TLS/SSL Certificate Pricelist

Buying a website security certificate? There are 100s of options. SuttonNet's retail pricelist offers useful certificate options for our micro-S-M business clientele.

Read the notes on this page, About Certificates and our main website to understand what's what. We have demystified TLS/SSL certificates as best we can, but they simply aren't simple.

TLS/SSL Certificate Pricelist ex GST

Product Name	Level	Type	Trust Seal	1 Year Price	2 Year Price	Comments
Sectigo PositiveSSL	DV	Single	*	$90	n/a	*We don't recommend this seal. Budget certificate for sites that don't need a trust seal
Sectigo SSL	DV	Single	Dynamic	$110	$205
Thawte SSL123	DV	Flex	Dynamic	$100 + $85 per extra SAN	$195 + $165 per extra SAN
GeoTrust DV SSL	DV	Flex	Dynamic	$125 + $100 per extra SAN	$195 + $165 per extra SAN
Comodo Elite SSL	OV	Single	Dynamic	$190	$360
Sectigo SSL	OV	Single	Dynamic	$180	$340
GeoTrust TrueBusiness ID	OV	Single	Dynamic	$190	$350
Thawte OV SSL Web Server	OV	Single/Multi	Dynamic	$175 + $160 per extra SAN	$340 + $310 per extra SAN	Secures 1 for base price
GeoTrust TrueBusiness ID	OV	Multi	Dynamic	$500 + $80 per extra SAN	$900 + $150 per extra SAN	Secures up to 5 for base price
GeoTrust TrueBusiness ID	EV	Single	Dynamic	$340	$650
Digicert Basic EV	EV	Single	Dynamic	$440	$650
Thawte EV SSL Web Server	EV	Single/Multi	Dynamic	$250 + $200 per extra SAN	$480 + $340 per extra SAN	Secures 1 for base price
Digicert Basic EV	EV	Flex	Dynamic	$440 + $250 per extra SAN	$800 + $420 per extra SAN
GeoTrust TrueBusiness ID	EV	Multi	Dynamic	$715 + $95 per extra SAN	$1300 + $180 per extra SAN	Secures up to 5 for base price

About the pricelist

Prices are correct at time of publication, subject to any substantive change in our suppliers' wholesale prices. They cover:

• certificate purchase;
• help with the validation process, which can be extensive for EV & OV certificates;
• installation onto a website hosted on our main server;
• testing;
  
• for multi year products, re-installing an updated certificate each year.

The Single certificates below secure both the non www. & www. version of your domain. Watch out for Flex and Multi domain certificates on this.

We've shown mid range certificates from well known brands plus one budget option. They all offer excellent browser & mobile compatibility. They all use similar encryption technology. Some certificates have better trust seals, if you want that option.

We tested several of the above certificates on our own sites & found no difference in compatibility. Some certificates may be slightly faster and more reliable, eg they could work on more platforms than others. Hard data is hard to get until after purchase, when we can test the certificate.

A dynamic site seal (trust seal) has bigger impact than a static one. To make the most of a site seal, see our main website.

Other differences:

• Some certificate products include extras that help with PCI or similar compliance.
• Some give the option of free daily malware/vulnerability scans of your website. Discuss this with us if you are interested. The dynamic trust seal can show visitors that your site was scanned as virus-free only a day before. Given the security already on our server however, these are of uncertain value. They can slow down your website and slow other sites on our server. They could also conflict with software on your website, or duplicate anti malware products on our web server.
• Every certificate only lasts one year. This ensures the most up-to-date security. By buying a 2 year or longer subscription, you don't get one long-lived certificate. Rather, a new one-year certificate is installed on your website each year. Each new certificate will have up to date technology & the necessary validation checks done.

Extras

Additional fee applies to:

• add an associated trust seal to your website;
• add more domains later to a Multi/Flex certificate;
• add & monitor reports from any virus/malware scans and checks that come bundled with the security certificate. More on this below (Differences).

We have shown 1 and 2 year subscription prices. Contact us if you are interested in 3, 4, 5 or even 6 year plans, which offer bigger savings on per-year rates.

Will a free certificate do?

It might. The Let's Encrypt free certificate will not function on certain older systems after 30 September 2021 and it does not offer a trust seal.

Which of these describes your business?

• Your customers stick with old & familiar technology & don't update software much. Some will see insecure site warnings when they try to access your website. Don't scare them away.
  
• Your competitors' websites use Let's Encrypt. Your site could get ahead with a reliable SSL certificate, while their websites stumble post 30 September.
  
