Compare SSL Certificates
You have likely reached this site looking for answers about SSL and related technologies or trying to understand the differences between SSL certificates and certificate authorities. There are many options and terms to be aware of when comparing certificates, which is why we are here to help. Whether you are researching EV (Extended Validation), OV (Organizational Validation), or DV (Domain Validation), we can help you understand the tradeoffs and determine which type of certificate best fits your environment. If you have any questions not answered here, send us an email at info@misterpki.com and we will guide you further.
Comparing SSL certificates does not have to be as complex as it seems. If you are trying to understand which certificate type is right for your website, server, or application, start with the categories above. Each certificate type serves a different purpose, and the best choice depends on your validation needs, deployment environment, and operational requirements.
If you are asking yourself how to choose an SSL certificate, the best place to start is by understanding the difference between DV, OV, and EV certificates and how certificate authorities compare in terms of validation process, lifecycle management, and support.
Great SSL Tools – Certificate, CSR, and CRL Decoder
SSL and TLS certificate tools are provided for the online convenience of parsing PEM encoded SSL certificates, certificate signing requests, certificate revocation lists, and more. See all of our SSL tools here.
Decode your X.509 certificate online, in your browser, to make it simple to view and parse your SSL certificate.
Decode your PEM encoded certificate signing request online to parse details included in your CSR.
Decode a PEM encoded certificate revocation list to discover if your SSL certificate has been revoked by your CA.
Why do I need an SSL Certificate?
SSL is used to encrypt traffic to and from your website. This is critical for the privacy and transmission of sensitive data including, but not limited to, anything that you or your users deem private or sensitive. The sensitive data may be a credit card number or it may just be the user’s name. Regardless, an SSL certificate issued by a publicly trusted Certification Authority (CA) improves the security of your website or web server when installed correctly. For more information on what SSL certificates are and what they do, we have a focused post with a much more detailed description here: What are SSL Certificates?.
How should I compare Certificate Authorities?
The Certificate Authority you choose depends on a number of factors. For example, validation type, warranty, support model, management experience, and lifecycle considerations all factor into how certificate authorities should be compared. The underlying security of a publicly trusted SSL certificate is generally the same within the same certificate category, since publicly trusted CAs are bound by the same baseline requirements defined by the CA/Browser Forum.
That means the better question is often not which CA is “most secure,” but which certificate type and certificate authority best fit your operational needs. This site is focused on helping you compare those differences clearly.