How to Choose an SSL Certificate: Comodo, DigiCert or GeoTrust
Validation types, coverage and prices explained so you do not overpay. The most affordable one is 7,90 € a year with a $50 000 CA warranty
Buy a certificate for 7,90 €
Choosing an SSL certificate comes down to two questions: what the authority validates and what has to be covered. By validation: DV checks the domain only, is issued in 5–15 minutes, from €7.90 a year; OV adds a company check, takes 1–3 business days and starts at €33.90; EV is an extended check against registries and documents, 3–5 business days, from €89.90. By coverage: one site — a plain certificate; a domain with its subdomains — a wildcard from €81.90; several different domains — a multi-domain from €20.90; both at once — a multi-domain wildcard from €184.90. Encryption is identical in every type, and the type has no effect on search rankings.
Every certificate in one table
Compare by validation, coverage, warranty and price
How many domains?
A domain is a site address such as example.com. One certificate covers either a single address or several at once.
Do you need subdomains?
A subdomain is an address inside your domain: mail.example.com or shop.example.com.
What gets validated?
This decides what visitors see inside the certificate and how quickly it is issued.
| Certificate | Validation and issuance | What it secures | Warranty | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comodo PositiveSSL Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $50 000 |
€7.9
per year | Order |
| RapidSSL Certificate RapidSSL |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $10 000 |
€10.9
per year | Order |
| Essential SSL Certificate (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $10 000 |
€13.9
per year | Order |
| RapidSSL Plan + Automate RapidSSL |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $10 000 |
€14.9
per year | Order |
| PositiveSSL ACME Certificate-as-a-Service (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $50 000 |
€15.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo PositiveSSL Multi-Domain Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $50 000 |
€20.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL123 Thawte |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€33.9
per year | Order |
| InstantSSL (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $50 000 |
€33.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL123 (FLEX) Thawte |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€33.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo SSL Certificate (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $250 000 |
€43.9
per year | Order |
| InstantSSL Pro (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $100 000 |
€43.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo SSL Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€43.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo ACME Certificate-as-a-Service (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€48.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium GeoTrust |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€53.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust DV SSL Certificate (FLEX) GeoTrust |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€53.9
per year | Order |
| InstantSSL Premium (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $250 000 |
€56.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust DV Plan + Automate GeoTrust |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | One domain and its www | $500 000 |
€57.9
per year | Order |
| Elite SSL (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $750 000 |
€58.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo OV SSL Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 000 000 |
€62.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL Web Server (Flex) Thawte |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 250 000 |
€81.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo PositiveSSL Wildcard Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $50 000 |
€81.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL Web Server Thawte |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 250 000 |
€81.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID (FLEX) GeoTrust |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 250 000 |
€85.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID GeoTrust |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 250 000 |
€85.9
per year | Order |
| EssentialSSL Wildcard (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $10 000 |
€88.9
per year | Order |
| PositiveSSL EV Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 000 000 |
€89.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo OV SSL Multi-Domain/UCC Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $1 000 000 |
€91.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo Multi-Domain SSL (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains in one certificate | $250 000 |
€94.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo Domain Validated UCC SSL Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | Several domains in one certificate | $250 000 |
€99.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo SSL Multi-Domain/UCC Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $500 000 |
€99.9
per year | Order |
| RapidSSL Wildcard Certificate RapidSSL |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $10 000 |
€110.9
per year | Order |
| RapidSSL Wildcard Plan + Automate RapidSSL |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $10 000 |
€115.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo Unified Communications Certificate Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains: 4 included, more can be added | $250 000 |
€134.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium SAN GeoTrust |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | Several domains: 4 included, more can be added | $500 000 |
€136.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo EV SSL Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€155.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo EV SSL Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€155.9
per year | Order |
| InstantSSL Premium Wildcard (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $250 000 |
€156.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo Wildcard SSL Certificate (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $250 000 |
€166.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo SSL Wildcard Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $500 000 |
€166.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL Web Server with EV (FLEX) Thawte |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 500 000 |
€174.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL Web Server with EV Thawte |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 500 000 |
€174.9
per year | Order |
| Positive SSL EV Multi-Domain Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $1 000 000 |
€181.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo PositiveSSL Multi-Domain Wildcard Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | 2 domains with their subdomains, more can be added | $50 000 |
€184.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV GeoTrust |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 500 000 |
€194.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV (FLEX) GeoTrust |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 500 000 |
€194.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID Multi-Domain GeoTrust |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains: 4 included, more can be added | $1 250 000 |
€206.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium Wildcard GeoTrust |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $500 000 |
€207.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust DV Wildcard Plan + Automate GeoTrust |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $500 000 |
€211.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL123 Wildcard Thawte |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $500 000 |
€222.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Basic OV (FLEX) DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 250 000 |
€226.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Standard SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 000 000 |
