Hosting
Let's Encrypt vs Paid SSL certificate
Both encrypt identically — the cryptography is the same. A paid certificate buys organisational validation, a warranty and support, none of which change what a browser shows. For almost every small business site the free automated certificate is the correct answer.
Side by side
| Compared on | Let's Encrypt | Paid certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption strength | Identical | Identical |
| Browser padlock | Yes | Yes |
| Validation level | Domain only | Domain, organisation or extended |
| Cost | Free | Tens to hundreds per year |
| Renewal | Automated, every 90 days | Manual or automated, usually annual |
| Warranty and support | None | Included, rarely exercised |
When Let's Encrypt is the right choice
- Any standard business website, shop or application
- Your host or CDN issues and renews it automatically, which nearly all now do
- You want renewal to be something nobody has to remember
When Paid SSL certificate is the right choice
- A compliance regime or enterprise procurement process specifically requires organisation validation
- You need a wildcard or multi-domain certificate your host cannot automate
- Your hosting environment genuinely does not support automated issuance
What extended validation stopped buying
Browsers removed the green organisation name from the address bar years ago. The visual differentiator that justified the price no longer exists, and research at the time found users did not notice or act on it even when it did. What remains is a line in a certificate almost nobody inspects.
The failure mode that actually matters
Expiry, not validation level. An expired certificate produces a full-page browser interstitial that stops every visitor, and it happens to paid certificates more often precisely because their annual renewal is a manual task somebody forgets. Automation is the feature worth having.
Monitor it either way
Automated renewal that silently stopped working looks identical to automated renewal that is working, right up until the day it does not. Monitor the expiry date independently of the renewal process, with an alert that reaches a phone.
The verdict
Use Let's Encrypt unless something external specifically requires organisation validation. The encryption is identical, the automation is the actual benefit, and the money saved is better spent on monitoring that the renewal is still happening.
If you want the full treatment
Technical SEO, in the order the problems actually block you covers this in about 4 minutes — free, ungated, written from client work.
Who wrote this comparison
Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan. Where a comparison involves something I sell, the page says so — and every comparison here has to name at least two situations where each side wins, because a comparison one option always wins is an advert with a table in it.