Let's Encrypt is a free Certificate Authority sponsored by the Internet Security Research Group.
Let's Encrypt provides automated certificates, but they only issue DV certificates.
Let's Encrypt Disadvantages
- All Let's Encrypt certificates are only valid for 3 months
You can set up your server to automatically renew the certificate before it expires so you don't have to deal with manually renewing, verifying and installing the certificate, but this process is not always easy to setup, and may be quite time-consuming - No OV or EV certificates are issued;
If you need OV or EV certificates, Let's Encrypt is not your choice. - No Wildcard certificates are issued.
If you need wildcard certificates, Let's Encrypt is not the answer - Not a big money saving
Regular "paid" DV Certificates, issued by a trusted Certificate Authority, are very cheap (few bucks a year); so, there's a very little money saving going on Let's Encrypt
Are you looking for a free, temporary SSL certificate?
If you need a temporary SSL certificate (i.e. for test purposes, or for an emergency because you need to set-up immediately a trusted service but your manager is unreacheable to authorize the payment, or for any other reason) you can get from us a Free RapidSSL Certificate, lasting one month.
At the end of the month (or before), you will be free to substitute it with a regular SSL certificate (also of another kind, or issued by a different CA), or simply discard it.
