Paid vs Free Wildcard SSL Certificates — The Ultimate Comparison (2026)

Free wildcard SSL certificates sound great but they lack the advantages of paid wildcard SSL certificates

As we all learn from a young age, the word “free” often comes with hidden costs. The same is true of free wildcard SSL certificates. A free wildcard cert lacks many of the valuable and reliable features that are included with a paid wildcard SSL certificate. This makes them a questionable option for businesses that value reliability and have many subdomains to secure.

Let’s quickly explore what a free wildcard SSL certificate is and how it holds up when compared to commercial (paid) wildcard SSL certificates.

TL;DR: A Comparison of Free Wildcard SSL vs Commercial Certificates

Here’s a quick overview of the differences between these two types of wildcard SSL certificates. To learn more about each, click on the links in the bulleted list below to jump straight to the respective section of the article.

• A free wildcard SSL certificate doesn’t cost anything upfront, but it may cost you more in other ways. Think shorter certificate lifespans, virtually no technical support, basic domain validation (DV) only — the list goes on and on.
• A paid wildcard SSL certificate does have an upfront cost, but it offers more advantages. Longer certificate validity periods, 24/7 technical support, and the option of securing multiple domains + unlimited subdomains (using a multi-domain wildcard SSL certificate) are some of the goodies that free wildcard SSL certificate providers can’t offer.  

Let’s compare three of the most popular options for paid and free wildcard SSL certificates:

	Free Wildcard SSL Certificate	PositiveSSL Wildcard SSL Certificate	InstantSSL Premium Wildcard SSL Certificate
	Let’s Encrypt or SSL for Free	Comodo CA	Comodo CA
What It Secures	Single Domain + Unlimited Subdomains	Single Domain + Unlimited Subdomains	Single Domain + Unlimited Subdomains
Validation Type	Domain Validation	Domain Validation	Organization Validation
Maximum Certificate Validity	90 Days	397 Days	397 Days
Site Seal	None
Server Licenses	Unspecified	Unlimited	Unlimited
Certificate Re-Issuance	Unspecified	Unlimited	Unlimited
Warranty	None	$10,000	$250,000
Price	Free	Starting at $69.78/year	Starting at $108.97/year
Buy Now		Shop Now	Shop Now

There are additional wildcard SSL certificate options available for those who need to secure multiple domains and subdomains, want a higher warranty, or require organizational validation. But don’t worry you don’t have to pay full price…

Free Wildcard SSL Certificates Offer the Bare Minimum

While using a free wildcard SSL certificate certainly is appealing from a financial standpoint, there are a few reasons why you might want to think twice before doing so:

1. A Free Wildcard Certificate Has a Short Lifespan

Free wildcard SSL certificates are issued with a 90-day (maximum) validity period. So, unless you enjoy continually having to change out certificates or have a certificate automation solution in place to streamline the process, this situation can quickly become a nightmare.

2. Basic Validation Is Your Only Option with a Free Wildcard Cert

A free wildcard SSL cert provider doesn’t offer anything beyond basic domain validation because they lack the staffing required to do the work. If you’re looking for basic business validation (i.e., organization validation or OV) for your wildcard SSL certificate, you’re out of luck.

3. Free Wildcard SSL Certificates Lack Technical Support

The first issue with free wildcard SSL certificates is that they don’t offer timely technical support. If your certificate stops working and causes downtime to your site, this can result in financial losses. Do you want to put your business’ security in the hands of an organization that provides no real-time support?

Good luck waiting for someone to respond to your questions via the web forum…

4. Free Wildcard SSL Certificates Don’t Offer Site Seals or Warranties

A free wildcard SSL cert is bare bones. It doesn’t come with all the other goodies you’d come to expect when getting an SSL certificate, such as a website security trust badge. This visual indicator lets site users know that your site is using a secure, encrypted connection.

In the event of a certification authority (CA)-related misissuance, having a warranty is always a good idea. This form of protection provides litigious site users up to a certain dollar amount in the event their data gets compromised as a result of a CA mishap.

5. You’re Limited to the Number of Certificates That Can Be Issued

Free certificate providers often implement rate limits to restrict the number of SSL/TLS certificates that can be issued to a domain within a certain period.

Paid Wildcard SSL Certificates Provide Extra Layers of Security

Although both free and paid wildcard SSL certificates offer encryption for unlimited subdomains, commercial wildcard SSL certificates provide additional benefits that outweigh the costs:

1. You Can Choose from Domain and Organization Validation

Commercial wildcard SSL certificates can be issued as either DV or OV. The higher validation level assures visitors that your site is legitimate because a trusted third party has verified its digital identity, going beyond basic domain validation.  

NOTE: Extended validation (EV) wildcard SSL certificates don’t exist — and beware anyone who tells you that they do!

2. Paid Wildcard Certificates Come with Technical Support

Unlike their free counterparts, commercial wildcard SSL certificates from ComodoSSLstore.com come with 24/7 technical support via chat and email. You also have access to our free Knowledgebase that can answer many of your questions.  

3. Wildcard SSL Certificates Include Warranties of Up to $1.5 Million

For example, let’s consider the PositiveSSL wildcard certificate. Although it offers domain validation, it comes with a $10,000 warranty to offer a little peace of mind. This way, you can rest assured that your website is in trusted hands.

If you’re looking for bigger warranties, you could look at the InstantSSL Premium Wildcard or the Enterprise SSL Pro Wildcard. They offer warranties of $250,000 and $1.5 million, respectively.

4. You’ll Get a Free Site Seal with Your ComodoSSLstore.com Certificate Purchase

You also get a complimentary trust seal, which has been shown to increase consumers’ perceptions about website security.

There are also more expensive options available for those who need a higher warranty or organizational validation.

Which Wildcard SSL Certificate Should I Choose?

We hope this article has helped you make a decision about whether a traditional commercial or free wildcard cert would be best for you. Although a free wildcard SSL certificate doesn’t have an upfront price, that’s where the advantages end. It’s missing many of the key elements that help business protect their brand reputations and customer relationships.

However, you probably don’t want to break the bank, either. That’s why we recommend the PositiveSSL wildcard certificate, which offers security and other advantages your business needs for less than $0.20 per day.

This content was previously published on July 16, 2019 and has been updated with more current information as of Feb. 25, 2025.