Latest AWS SSL Certificate Pricing (2025)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a robust solution for provisioning, managing, and deploying these vital certificates through AWS Certificate Manager (ACM).

This service handles both public and private SSL/TLS certificates within the AWS ecosystem, simplifying the often complex process of certificate lifecycle management.

For organizations requiring more granular control over their certificate infrastructure, AWS Private CA provides the capability to create and manage private certificate authorities for internal use.

Understanding the pricing models for both public certificates managed by ACM and private certificates issued through AWS Private CA is crucial for effective cost management and security within your AWS environment.

Public vs. Private SSL/TLS Certificates in the AWS Ecosystem

Within AWS, it is essential to distinguish between public and private SSL/TLS certificates.

Public SSL/TLS certificates are primarily used to secure publicly accessible websites and applications.

These certificates are issued by Certificate Authorities (CAs) that are trusted by default by major web browsers and operating systems, ensuring a seamless and secure experience for users accessing your services over the internet.

On the other hand, private SSL/TLS certificates are designed to secure internal resources, such as applications, services, and devices operating within an organization’s private network.

While they serve the same fundamental purpose of encryption and authentication, private certificates are not automatically trusted by public browsers.

Instead, administrators must explicitly configure applications and systems within the private network to recognize and trust the issuing private CA.

AWS Certificate Manager is the central service for managing both these types of certificates, albeit with distinct cost implications depending on the type.

The difference in the trust model, where public certificates benefit from globally recognized trust while private certificates require internal configuration, directly influences the pricing structure associated with each.

AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) Pricing for Public Certificates

A significant advantage for users leveraging AWS for their public-facing applications is that public SSL/TLS certificates provisioned through AWS Certificate Manager are offered at no cost when used with integrated AWS services.

This includes popular services like Elastic Load Balancer (ELB), Amazon CloudFront (the content delivery network), and API Gateway .

Users only incur charges for the underlying AWS resources consumed by their applications, such as EC2 instances or the load balancer itself.

While this “free” offering is compelling, it’s important to note certain limitations associated with public certificates issued by ACM. Currently, ACM only provides Domain Validation (DV) certificates, which verify control over the domain name.

Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV) certificates, which involve more rigorous verification of the organization’s identity, are not available through ACM’s public certificate offering.

Furthermore, these ACM-issued public certificates cannot be exported for use outside of the integrated AWS services , and they are not intended for email encryption purposes.

One of the key benefits of using ACM for public certificates is the automatic renewal process. ACM handles the renewal of these certificates at no additional charge, provided they remain in use and the domain validation remains valid.

It’s also worth noting that AWS imposes certain quotas and limits on the use of ACM, such as the default number of certificates allowed per account and per year, as well as the maximum number of domain names that can be included in a single certificate.

While the certificates themselves are free, managing a large number of them might introduce administrative complexities, and in cases of very high-volume usage, contacting AWS support to request limit increases might be necessary.

The “free” aspect of ACM public certificates presents a significant cost advantage for organizations heavily utilizing AWS services.

However, the inherent limitations mean that for specific requirements like OV/EV certificates or the need for certificate portability, alternative solutions like AWS Private CA or third-party certificates might be necessary.

Understanding the Pricing Structure of AWS Private Certificate Authority (PCA)

For organizations needing to manage their own private certificate infrastructure within AWS, AWS Private CA offers two distinct operating modes, each with its own pricing model.

The General-Purpose Mode allows for the issuance of certificates with any validity period and is priced at $400 per private CA per month.

In contrast, the Short-Lived Certificate Mode is designed for issuing certificates with a maximum validity of seven days and costs $50 per private CA per month.

These monthly fees for operating a private CA are charged on a per-CA basis and are prorated for any partial months of usage.

AWS also provides a 30-day free trial for the first private CA created in an account within each Region, allowing users to explore the service without initial operational charges.

However, any certificates issued during this trial period will still incur the standard issuance fees.

The cost of certificates issued from a private CA also varies depending on the operating mode.

For certificates issued from a General-Purpose Mode private CA, a tiered pricing structure is in place based on the total number of certificates issued within a calendar month in each Region :

Number of certificates issued in the month / per Region	Price (per certificate)
1 – 1,000 certificates	$0.75
1,001 – 10,000 certificates	$0.35
10,001+ certificates	$0.001

For certificates issued from a Short-Lived Certificate Mode private CA, the pricing is a flat rate of $0.058 per certificate, regardless of the issuance volume.

In addition to the CA operation and certificate issuance fees, AWS Private CA also charges for the use of the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP).

The cost for OCSP is $0.06 per certificate per month if the private CA generated an OCSP response for that certificate.

If there were no queries for a particular certificate during a month, no OCSP fee is applied. Furthermore, there is a charge of $0.20 per 100,000 OCSP queries, billed on a per-CA basis.

The significant difference in the monthly operational cost between the General-Purpose and Short-Lived modes underscores the importance of selecting the appropriate mode based on the required certificate validity periods.

While the Short-Lived mode offers a lower monthly fee, organizations needing certificates with longer validity will need to opt for the General-Purpose mode.

The tiered pricing for General-Purpose certificates suggests that for organizations with a high volume of internal certificate needs, the per-certificate cost can become quite competitive.

The inclusion of OCSP pricing as a separate component highlights the need for users to consider the frequency of certificate revocation checks when estimating their overall costs.

