# ZeroSSL

12 Hacker News commenters recommended ZeroSSL and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free ACME certificate service with unlimited certs and wildcard support, often used as an alternative to Let's Encrypt. Critics question its free-tier limits, pricing jumps, and missing company and privacy information.

## Why people recommend it

- Free certificates via ACME (4 comments): "you get basically the same functionality as with LetsEncrypt for free, including wildcard certs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48465249)) "they also have a free ACME endpoint which is totally unlimited and does support wildcards" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056618)) "free 90-day certs via ACME, also has a web UI for cert management" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48594862))
- Wildcard certificates supported (2 comments): "you get basically the same functionality as with LetsEncrypt for free, including wildcard certs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48465249)) "they also have a free ACME endpoint which is totally unlimited and does support wildcards" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056618))
- Similar to Let's Encrypt (2 comments): "acme.sh has been using it as the default for the last few years. As I understand it, it basically offers the same as Let's Encrypt." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46118682)) "you get basically the same functionality as with LetsEncrypt for free, including wildcard certs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48465249))
- Default in Caddy and acme.sh (2 comments): "Zerossl is integrated with Caddy by default and there’s no indication from Caddy that you would only be able to renew the cert twice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46120310)) "acme.sh has been using it as the default for the last few years. As I understand it, it basically offers the same as Let's Encrypt." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46118682))

## What people warn about

- Free tier limited to three certs (2 comments): "ZeroSSL advertised for free 3 certificates with no multiple names or wild cards. The next plan was $180 yearly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48071497)) "suggests a 3-cert limit on the free tier, as well as a huge influx of expected spam" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46118766))
- Pricing jumps and upsells (3 comments): "ZeroSSL advertised for free 3 certificates with no multiple names or wild cards. The next plan was $180 yearly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48071497)) "something scummy about upsells there a few years back" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46215550)) "That's a pretty steep increase." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48456979))
- Unclear company info and privacy policy (2 comments): "without a proper company info page and privacy policy I wouldn't consider it anywhere near a "good alternative"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48456842)) "require you to have an account (which means you're at their mercy)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46281404))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Let's Encrypt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/let-s-encrypt.md): 172 recommend
- [Sectigo certificate](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sectigo.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://zerossl.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "ZeroSSL", https://hackerapproved.com/p/zerossl/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).