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  1. Stackups
  2. Utilities
  3. SSL Certificates
  4. Certificate Authority
  5. AWS Certificate Manager vs Let's Encrypt

AWS Certificate Manager vs Let's Encrypt

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Let's Encrypt
Let's Encrypt
Stacks1.6K
Followers974
Votes98
AWS Certificate Manager
AWS Certificate Manager
Stacks102
Followers52
Votes0

AWS Certificate Manager vs Let's Encrypt: What are the differences?

Introduction:

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) and Let's Encrypt are two popular options for managing SSL/TLS certificates. While both provide similar functionality, there are key differences between the two that are important to consider when choosing a certificate management solution.

  1. Pricing Model: One key difference between AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt is their pricing model. AWS Certificate Manager is a paid service that charges for the use of SSL certificates, while Let's Encrypt provides SSL certificates for free. This difference in cost can be a significant consideration for organizations, especially those with a large number of certificates.

  2. Integration with AWS Services: Another difference between AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt is their integration with other AWS services. AWS Certificate Manager is tightly integrated with other AWS services such as Elastic Load Balancer (ELB), CloudFront, and API Gateway, making it easier to manage and deploy SSL certificates for these services. Let's Encrypt, on the other hand, requires additional steps and configurations to integrate with AWS services.

  3. Renewal Process: The renewal process is another area where AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt differ. With AWS Certificate Manager, the renewal process is automated and managed by AWS, ensuring that certificates are automatically renewed before they expire. Let's Encrypt also provides an automated renewal process, but it requires additional configuration and manual setup.

  4. Certificate Validity: The validity period of the SSL certificates issued by AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt also differs. AWS Certificate Manager provides certificates with a validity period of up to 13 months, while Let's Encrypt certificates have a shorter validity period of 90 days. This difference means that Let's Encrypt certificates need to be renewed more frequently.

  5. Certificate Authority: The certificate authority (CA) used by AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt is another difference between the two. AWS Certificate Manager uses its own CA, while Let's Encrypt is a CA that is recognized and trusted by major web browsers. This distinction may be important for organizations that require strict validation and trust levels for their SSL certificates.

  6. Management Interface: The management interface for AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt also differs. AWS Certificate Manager provides a user-friendly web interface that allows users to easily manage and deploy SSL certificates. Let's Encrypt, on the other hand, requires command-line tools and configuration files for certificate management, which may be less intuitive for some users.

In summary, AWS Certificate Manager and Let's Encrypt differ in their pricing model, integration with AWS services, renewal process, certificate validity, certificate authority, and management interface. Organizations should carefully consider these differences when choosing a certificate management solution.

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Detailed Comparison

Let's Encrypt
Let's Encrypt
AWS Certificate Manager
AWS Certificate Manager

It is a free, automated, and open certificate authority brought to you by the non-profit Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).

It removes the time-consuming manual process of purchasing, uploading, and renewing SSL/TLS certificates. With this service, you can quickly request a certificate, deploy it on AWS resources.

-
Free public certificates for ACM-integrated services; Managed certificate renewal; Get certificates easily
Statistics
Stacks
1.6K
Stacks
102
Followers
974
Followers
52
Votes
98
Votes
0
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 48
    Open Source SSL
  • 32
    Simple setup
  • 9
    Microservices
  • 9
    Free
  • 0
    Easy ssl certificates
No community feedback yet
Integrations
MongoDB
MongoDB
Shopify
Shopify
axios
axios
No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Let's Encrypt, AWS Certificate Manager?

Sqreen

Sqreen

Sqreen is a security platform that helps engineering team protect their web applications, API and micro-services in real-time. The solution installs with a simple application library and doesn't require engineering resources to operate. Security anomalies triggered are reported with technical context to help engineers fix the code. Ops team can assess the impact of attacks and monitor suspicious user accounts involved.

Instant 2FA

Instant 2FA

Add a powerful, simple and flexible 2FA verification view to your login flow, without making any DB changes and just 3 API calls.

ORY Hydra

ORY Hydra

It is a self-managed server that secures access to your applications and APIs with OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect. It is OpenID Connect Certified and optimized for latency, high throughput, and low resource consumption.

Virgil Security

Virgil Security

Virgil consists of an open-source encryption library, which implements CMS and ECIES(including RSA schema), a Key Management API, and a cloud-based Key Management Service.

Clef

Clef

Clef is secure two-factor — built for consumers. Easy to use, integrate, and pay for.

ExpeditedSSL

ExpeditedSSL

Stop pouring through MAN pages and outdated blog posts that don't take into account new requirements. With our add-on, you can go from install to confirmed installation in as little as twenty minutes: using nothing but your browser.

Wazuh

Wazuh

It is a free, open source and enterprise-ready security monitoring solution for threat detection, integrity monitoring, incident response and compliance.

Detectify

Detectify

Detectify is a web security service that simulates automated hacker attacks on your website, detecting critical security issues before real hackers do. We provide you with descriptive reports of the results so that you can continue to build safe products

SSLMate

SSLMate

SSLMate is the easiest way for developers and sysadmins to buy SSL certificates.

Authy

Authy

We make the best rated Two-Factor Authentication smartphone app for consumers, a Rest API for developers and a strong authentication platform for the enterprise.

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