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LetEncrypt is still free, if their system will work for you, and Symantec is in the process of setting up something that seems similar over at FreeSSL. Otherwise, you can get cheap certs from Comodo and GoDaddy (yeah, their rep isn't great either, but it's just a binary file when you get right down to it) - ideally via one of their resellers who will offer lower prices, and the prices go up from there. Another approach is to shop around for a suitable VPS or other hosting bundle that includes a certificate in the price, which can often work out quite cost effective. Finally, if you fit the criteria, there are some commercial vendors that offer free certificates to non-profits - e.g. GlobalSign's offer of a free certificate for OSS projects.

I just got a browser-accepted 1 year cert for $9.95. It was a deal through my server host (The Planet), it's $49 retail. This is still peanuts compared to the $349 my employer insists on paying for certs from Verisign.

Here's google's cache of the front page that we beautifully slashdotted. Also, on a related note, many companies offer free SSL certificates if you do a little business with them. Ever-popular GoDaddy recently joined the ranks of those companies. They started offering free SSL certs to open-source projects.

https://products.freessl.com/ssl/starterssl.do?ref =freessl

I'm using them for a personal domain. The "browser compatability" issue relates to which browsers are supported. The percentage is simply an estimate of the number of people using the supported browser.

Put into perspective, the FreeSSL (30-day trial) and StarterSSL ($39/year) are supported by:

1. Internet Explorer 5.01+
2. Netscape 7
3. Mozilla 1.0+

QuickSSL (starting at $179) adds the following browsers:

1. AOL 5+
2. Opera 7+
3. Safari (all versions)

Finally, a BusinessID certificate (starts at $299) adds PocketPC 2003.

I considered the browsers that I wanted to support, and chose StarterSSL.

You should check out FreeSSL.com instead. It's cheaper than InstantSSL, and works on even more browsers. No, it's not "free" (despite the name), but it is cheap.

I would recommend www.freessl.com's ChainedSSL offering. It looks like it's now $50 for that product, whereas it used to be $35. However, they're now offering their "FreeSSL" product for $35 (it used to cost more). Both are functionally equivalent: one is directly signed by a root CA, whereas one is signed by a CA which is signed by a root CA (all web browsers I've seen deal with this just fine).

The CA might not be recognized in some older less-common browsers (such as older builds of Mozilla), but it's recognized by the major browsers (MSIE, branded Netscape, Opera, etc.). Not a big deal since people running more esoteric browsers are probably technical types who won't be terrified at the prospect of importing a certificate.

The verification process is phone-based, like other vendors. The certificates come in a number of formats. Don't know anything about their tech support, but I can't imagine any situation in which tech support would be needed since you're buying some bytes, a one-shot deal. They also offer a wildcard certificate (*.your.domain.com) for $200.

If you're not a hosting ISP, I would also recommend limiting the number of public sites that run SSL and setting up your own CA for internal sites where you can more easily distribute your own certificates. The whole SSL signing thing is just a big racket, since the signing procedures don't really verify identity. I think all they do for verification is check that your area code and your ZIP code match up (perhaps using some fancy telecom trick instead of caller ID).

FreeSSL offers free certificates. They confirm by email and an automated phone call. You'll be certified in 10 minutes or less. I found them after reading this article and looking around a bit. Absolutely no problem getting it working. Wish I had know about this sooner.

Yes, they also have non-free certs, but for the life of me I can't figure out the difference. My only question is how they make any money offering free certs and making automated long distance confirmation calls.

Gotta say, it's pretty cool when you press # on your telephone and the web page updates to show you've been confirmed.

Now if only I could figure out a way to get SSL working better with name-based virtual hosting.

Comodo issues relatively inexpensive certs that are accepted by most consumer, and even most non-consumer browsers.

FreeSSL also offers inexpensive (though it doesn't quite seem to be free) certs.

They seem to work with Lynx, Mozilla-based browsers, IE... Well. Look at the compatibility list. =]

If you want to be compatible with EVERYONE, you'll have to spend a bit more, but these are good for the majority of e-commerce sites, and intranets/basic sites.

-Sara

FreeSSL offers free SSL certificates. Sure, they don't work in old browsers, but they're free, and great for people strapped for cash (like me).

Try out FreeSSL.com - they used to give fully signed SSL certificates away that lasted for three months.. I read that they were planning to offer free 'year' certificates.

They also currently offer a ChainedSSL certificate at a cost of $25 per year...

And of course there's always Free SSL for free one-year signed server certs. (That's http://www.freessl.com for all you non-clickers.)

"You are not obligated to purchase anything to obtain a FreeSSL Web server certificate which is good for one year. And, if you wish to renew your FreeSSL Web server certificate next year, a minimal fee will be charged."
(emphasis added)

Just a thought.