€226.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo EV Multi-Domain Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains in one certificate | $1 750 000 |
€267.9
per year | Order |
| Enterprise SSL Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 500 000 |
€271.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo OV SSL Multi-Domain Wildcard Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | 2 domains with their subdomains, more can be added | $1 000 000 |
€274.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo Multi-Domain Wildcard (OV) Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains together with their subdomains | $250 000 |
€274.9
per year | Order |
| Comodo OV Unified Communications Wildcard Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | 2 domains with their subdomains, more can be added | $250 000 |
€274.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo Multi-Domain/UCC Wildcard (DV) Sectigo |
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes | 2 domains with their subdomains, more can be added | $500 000 |
€274.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo EV Multi-Domain/UCC Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $1 750 000 |
€309.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte Wildcard SSL Thawte |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $1 250 000 |
€323.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Basic EV (FLEX) DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€336.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Extended Validation SSL DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 000 000 |
€336.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€379.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site OV (FLEX) DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€379.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID Wildcard GeoTrust |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $1 250 000 |
€385.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID w/ EV Multi-Domain GeoTrust |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains: 4 included, more can be added | $1 500 000 |
€401.9
per year | Order |
| Sectigo OV Wildcard SSL Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $1 000 000 |
€479.9
per year | Order |
| Thawte SSL Web Server Multi-Domain Wildcard Thawte |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | 2 domains with their subdomains, more can be added | $1 250 000 |
€527.9
per year | Order |
| GeoTrust True BusinessID with Multi-Domain Wildcard GeoTrust |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | 2 domains with their subdomains, more can be added | $1 250 000 |
€562.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert EV Multi-Domain SSL DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $1 000 000 |
€650.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Multi-Domain SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains: 3 included, more can be added | $1 000 000 |
€656.9
per year | Order |
| Enterprise SSL Pro Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $1 500 000 |
€679.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Wildcard SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $1 000 000 |
€717.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site EV SSL DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€876.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site EV (FLEX) DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $1 750 000 |
€876.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site Pro SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $2 000 000 |
€944.9
per year | Order |
| Secure Site Pro SSL (FLEX) DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | One domain and its www | $2 000 000 |
€944.9
per year | Order |
| Enterprise SSL Pro with EV Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $2 000 000 |
€1019.9
per year | Order |
| Enterprise SSL Pro Wildcard Sectigo |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $1 500 000 |
€1149.9
per year | Order |
| Digicert Secure Site Multi-Domain SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | Several domains: 3 included, more can be added | $1 750 000 |
€1198.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site Pro EV SSL DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $2 000 000 |
€1353.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site Pro EV (FLEX) DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | One domain and its www | $2 000 000 |
€1353.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site Wildcard SSL DigiCert |
Organization validation, issued in 1–3 business days | The domain and every subdomain (*.example.com) | $1 750 000 |
€1807.9
per year | Order |
| DigiCert Secure Site EV Multi-Domain SSL DigiCert |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains: 2 included, more can be added | $1 750 000 |
€2501.9
per year | Order |
| Enterprise SSL Pro with EV Multi-Domain Sectigo |
Extended validation, issued in 3–5 business days | Several domains: 3 included, more can be added | $2 000 000 |
€2821.9
per year | Order |
Prices are per year. Each type is described in full in the sections below.
Step 1. What the authority validates
Three levels of validation, from the domain to the legal entity
1
DV — the domain only
Issued in 5–15 minutes, warranty from $10,000. Fits blogs, landing pages and internal services. From €7.90 a year.
2
OV — the domain and the company
Issued in 1–3 business days, the legal entity name inside the certificate, warranty up to $2,000,000. From €33.90 a year.
3
EV — extended validation
Issued in 3–5 business days, a strict check against registries and documents. From €89.90 a year.
Step 2. What has to be covered
Coverage is chosen by the number of domains and subdomains
An ordinary certificate: it covers example.com and www.example.com. The cheapest option, from €7.90 a year.
A wildcard: a single *.example.com entry covers mail., shop., api. and any new subdomains. From €81.90 a year.
A multi-domain certificate (SAN/UCC): example.com, example.lv and shop.eu go into one certificate. From €20.90 a year.
A multi-domain wildcard: every domain comes together with its own subdomains. From €184.90 a year.
The UCC line: designed for the service names of a mail server — autodiscover, mail and owa.
Step 3. Paid or Let's Encrypt
An honest comparison — a free certificate does not close every task.
- The encryption is identical. For a browser there is no technical difference.
- Company validation. Let's Encrypt issues DV only: an organization name will never appear in the certificate.
- Warranty. The free one has none; paid ones carry from $10,000 to $2,000,000.
- Term and upkeep. Let's Encrypt means 90 days and mandatory automation; a paid certificate can be paid three years ahead.
- Support. With a paid certificate, issuance and installation problems are ours to solve.
The conclusion is simple: for a personal site take the free one. For business, payments and customer data take a paid one, preferably with organization validation.
Open the catalogue
Step 4. How much to pay and for how long
You can pay for one, two or three years. What is worth knowing:
- The certificate itself is issued for a shorter period — a maximum of 200 days from 2026, and less after that. The paid term simply covers several reissues.
- The yearly price drops with a longer term — the term switch in the cards shows the difference.
- Reissues are free, but there will be more of them — which is why automation is worth looking at from the start.
Frequently asked questions about choosing
The essentials in short
No. Search engines take HTTPS into account but do not distinguish between DV, OV and EV.
The padlock is identical for all types. The difference shows in the certificate details, where OV and EV list the validated organization.
Yes, where brand protection against clones and regulatory requirements matter. The green address bar is gone, and that is worth knowing.
From three subdomains onward a wildcard is usually cheaper and almost always easier to maintain.
A certificate is issued for a specific type, so a change means a new order. Ask support before paying and we will help you choose.
One: server licences are unlimited, so the same files go onto every machine.
An OV certificate: the buyer sees a validated company and the price is only slightly above DV. EV if volumes are large and the brand gets cloned.
With an external chain test: it shows the intermediates, the term and the supported protocols. We run that check during installation.