Digicert
Depends
Confidence: High
Buy if you run a large certificate fleet, need code/document signing, or must consolidate enterprise PKI under one vendor.
New check
Comparison
Digicert vs Let's Encrypt
Digicert lands on Depends, and Let's Encrypt lands on Worth it.
Let's Encrypt
Worth it
Confidence: High
Buy if you run any public website or API and can operate an ACME client . it's free and the de facto default.
| Compare | Digicert | Let's Encrypt |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Enterprises with large cert fleets | Public websites and APIs |
| Who it's not for | Small sites needing one HTTPS cert . Let's Encrypt is free | Enterprises needing EV/OV certificates for compliance or branding |
| Privacy | Active CA with several recent vendor-level incidents; core trusted roots remain distributed and trusted.¹ | Widely trusted nonprofit CA; isolated incidents disclosed and resolved openly, no evidence of CA-level compromise in sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | One comparison cites generally good support. | Community forums only; no paid support |
| Public sentiment | Enterprise reviewers and sysadmins acknowledge DigiCert's scale and support but increasingly complain about rising prices.⁷ | Sysadmins and developers on Reddit largely call Let's Encrypt good enough for production, praising cost and automation while flagging rate limits and renewal discipline.14 |
| Biggest gotcha | Prices reportedly rose up to 70%; budget for annual increases⁵ | Short-lived certs: if renewal automation breaks, your site goes dark without warning. |
Pick Digicert when
- Enterprises with large cert fleets
- Teams needing code or document signing
- Regulated industries needing managed PKI
- Orgs consolidating certificate lifecycle management
When Digicert is not a fit
- Small sites needing one HTTPS cert . Let's Encrypt is free
- Startups without dedicated security staff
- Budget-sensitive buyers . reported 70% hikes
- Hobbyists hunting cheap EV certificates
Pick Let's Encrypt when
- Public websites and APIs
- DevOps and automation-first teams
- Budget-constrained startups
- Self-hosters and homelab operators
When Let's Encrypt is not a fit
- Enterprises needing EV/OV certificates for compliance or branding
- Teams that require vendor support contracts or SLAs
- Non-technical users on managed hosting . your host already handles TLS
- Internal/private PKI use cases . run your own CA instead
Sources
- DigiCert Revokes Certificates After Support Portal Hacksecurityweek.comsecurity
- DigiCert Discloses Details of Two Massive DDoS Attackssecurityboulevard.comsecurity
- DigiCert breached via malicious screensaver filehelpnetsecurity.comsecurity
- Private Key of DigiCert CT Log Compromisedfeistyduck.comsecurity
review
- DigiCert 2026 Price Increase Noticehelp.racent.comofficial
review
- DigiCert in Gartner CLM categorygartner.comreview
- Symantec Sells Digital Certificate Business to DigiCertdarkreading.comnews
- Zscaler & DigiCert ONE case studydigicert.comofficial
- Thales and DigiCert case studylfdecentralizedtrust.orgofficial
- DigiCert pricing and purchase pagedigicert.comofficial
- Let's Encrypt Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
- Is Let's Encrypt good enough? . r/webdevreddit.comreview
- Rate Limits . Let's Encryptletsencrypt.orgofficial
- Getting Started . Let's Encryptletsencrypt.orgofficial