acme.sh vs Let's Encrypt
A detailed comparison to help you choose between acme.sh and Let's Encrypt.
acme.sh Free ACME client for automated SSL/TLS certificate management | Let's Encrypt Free SSL certificates for everyone | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.9 (71 reviews)✓ | 3.9 (254 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | free |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Best for | DevOps engineers and sysadmins managing Let's Encrypt certificates across multiple domains and DNS providers in resource-constrained or Unix-native environments. | Every developer and business that needs SSL — the baseline choice for free automated HTTPS |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen source | free tieropen source |
| Visit acme.sh → | Visit Let's Encrypt → | |
acme.sh
Pros
- + Deploy to 200+ DNS and hosting providers with minimal configuration
- + Renew certificates automatically without manual intervention
- + Run without root access or external dependencies
- + Support wildcard and multi-domain SAN certificates
- + Generate standalone certificates for non-web services
Cons
- - Shell-based implementation may be slower than compiled alternatives on high-volume deployments
- - Requires manual DNS API credential setup for DNS-01 validation
- - Limited GUI or web interface options for certificate management
Let's Encrypt
Pros
- + Completely free SSL for any domain
- + Automatic renewal via ACME protocol
- + Non-profit — trusted by browsers globally
Cons
- - 90-day certificate validity requires automation
- - No Extended Validation (EV) certs available
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