What is Let's Encrypt? Free SSL explained

Let's Encrypt: free SSL for everyone

Let's Encrypt is a non-profit Certificate Authority (CA) that issues free SSL certificates. The project was founded in 2014 with the goal of encrypting the entire web. Today, Let's Encrypt secures more than 300 million websites worldwide.

How does Let's Encrypt work?

The ACME protocol (Automatic Certificate Management Environment) enables automatic certificate issuance:

1. Request: your server requests a certificate for your domain
2. Verification: Let's Encrypt checks if you control the domain
3. Issuance: the certificate is automatically generated
4. Installation: your server installs the certificate
5. Renewal: every 60-90 days this process repeats automatically

Advantages of Let's Encrypt

Completely free

No costs, no hidden limitations. Unlimited certificates for all your domains.

Automatic renewal

Certificates expire after 90 days, but renewal happens automatically. You don't need to do anything.

Widely supported

Almost all hosting providers support Let's Encrypt:

• Via cPanel/DirectAdmin integration
• Via Certbot on VPS/dedicated servers
• Via Cloudflare or other CDNs

Industry recognized

All browsers trust Let's Encrypt certificates. There's no difference in browser display compared to paid certificates.

Limitations

DV certificates only

Let's Encrypt doesn't offer OV or EV certificates. Your company name won't appear in the certificate.

Short validity period

90 days is short compared to 1-2 years for paid certificates. This is intentional to encourage automatic renewal.

No warranty

If a security problem occurs due to a certificate flaw, you won't receive financial compensation.

Activating Let's Encrypt

With shared hosting

Most providers offer one-click activation:

1. Log in to your control panel
2. Find "SSL" or "Let's Encrypt"
3. Activate for your domain
4. Wait a few minutes

On a VPS

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com

Certbot automatically configures your web server and schedules renewal.

Is Let's Encrypt secure enough?

Absolutely. The encryption is identical to paid certificates (256-bit). The only difference is the type of validation (DV vs OV/EV) and associated warranties. For most websites, Let's Encrypt is the ideal choice.