GoDaddy Wildcard SSL VS. AlphaSSL/ RapidSSL / Comodo wildcard SSL: The Differences Explained
Buying an SSL certificate can be a quandary situation for most of you especially when you have bright options of reputed certificate authorities. Either it may be a single domain, multi domain, or a wildcard SSL, it requires some research before buying an SSL certificate for your website. To help you with your aim, we have brought to you the most sought GoDaddy wildcard with other branded wildcard SSL certificates comparison.
About GoDaddy
GoDaddy has empowered many enterprises with providing robust security in this digital age. More than 4,013,188 sites have been secured with GoDaddy digital certificate and the counting is still on. Ranging from small business to large business, GoDaddy has reached every corner to step up the security level of a website or blog. GoDaddy deals with all three types of validation processes: Domain Validation, Organization Validation, and Extended Validation.
Few Statistics to Consider: If you see the below graph, you can check that the percentage of GoDaddy SSL certificate usage is 5.1% of the top 1 Million websites. Whereas 7.68% of the top 100K sites and 9.9% of the top 10K sites are secured with GoDaddy digital SSL certificate.
W3techs statistics, GoDaddy SSL certificates have been used by 6.5% worldwide websites.
Besides, few names in the wildcard category are AlphaSSL Wildcard SSL, Comodo PositiveSSL Wildcard, and RapidSSL Wildcard certificate that can stand up against GoDaddy Wildcard SSL. Now, we will jump to few features on which base we would like to compare other brands with GoDaddy Wildcard SSL.
Cost
The significant difference between GoDaddy wildcard SSL and other brands is the cost, which seems around six-time higher. If we look at the price of GoDaddy, which starts at $349.99/yr. compare to AlphaSSL, Comodo, and RapidSSL wildcard. You can see the below comparison.
| Brands | Price/yr. |
|---|---|
| GoDaddy Wildcard SSL | $349.99 |
| AlphaSSL Wildcard SSL | $26.00 |
| Comodo Positive Wildcard SSL | $39.00 |
| RapidSSL Wildcard SSL | $81.20 |
From a cost point of view, AlphaSSL Wildcard SSL seems a worth option when the same level of encryption and features are offered at such a cheap price. So, if you are budget concerned then, GoDaddy wildcard is not for you. You should go with Alpha Wildcard or Comodo Positive Wildcard SSL certificate.
| Description | AlphaSSL | Comodo | RapidSSL | GoDaddy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Wildcard SSL | Wildcard SSL | Wildcard SSL | Wildcard SSL |
| Domains Secured | Primary domain+ Unlimited subdomains | Primary domain+ Unlimited subdomains | Primary domain+ Unlimited subdomains | Primary domain+ Unlimited subdomains |
| Encryption | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| CSR Encryption | 2048-bit | 2048-bit | 2048-bit | 2048-bit |
| Issuance | Few minutes | Few minutes | Few minutes | 24-72 hours |
| Security Indicators | HTTPS and Padlock | HTTPS and Padlock | HTTPS and Padlock | HTTPS and Padlock |
| Multidomain Wildcard | NO | YES | NO | NO |
| Browser compatibility | >99% for web & mobile | >99% for web & mobile | >99% for web & mobile | >99% for web & mobile |
| Server Licenses | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Site Seal | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Warranty | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Boost Google Ranking | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Price Per Year | $26.00 | $39.00 | $81.20 | $349.99 |
| Validation | Domain | Domain | Domain | Domain |
| OS Support (Desktop) | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| OS Support (Mobile) | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
Diversified Products
GoDaddy offers a very limited range of SSL products as its core business is hosting services. GoDaddy does not offer Code Signing and multidomain wildcard SSL certificates but is only limited to single and multi-domain SSL certificates. On the opposite, Comodo offers a multi domain wildcard SSL certificate at $122.40. that can be issued within few minutes.
Issuance Time
AlphaSSL RapidSSL and Comodo wildcard SSL certificates follow domain validation which takes few minutes in the issuance process. Once the domain validation process is completed, the certificate authority issues a certificate. On contrary, GoDaddy wildcard takes 24-72 hours in issuance and for OV wildcard SSL type, it depends upon the document submission and verification process.
Warranty
Warranty is for the mis-issuance of a certificate. GoDaddy and All three branded wildcard SSL certificates offer the same $10,000 warranty If any person suffers a loss due to the mis-issuance of this certificate, he would be entitled to a warranty amount after complying with prescribed terms and conditions.
Renewal Cost
Either you go with AlphaSSL, Comodo Positive SSL, or RapidSSL wildcard, you will get a renewal discount at SSL2BUY.com. We believe in customer retention, hence, offer the possible cheap price on renewal of wildcard SSL certificates. On the other side, wildcard from GoDaddy only offers annual discounts on the New purchase of a certificate. In the case of GoDaddy, the renewal price stands at $449.99/year, which is quite high compare to Alpha wildcard, RapidSSL wildcard, and other wildcard certificates.
Multi Year Subscription
SSL2BUY offers a multi-year subscription for up to 5 years to keep wildcard prices as lower as possible with unlimited reissuance. GoDaddy offers a maximum of 2 years of subscription. It is wise to have a maximum validity of SSL certificate that can save the cost of a certificate and frees you from multiple renewals.
Conclusion
To be honest, the ‘GoDaddy vs. other brands wildcard SSL’ discussion is a bit inequitable as AlphaSSL, Comodo and RapidSSL ‘s core nature and business is SSL Certificate, Whereas GoDaddy is mostly known for hosting. From the above discussion, many benefits exist to go with other branded wildcard SSL certificates like a discount on renewal, low price, multi-year subscription. Now, it is up to you to choose the best and cheap wildcard SSL for your website.
