DV SSL from Comodo, RapidSSL and Thawte — Issued in 5–15 Minutes

Confirm the domain and switch HTTPS on within the hour. The most affordable one is Comodo PositiveSSL at 7,90 € a year with a $50 000 CA warranty

Buy a DV certificate for 7,90 €
DV certificate with domain validation

A DV certificate is an SSL with domain validation only: the certificate authority confirms that the domain is yours and issues the certificate in 5–15 minutes. No company is checked and no paperwork is asked for, which makes DV the fastest and the cheapest type, from €7.90 a year. Ownership is proven in one of three ways: an email to a role address such as admin@yourdomain, a TXT record in DNS, or a file in /.well-known/pki-validation/ on the site. Encryption in DV is exactly the same as in OV and EV — the difference is only in what the authority verified. The catalogue holds 28 DV certificates: single-domain, wildcard and multi-domain.

Popular DV certificates

They differ in CA warranty and brand recognition — the domain check is the same everywhere

7.9 year

Comodo PositiveSSL

Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes
One domain and its www
CA warranty $50 000
Free reissues, unlimited servers
53.9 year

GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium

Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes
One domain and its www
CA warranty $500 000
Free reissues, unlimited servers

Price per year. Paying for two or three years at once works out cheaper.

Every certificate with domain validation

28 options: single-domain, wildcard and multi-domain

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
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
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
GeoTrust DV Plan + Automate
GeoTrust
Domain validation, issued in 5–15 minutes One domain and its www $500 000 57.9
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
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
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
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 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
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 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
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

A wildcard covers every subdomain, a multi-domain certificate covers several different domains at once.

Who DV is for

Wherever speed and price matter more than an organization check

1

Websites and blogs

A personal site, a portfolio, a blog, a landing page — the visitor only needs a padlock in the address bar and working HTTPS.

2

Staging and internal systems

Test environments, control panels, internal services: the certificate is needed, checking the company is not.

3

Subdomains and APIs

Service addresses such as api., cdn. and mail. are covered by a single wildcard certificate with no extra paperwork.

How domain validation works

Three methods to choose from — whichever is easier

1

Email to a role address

The authority sends a code to admin@, administrator@, webmaster@, hostmaster@ or postmaster@ of your domain.

2

DNS record

You add a TXT or CNAME record with the given value to the domain zone. Useful when there is no mail on the domain.

3

File on the site

You place the given file into /.well-known/pki-validation/ and the authority fetches it over HTTP.

4

Issuance

Once validation succeeds the certificate arrives by email within 5–15 minutes. All that is left is installing it on the server.

How DV differs from OV and EV

How DV differs from OV and EV

The encryption is identical in all three types — the difference is only in what the certificate authority verifies and what is visible inside the certificate.

  • DV — domain ownership is checked. The certificate names the domain only. Issued in 5–15 minutes.
  • OV — the company is checked too and its name goes into the certificate. Issued in 1–3 business days.
  • EV — a strict check of the legal entity against documents and registries. Issued in 3–5 business days.

If the site takes payments or handles personal data, it helps the visitor to see who is behind it — then OV or EV is worth a look.

Compare certificate types
DV against free Let's Encrypt

DV against free Let's Encrypt

Let's Encrypt also issues a DV certificate and costs nothing. Three things differ:

  • Term. Let's Encrypt gives 90 days and requires automated renewal. A paid DV certificate runs up to a year and can be paid three years ahead.
  • Warranty. Paid certificates carry one — from $10,000 to $500,000; the free one carries none.
  • Support. When validation fails or the server complains about the chain, we sort it out instead of you.
Set up automatic renewal

Frequently asked questions about DV

Validation, issuance and limits

Only that the domain belongs to you: by email to a role address, by a DNS record or by a file on the site. No documents are requested.

5–15 minutes after the domain is validated. Delays only happen when the code email lands in spam or the DNS record has not propagated yet.

Technically yes, the encryption is the same. Shops usually pick OV though: the company name inside the certificate raises buyer confidence.

The padlock looks the same for every type. The difference shows in the certificate details, where OV and EV list the validated organization.

Yes, with the wildcard version: it covers the domain and all of its subdomains on one level, including those created later.

Validate the domain with a DNS record or a file on the site — neither method needs a working mailbox.

As many as you need: server licences are unlimited. The same certificate can be installed on all of your machines.

Reissues become more frequent: 200 days maximum from 2026, 100 from 2027 and 47 from 2029. That is why ACME automation suits DV well.