Regional Pricing Considerations for AWS Private CA

It’s important to recognize that AWS Private CA is a regional resource.

While the primary pricing structure is in USD, users operating in different AWS regions should be aware that local pricing might vary.

For example, in the AWS China (Ningxia) Region, operated by NWCD, the pricing for General-Purpose mode is 2,760 CNY per private CA per month, and the Short-Lived mode costs 345 CNY per private CA per month.

Similarly, the tiered pricing for certificate issuance in the General-Purpose mode and the flat rate for the Short-Lived mode are also specified in CNY.

This demonstrates that while the fundamental pricing model remains consistent, the actual cost in local currency can differ across AWS regions.

Therefore, I’d encourage you to consult the AWS Private CA pricing page specific to their AWS region for the most accurate cost information.

Costs Associated with Certificate Renewal and Revocation in AWS

The costs associated with certificate renewal and revocation differ between public certificates managed by ACM and private certificates issued by AWS Private CA.

For public certificates provisioned through ACM, the renewal process is automatic and free of charge, provided the certificate remains in use with an integrated AWS service and the domain validation is still valid.

This automated and free renewal is a significant operational advantage of using ACM for public-facing websites and applications.

In contrast, for private certificates issued through AWS Private CA, the concept of renewal is slightly different.

When a private certificate needs to be extended, it is essentially treated as a new certificate issuance, and therefore, the standard certificate issuance fees based on the chosen operating mode and volume apply.

There are no separate or additional fees specifically designated as “renewal fees” for private certificates.

Regarding certificate revocation, there are no direct charges associated with revoking either public certificates in ACM or private certificates in PCA itself.

However, for private certificates, the OCSP costs might become relevant if there are frequent checks on the revocation status of certificates.

It is also important to note that even if a Private CA is disabled (but not deleted), the monthly operation fee will still be incurred. This highlights the importance of properly managing the lifecycle of Private CAs and deleting those that are no longer needed to avoid unnecessary costs.

A Brief Comparison of AWS SSL Certificate Pricing with Other Providers

When considering SSL certificate pricing, users often compare AWS’s offerings with those of external Certificate Authorities such as GoDaddy, Comodo (now Sectigo), and others.

While AWS provides free public Domain Validated (DV) certificates through ACM for use within its ecosystem, other providers offer a wider range of certificate types, including Organization Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV) certificates, at varying price points.

For instance, basic DV SSL certificates from providers like Comodo can start at very low annual costs.

OV and EV certificates, which offer higher levels of trust and assurance, typically come with higher price tags, often ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars per year depending on the provider and the validation level.

The cost of AWS Private CA, with its monthly fees of $400 or $50, might initially seem high compared to basic SSL certificates from other providers.

However, Private CA offers a fully managed Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) within the AWS cloud, which can be significantly more cost-effective and less complex than setting up and maintaining an in-house PKI solution.

While some external providers might offer cheaper basic SSL certificates, these might not have the same level of seamless integration with AWS services that ACM provides.

The choice between using AWS certificates and those from third-party providers ultimately depends on a variety of factors beyond just the initial price, including the specific validation requirements (DV, OV, EV), the need to export and use certificates outside of AWS, and the desired level of integration with the AWS environment.

Key Factors Influencing Your Overall AWS SSL Certificate Costs

Several factors will influence the total cost of SSL certificates within your AWS environment.

The primary cost driver for internal certificates will be the use of AWS Private CA, including the number of private CAs you operate and the chosen operating mode (General-Purpose or Short-Lived).

The volume of private certificates issued per month per Region from these private CAs will also directly impact the cost, especially for General-Purpose mode CAs with their tiered pricing.

If you utilize the OCSP feature for your private certificates, the frequency of OCSP response generation and the number of OCSP queries will contribute to the overall expenses.

For public-facing applications using the free public certificates from ACM, the costs will primarily be associated with the underlying AWS resources that the certificates are securing.

Finally, if you are using AWS Private CA, it’s important to be aware of potential regional differences in pricing, as demonstrated by the example of the AWS China Region.

Understanding these influencing factors is crucial for optimizing your AWS environment and certificate management strategy to effectively control costs.

For instance, carefully evaluating the required validity period for internal certificates and choosing the Short-Lived mode when appropriate can lead to significant savings. Similarly, consolidating the number of private CAs you operate can help reduce the monthly operational fees.

Strategizing Your AWS SSL Certificate Usage for Optimal Cost Efficiency

Choosing the right SSL/TLS certificate strategy within AWS requires a careful consideration of both security needs and cost implications.

Public-facing applications that are integrated with AWS services like ELB, CloudFront, and API Gateway can leverage the free public certificates offered by ACM, resulting in significant cost savings on certificate procurement and management.

For internal applications and resources requiring TLS/SSL encryption, AWS Private CA provides a managed PKI solution with a tiered pricing model based on the operating mode and the volume of certificates issued.

When considering Private CA, it’s essential to evaluate the required certificate validity periods to choose between the General-Purpose and Short-Lived modes, and to anticipate the potential costs associated with OCSP usage.

For specific requirements such as OV or EV certificates, or the need to export certificates for use outside the AWS ecosystem, organizations might need to consider using third-party Certificate Authorities and potentially importing those certificates into ACM.

However, remember that ACM does not manage the renewal of imported certificates.

Ultimately, a well-informed decision about the type of SSL/TLS certificate and the AWS service used to manage it is crucial for achieving a balance between robust security and cost efficiency within your AWS environment.