• Your customer base is IT-confident & inclined to buy the latest tech. These customers are less likely to be affected by Let's Encrypt compatibility limitations.
• Your site has high-level functions, such as a design-your-own app. Your customers need up-to-date software anyway. The change to Let's Encrypt won't affect you.
• You need webmail. Let's Encrypt currently encrypts your site AND your webmail for no cost. You'd need a flex or multi certificate to encrypt your website AND webmail. That doesn't come cheap. Compare benefits with costs.
  
• Your site uses ecommerce. Why skimp on customer experience? Buy an EV or OV certificate, add a good trust seal to your site and boost customer confidence.
• You have several domains that forward to one website. There is nothing to encrypt when forwarding; do these domains need a certificate? The way that browsers work, unfortunately you DO need to secure the forwarding domains. You can buy a certificate for the main website domain, & use free Let's Encrypt for less well-known forwarding domains.
  

Definitions

EV, OV & DV are explained in our web article about security certificates.

A trust seal or site seal is an image placed on your website, to show site users prominently that it's secured by your chosen, reputable brand of certificate. Important if you use ecommerce or collect and store sensitive data via your website.

Dynamic site seals can be clicked on to display important security details; static seals are... static. They're also called trust seals because they can increase visitor trust in your website. Eg a well placed dynamic site seal on your payment page can noticeably decrease abandoned shopping carts.

Certificates are either:

1. Single = secures 1 domain, both the www and non www version;
2. Flex = secures 1 domain or subdomain for the base price; or
   
3. Multi domain = secures (usually) 3 domains or subdomains for the base price.

With a Flex or Multi domain product, you can also add extra domains/subdomains (SANs) at time of purchase. (You can add an extra SAN to your certificate later. That incurs a re-installation fee.)

SAN means something akin to 'a domain or subdomain'. These are all SANs:

Guidelines

• I have only one website.

  +

  Look at Single certificates and Thawte SSL Web Server EV.

  1. Do you want a site seal on your website?
  2. Do you want DV, OV or EV?
  3. Select a certificate and contact us with your order.

• I have >1 website.

  +

  Look at Flex & Multi product options. For just 2 sites, also compare the cost of buying 2 Single certificates.

  1. Do you want a site seal on your website?
  2. Do you want DV, OV or EV?
  3. Do some arithmetic, select a certificate and send us your order.

• What if I make a mistake in my order?

  +

  Contact us if you realise you have made an error.

  We know all the websites on our servers & we'll probably notice anything strange in an order. We'll endeavour to ensure the right domains are secured on the right product.

  If your certificate turns out to be less than desired, let us know asap. Our supplier offers a 30 day money back guarantee for most certificates. We can quickly swap it for another product. You will need to cover any additional costs, such as our time.

• I need to cover more than one IP address. (Eg you have a website hosted with us and you want to secure your own mail server for mail.mydomain.com.au on another IP)

  +

  It is more secure to use a separate TLS/SSL certificate for each server.

• My business is changing its website name, business name or contact details.

  +

  Certificates can't be transferred from one domain to another. EV & OV certificates can't be transferred from one business entity to another.

  Choose a 1 year certificate, not 2 year. Then update your details for the next certificate order. If your changes will happen very soon: it might be best not to buy a commercial certificate until after that update.
  

• I can't see what I want.

  +

  Ask us. There are many more options.

How to put in your order

Email us with:

1. domain name(s) to be secured
2. product name, certificate level (DV, OV, EV), Single/Multi Domain/Flex
   
3. no of years
4. whether you want us to install a site seal on your website (option available for SuttonNet-built sites only).

For an OV or EV certificate, it takes c 1- 5 days for a Certificate Authority (CA) to verify your business/organisation. You supply identifying data (eg physical street address, website with contact details, ABN, DUNS (Dun & Bradstreet) number). The CA checks multiple public records and will ring you to help confirm that your organisation is genuine. All your business/organisation records must match perfectly, otherwise the OV/EV verification might fail or be delayed. Digicert offers fast-tracked OV/EV verification in 24 hours on some certificates.

Checking it out

If comparing with other SSL/TLS certificate prices online:

• prices are usually in US$ excluding installation;
• cheapest certificates may have weaknesses, eg they are not recognised by all platforms & especially not on mobile phones (you could be worse off in that respect than with the free Let's Encrypt certificate you are replacing);
• it might not be clear from a certificate's name whether it is DV, OV or EV;
• the supplier should offer support to navigate the OV/EV validation process; and
• you'll need to pay us to install any certificate that you buy from a third party supplier.

Long term

Like a domain name, a commercial SSL certificate needs to be re-purchased before its expiry date. You needn't to stay with the same brand, though for an OV/EV re-order this can speed up the validation process.

We don't guarantee the same prices (or even relative pricing) when you re-purchase your certificate. One supplier offers big specials that may not apply in future years. Products change, browser requirements change, and corporate brands change hands.

Last updated 15 September 2021