution:

Certificate validation levels. Your chosen solution needs to offer domain validation at a suitable level for your website. There are three levels of validation that an SSL/TLS certificate can offer: Domain Validation (DV) validates domain ownership, providing the lowest level of validation. This is most suitable for personal websites and blogs. Organization Validation (OV) validates the organization behind the domain and is suitable for business websites. Extended Validation (EV) offers the highest level of validation and is suitable for eCommerce and websites that handle sensitive data.
Wildcard and multi-domain (SAN) certificates. If your website has subdomains, you can secure them—as well as the main domain itself—using a wildcard certificate. If you need to secure multiple domain names, you should look for a solution that offers multi-domain certificates.
Strong encryption. Your chosen solution should offer strong levels of encryption to help protect your data and your users’ data in transit.
Root trust. Make sure that any certificates are issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and trusted by major browsers and operating systems.
Alerting and automatic renewal. Your chosen SSL/TLS certificate software should alert you to any certificates that are about to expire, as well as any possible misconfigurations. It should also automatically renew expired certificates to help reduce administrative overhead.
Certificate revocation. The solution should provide an easy way of revoking certificates if they become compromised. This may include adding revoked certificates to a Certificate Revocation List (CRL), so clients can check against that list.
Online Certificate Status Protocol (OSCP) stapling. Your chosen solution should allow the web server to check the revocation status of a certificate and deliver this information to users. This can help improve load times and privacy.
Compatibility and integration. The certificates that your provider offers should be compatible with all major web servers, browsers, and mobile devices. Additionally, the software itself should integrate seamlessly with your existing environment.

Caitlin Harris

Deputy Head Of Content

Caitlin Harris is Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. Caitlin is an experienced writer and journalist, with years of experience producing award-winning technical training materials and journalistic content. Caitlin holds a First Class BA in English Literature and German, and provides our content team with strategic editorial guidance as well as carrying out detailed research to create articles that are accurate, engaging and relevant. Caitlin co-hosts the Expert Insights Podcast, where she interviews world-leading B2B tech experts.

Laura Iannini

Cybersecurity Analyst

Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.