Wildcard SSL Certificates are big money-savers. A Wildcard SSL Certificate allows you to secure an unlimited number of first-level sub-domains on a single domain name. That means you can get an SSL Certificate with the common name as *.mydomain.com and you can use it on all of the following without receiving any errors:
- www.mydomain.com
- mail.mydomain.com
- intranet.mydomain.com
- secure.mydomain.com
Compare the best wildcard certificates below or compare SSL with our SSL Wizard to find the best certificate to meet your needs.
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Certificate Provider | Support Options | Refund Policy | Reviews | Price For 1 Year | More Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Top Ranked Provider  | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | 4.9 1484 reviews | $1859.00 | Get Pricing |
 | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | 3.7 130 reviews | $429.00 | Get Pricing |
 | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | 3.1 81 reviews | $429.00 | Get Pricing |
Detailed SSL Certificate Comparison
| Provider Info | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
| Provider | | | | |
| Provider Rating | 4.9 From 1484 reviews | 4.9 From 1484 reviews | 3.7 From 130 reviews | 3.1 From 81 reviews |
| Year Founded | 2003 | 2003 | 2001 | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Lehi, Utah, USA | Lehi, Utah, USA | Lehi, Utah, USA | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Support Options | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail | 24/7 Customer Support by Chat, Phone, and E-mail |
| Refund Policy | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | Full refund within 30 days of issuance |
| Certificate Info | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Name | Secure Site Wildcard SSL | Wildcard SSL | True BusinessID Wildcard | Wildcard Certificate |
| Price For 1 Year | $1859.00 | $737.00 | $429.00 | $429.00 |
| Issuance Speed | Less than 2 days | Within 1 hour | 1-2 days | 2-4 Business days |
| Domains Secured | Unlimited sub domains on a single Domain Name | Unlimited sub domains on a single Domain Name + the base domain | Unlimited sub domains on a single Domain Name | Unlimited sub domains on a single Domain Name |
| Warranty | $1,750,000 | $1,000,000 | $10,000 | $0 |
| Validation Required | Organization and Domain Validation | Organization and Domain Validation | Organization and Domain Validation | Organization and Domain Validation |
| Notification Level in Browsers | Domain Name and Organization Name Shown On Certificate | Domain Name and Organization Name Shown On Certificate | Domain Name and Organization Name Shown On Certificate | Domain Name and Organization Name Shown On Certificate |
| Server License | Unlimited Servers | Unlimited Servers | Unlimited Servers | Single Server - Additional server licenses may be purchased |
| Other Features |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
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Most web browsers (including Internet Explorer) Wildcard SSL Certificates won't work for multiple levels. This means that an SSL Wildcard Certificate for *.mydomain.com won't work on www.mail.mydomain.com or site1.sitea.mydomain.com or my.ridiculously.long.subdomain.mydomain.com. The web browser will give a name mismatch error. If you need to secure multiple levels of subdomains or completely different domain names in one certificate, check out Multi-Domain (SAN) SSL Certificates.
What other benefits and drawbacks are there to SSL Wildcard Certificates?
Advantages of Wildcard SSL Certificates
- Secures Unlimited Sub-Domains. Where you would normally have to buy a single SSL certificate for each subdomain, you can just buy and use one certificate.
- Cheaper. Though they cost more than a single certificate, they can easily pay for themselves if you use them on more than a few subdomains. Some certificate providers even provide an unlimited server license so you only buy one wildcard certificate for as many web servers as necessary.
- Easier to manage. Deploying 30 different individual SSL certificates can be a daunting task, even with a PKI management interface. And then you have to do it all over again, when it comes time to renew them. A wildcard certificate makes quick work of many situations.
Disadvantages of SSL Wildcard Certificates
- Security. If you only use one certificate and private key on multiple servers, it only takes one server to be compromised and all of the others will be vulnerable as well. In the unlikely event that this will occur, you would have to reissue and replace all of the certificates on all of the servers as soon as possible. Some providers solve this by allowing you to generate new SSL Wildcard certificates using unique private keys.
- Mobile Device Compatibility. Some popular mobile device operating systems, including Windows Mobile 5, don't recognize the wildcard character (*) and therefore can't use a wildcard certificate. If you need to support these devices you will need to use a single certificate, a UC certificate, or a wildcard certificate with Subject Alternative Names.
Additional SSL Comparison Resources
- Wildcard SSL Certificate Pros and Cons
- The Easiest Way To Secure Multi-level Subdomains
- The Risks In Wildcard Certificates
