Self-Hosted Alternatives to Paid SSL Services

Why Replace Paid SSL Services?

Paid SSL certificates are a relic. Since Let’s Encrypt launched in 2016, there is zero reason to pay for standard SSL/TLS certificates. Tools like Caddy, Traefik, and Nginx Proxy Manager automate the entire certificate lifecycle — provisioning, renewal, and OCSP stapling — for free.

The cost argument. A single-domain SSL certificate from a commercial CA costs $10-100/year. Wildcard certificates cost $50-300/year. Extended Validation (EV) certificates cost $100-500/year. For self-hosters running 10+ subdomains, this adds up to hundreds of dollars annually for something that should be free.

Let’s Encrypt is equally secure. A Let’s Encrypt certificate provides the same encryption strength as a $300 paid certificate. The padlock icon is identical. Google treats them identically for SEO. The only difference is that EV certificates show the organization name in certain browsers — a feature most browsers have deprecated.

Automation eliminates renewal risk. The biggest SSL risk is expired certificates. Paid certificates expire annually and require manual renewal. Let’s Encrypt certificates expire every 90 days but auto-renew, meaning they are actually more reliable — you will never have a surprise expiration at 2 AM.

Best Alternatives

Caddy — Best Overall (Zero-Config SSL)

Caddy is the gold standard for automated HTTPS. Every site you add to the Caddyfile gets a Let’s Encrypt certificate automatically. No configuration, no commands, no cron jobs. Caddy handles provisioning, renewal, OCSP stapling, and HTTP-to-HTTPS redirection without a single line of SSL-related config.

Caddy also supports:

• Wildcard certificates (via DNS challenge)
• On-demand TLS (provision certificates when first requested)
• ACME with any compatible CA (Let’s Encrypt, ZeroSSL, custom)
• Automatic OCSP stapling

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Caddy with Docker

Traefik — Best for Docker Environments

Traefik provisions Let’s Encrypt certificates per-service via Docker labels. When you deploy a new container with the right labels, Traefik creates a route and provisions a certificate automatically. Like Caddy, it handles renewal and OCSP stapling.

Traefik supports HTTP, TLS-ALPN, and DNS challenges, plus wildcard certificates. Certificate storage is configurable (file-based by default, but can use Consul, etcd, or other stores).

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Traefik with Docker

Nginx Proxy Manager — Best for GUI Management

Nginx Proxy Manager provides a web UI where enabling SSL is literally a checkbox. Click “Request a new SSL Certificate,” select “Force SSL,” and NPM handles the rest. It supports HTTP and DNS challenges, wildcard certificates, and automatic renewal.

For self-hosters who prefer GUIs, NPM makes SSL certificate management as simple as it gets.

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Nginx Proxy Manager

Certbot — Best for Existing Nginx/Apache Setups

Certbot is the original Let’s Encrypt client. If you already run Nginx or Apache directly (not in Docker), Certbot integrates with your existing setup to provision and auto-renew certificates. It is the most widely deployed ACME client.

Migration Guide

Migrating from Paid SSL to Caddy

1. Deploy Caddy on your server (guide)
2. Add your sites to the Caddyfile — HTTPS is automatic
3. Update DNS to point to your server
4. Remove the old paid SSL certificate from your server
5. Cancel your paid SSL subscription

No certificate import needed. Caddy provisions fresh Let’s Encrypt certificates within seconds of receiving the first request for each domain.

Migrating from Paid SSL to Nginx Proxy Manager

1. Deploy NPM (guide)
2. Create proxy hosts for your sites
3. Enable SSL on each host — NPM provisions certificates via Let’s Encrypt
4. Update DNS records
5. Cancel the old SSL subscription

Migrating from Paid SSL to Traefik

1. Deploy Traefik (guide)
2. Add Docker labels to your services for routing and SSL
3. Traefik auto-provisions certificates
4. Update DNS records
5. Cancel the old subscription

Cost Comparison

The only SSL feature you cannot get for free is Extended Validation (EV), which requires identity verification and is only needed for banks and financial institutions. Most browsers no longer display EV differently, making it largely obsolete.

What You Give Up

• Extended Validation (EV) certificates. Let’s Encrypt only issues Domain Validation (DV) certificates. If you need the organization name in the certificate (financial services, regulated industries), you need a paid CA. For 99% of self-hosters, DV is fine.
• Longer certificate lifetimes. Let’s Encrypt certificates are valid for 90 days (renewed automatically at 60 days). Paid certificates can last 1-2 years. This is actually a feature, not a bug — shorter lifetimes reduce the impact of key compromise.
• SLA-backed support. Paid CAs offer support for certificate issues. With Let’s Encrypt and automated tools, support comes from community forums. In practice, automated renewal eliminates most certificate issues.
• Certificate warranty. Some paid CAs include a “warranty” (usually $10K-1M) against mis-issuance. These warranties have never been paid out in the history of commercial SSL. They are marketing, not protection.

Related

• How to Self-Host Caddy with Docker
• How to Self-Host Traefik with Docker
• How to Self-Host Nginx Proxy Manager
• SSL Certificates Explained
• Best Self-Hosted Reverse Proxy
• Reverse Proxy Explained
• Docker Compose Basics