How much does an automated SSL certificate cost?
At DATASSL, automated SSL products start at $25.00 per year (excl. VAT). The best-priced option for a single domain is RapidSSL Plan + Automate ($25.00). Wildcard options start at $164.98 (RapidSSL Wildcard Plan + Automate). The price covers all renewals made during the subscription.
What is ACME?
ACME (Automatic Certificate Management Environment) is an open protocol (RFC 8555) that lets SSL certificates be obtained and renewed automatically between a server and a certificate authority. Clients such as Certbot, acme.sh, win-acme and Caddy use this protocol.
What is the difference between Sectigo ACME and Plan + Automate?
With Sectigo ACME, your own ACME client on your server obtains and renews the certificate; you are expected to set up the client. With RapidSSL and GeoTrust Plan + Automate, the AutoInstall agent is installed on your Windows or Linux server with two commands and installs and renews the certificate itself.
Is there a wildcard automated SSL?
Yes. A wildcard automated SSL certificate covers all first-level subdomains of a domain (*.example.com); the best-priced option is RapidSSL Wildcard Plan + Automate at $164.98 per year (excl. VAT). With Sectigo ACME you can also choose wildcard coverage on the product page; wildcard certificates are validated with a DNS record.
Why are certificate lifetimes getting shorter, and how does it affect me?
Under the decision adopted by the CA/Browser Forum, the maximum lifetime of SSL certificates dropped to 200 days on 15 March 2026; it will drop to 100 days on 15 March 2027 and to 47 days on 15 March 2029. With a classic certificate, this means renewing manually several times a year. With automated SSL, renewal happens on its own, so the schedule doesn't affect you.
Why paid automated SSL instead of Let's Encrypt?
Let's Encrypt also uses ACME. With commercial automated SSL, however, the certificate comes from a commercial certificate authority such as Sectigo, RapidSSL or GeoTrust; certificate warranty, vendor support and subscription management are offered in one panel. You can keep using your existing ACME client by changing only the server URL and EAB keys.
Do I need to enter a domain name when ordering?
No. You enter the domain after payment, on the Automated SSL page of your customer panel, when starting the subscription. With Sectigo ACME, the www address is added free to a single-domain subscription and the main domain is added free to a wildcard subscription.
What happens when the subscription ends?
The subscription is for one year. If you don't renew it, no new certificate can be obtained after the term ends; the last certificate on your server keeps working until it expires. You can track your subscription from your panel.
DV SSL
DV SSL
DV SSL