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Home / Business tools / SSL Certificates / Let's Encrypt
8.3 Tested Aug 26, 2026 by Team RankingRight

Let's Encrypt (Free DV, 90-day) review 2026

Free, automated, trusted by every browser, and already built into almost every host and control panel — the reason most sites should not buy a certificate

PriceFrom $0 · checked Sep 11, 2026
Cheapest cert0 $/yr
Issued in<1 min

Is the Let's Encrypt Worth It?

Best SSL certificate for almost everyone. For a blog, a brochure site, a SaaS app or a small shop, Let's Encrypt is the correct answer and the rest of this ranking is optional. Buy a certificate only when someone specifically requires organisation validation or a warranty.

Let's Encrypt Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Free, and the encryption is identical to any paid certificate
  • Issued in under a minute; renews itself every 90 days with no action
  • Built into cPanel, Plesk, CloudPanel, Caddy, Cloudflare and most hosts
  • Wildcards available at no cost
Cons
  • Domain validation only — no verified company name in the certificate
  • No warranty and no support desk; you rely on documentation and your host
  • Wildcards need a DNS-01 challenge, which is harder to automate

Let's Encrypt at a Glance

8.3 Editor Score
Issuance & validationTime from payment to an installed, trusted certificate on our test domain, and how painful the domain or organisation validation was.
23/25
CoverageSubdomains, wildcards, multi-domain SAN slots, and the browser and device trust store the issuing root reaches.
17/20
Warranty & assuranceThe stated warranty, the validation level offered (DV, OV, EV) and the site seal.
6/15
Support & toolingInstallation help, CSR tools, auto-renewal, API, and how quickly support answered a real installation question.
12/15
ValueAnnual cost against what a free Let's Encrypt certificate already gives you.
25/25
Reader ratingNo reader ratings yet — not part of the score
–
Own one? Rate it:

Rubric v1: Issuance & validation 25 · Coverage 20 · Warranty & assurance 15 · Support & tooling 15 · Value 25. Score = Σ ÷ 10, locked Sep 11, 2026. How we rank.

Where to buy — prices checked Sep 11, 2026

Let's Encrypt — $0

Best priceVisit Site

Let's Encrypt specifications

Cheapest certificate0 USD/yr
Validation levelsDV
WildcardYes
Wildcard price0 USD/yr
WarrantyNone
Issued in (our test)Under 1 minute
Free reissuesUnlimited
Refund windowN/A

Why it scored 8.3

For a blog, a brochure site, a SaaS app or a small shop, Let's Encrypt is the correct answer and the rest of this ranking is optional. Buy a certificate only when someone specifically requires organisation validation or a warranty.

Where it loses

No OV/EV, no warranty, no support.

Still the right pick for

The default for almost every website.

Changelog: Sep 11 — rank 1 → 2 · all changes

Let's Encrypt8.3 · $0
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