Certificate Choice
Paid SSL vs Free SSL: What Extra Money Actually Buys You
A free certificate encrypts a connection exactly as well as a paid one — the differences that justify paying show up in validation depth, warranty coverage and who you call when something goes wrong.
Free
Auto-renewing SSL included on every Hosting Cheap plan
Auto-renewing
Certificate renewal handled without manual reissuing
DV
Domain validation covered by free certificates
OV/EV
Higher validation levels available with paid certificates
In short
Free SSL vs paid SSL isn't a question of encryption strength — both encrypt a connection identically once installed. The real differences are validation level, warranty and support: free auto-renewing certificates typically offer domain validation (DV) only, confirming you control the domain, while paid certificates can add organization validation (OV) or extended validation (EV), a financial warranty against mis-issuance, and direct vendor support. Hosting Cheap includes free auto-renewing SSL on every plan.
For most sites, free SSL is genuinely enough; paid SSL earns its cost specifically for businesses that need to display verified organization identity or want a warranty backing the certificate.
Every SSL certificate, free or paid, does the same core job: it encrypts the connection between a visitor's browser and your server, so data passing between them can't be read or altered in transit. That encryption strength doesn't scale with price — a free domain-validated certificate and an expensive extended-validation one both use the same modern encryption standards once installed, and browsers show the same padlock either way.
What actually changes with price is everything around that encryption: how thoroughly the certificate authority verified who requested it, whether there's a financial warranty backing the certificate if something goes wrong, and what kind of support exists if you need help with installation or a validation issue. Those are the three things worth actually comparing, rather than treating 'paid' as automatically 'more secure.'
Encryption Strength: Identical Either Way
The actual cryptography behind an SSL/TLS certificate — the encryption algorithm, key length, and protocol version — is determined by the certificate authority's issuance standards and your server's configuration, not by whether you paid for the certificate. A free certificate issued today uses the same modern encryption as a paid one issued by the same or a different authority.
This is the most commonly misunderstood part of the comparison: paying more for a certificate does not buy stronger encryption. If your only goal is turning HTTP into HTTPS and getting the padlock browsers expect, a free auto-renewing certificate accomplishes that completely, with no encryption gap versus a paid alternative.
Validation Level: Domain, Organization and Extended
Free certificates typically provide domain validation (DV), which confirms only that whoever requested the certificate controls the domain it's issued for — a fast, automated check with no verification of the business or person behind the site. That's sufficient for the encryption goal itself, and it's what most sites, blogs and small stores actually need.
Paid certificates can step up to organization validation (OV), which verifies the requesting organization actually exists and is legally registered, or extended validation (EV), the most thorough level, requiring documented proof of legal identity, physical address and operational status. Higher validation doesn't change encryption, but it does let a visitor, or in some contexts security software, confirm more about who's actually behind the site.
Warranty and Liability: What Happens If a Certificate Fails
Paid SSL certificates commonly come with a warranty — a financial guarantee from the certificate authority, paid out if the certificate itself is mis-issued and that failure causes measurable financial loss. It's a narrow protection, specific to certificate authority error, not a general insurance policy against a data breach.
Free certificates generally don't carry this warranty, since the automated, no-cost issuance model isn't built around underwriting that kind of guarantee. For most sites this gap never matters in practice, but businesses handling higher transaction volumes sometimes value having that warranty in place regardless of how rarely it's actually invoked.
Support: Vendor-Backed Help vs Automated Renewal
Paid certificates usually come with direct support from the certificate vendor for validation issues, installation problems, or reissuing a certificate outside the normal renewal cycle — useful if your organization validation paperwork hits a snag or you need a certificate reissued urgently.
Free auto-renewing certificates are designed to need essentially no ongoing attention at all — renewal happens automatically before expiry, without you tracking a date or manually reissuing anything. Hosting Cheap backs that with 24/7 human support for the installation and configuration side, so 'free' doesn't mean 'unsupported' — it means the certificate itself doesn't carry vendor-specific validation support beyond DV.
Free Auto-Renewing SSL Included on Every Plan
Every Hosting Cheap plan includes a free, auto-renewing SSL certificate by default, so HTTPS and the encryption it provides aren't something you need to purchase or manually renew separately.
If your business specifically needs organization or extended validation for verified identity display, paid SSL certificates can be added — the free certificate covers encryption completely either way, with 24/7 human support for installation on both.
- Free auto-renewing SSL included by default on every plan
- No manual renewal tracking — certificates reissue automatically before expiry
- Paid OV/EV certificates available for businesses needing verified identity display
- 24/7 human support for installation and configuration either way
Why Hosting Cheap
What you get
Free SSL included
Every plan includes a certificate with no separate purchase required.
Auto-renewal handled for you
Certificates reissue automatically before expiry, with no manual tracking.
Same encryption as paid certificates
Free certificates use the same modern encryption standards, with no gap.
Paid OV/EV available
Higher validation levels for businesses that specifically need verified identity.
24/7 human support
Real help installing and configuring SSL, free or paid, whenever you need it.
30-day money-back guarantee
Try hosting with SSL included and get a refund within 30 days if it isn't right.
How It Works
Get set up in a few steps
Check your current certificate type
Confirm whether your site is on DV, OV or EV, and who issued it.
Decide if higher validation is needed
Weigh whether your business needs verified organization identity displayed.
Install the right certificate
Use the free auto-renewing certificate included by default, or add a paid one if needed.
Included
Everything you need, on every plan
- Confirm your current certificate's validation level: DV, OV or EV
- Check whether your certificate renews automatically or needs manual reissuing
- Decide if your business needs verified organization identity for customer trust
- Ask whether a certificate warranty is something your business actually values
- Confirm encryption strength is current regardless of whether the certificate is free or paid
- Review support options for installation issues before assuming you need paid support
- Weigh the cost of OV/EV validation against your actual customer-trust requirements
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is free SSL less secure than paid SSL?
No — the encryption itself is identical regardless of price. Paid certificates add validation depth, a mis-issuance warranty and vendor support, none of which make the underlying encryption stronger.
What does a paid SSL certificate actually add?
Typically organization or extended validation confirming the business behind the domain, a financial warranty against certificate mis-issuance, and direct support from the certificate vendor — not stronger encryption.
Do I need EV SSL for an online store?
Not for encryption or basic customer trust — a free DV certificate secures transactions identically. EV is worth considering only if your business specifically wants to display verified legal identity to visitors.
Does free SSL renew automatically?
Yes, auto-renewing free SSL reissues before expiry without manual tracking, so there's no renewal date to remember or certificate to manually reinstall.
Will my SSL certificate work the same on any Hosting Cheap plan?
Yes, free auto-renewing SSL is included by default on every plan, with the same encryption regardless of plan tier, and 24/7 human support if you need help installing a paid certificate instead.
When is paying for SSL actually worth it?
When your business specifically needs organization or extended validation displayed for customer trust, or wants a certificate authority's financial warranty in place — otherwise, free auto-renewing SSL covers the encryption goal completely.
Get Free Auto-Renewing SSL on Every Plan
Free SSL included by default, paid OV/EV available if you need it — hosting from $2.09/mo.
Get Started