15 Cheapest Wildcard SSL Certificates Compared

Note (September 2026): This 2016 list has been corrected: Comodo’s certificate business is now Sectigo, Symantec’s was sold to DigiCert, and Trustwave sold its certificate business. The 2016 prices no longer apply, so each entry now also shows a price checked in September 2026.

The cheapest paid wildcard SSL certificates are domain-validated (DV) products such as Sectigo EssentialSSL Wildcard, AlphaSSL Wildcard and Sectigo PositiveSSL Wildcard, which resellers listed at about $39-$70 a year as of September 2026. Let’s Encrypt issues wildcard certificates free through the DNS-01 challenge. Organization-validated (OV) wildcards cost roughly $270-$600 a year.

Key Takeaways

A wildcard certificate for *.example.com covers every sub-domain one level deep; many sellers also add the root domain.
As of September 2026, the cheapest paid DV wildcards (Sectigo EssentialSSL, AlphaSSL, Sectigo PositiveSSL) are listed at about $39-$70 a year by resellers; prices change often.
Comodo is now Sectigo, Symantec’s certificate business now belongs to DigiCert, and Trustwave sold its certificate business in 2021.
Since March 15, 2026, no public TLS certificate can be valid for more than 200 days, so a “per year” price is a subscription that includes reissues.

Wildcard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is what helps the domain URL to be safe and secure. This certificate ensures the users and the URL that the website is safe and whatever data they will feed will remain private.

Wildcard SSL certificates are normally used for the website which has to secure their domain as well its sub-domains. There are many websites which operate their sub-domains as an integral part so it’s important that those are also secured.

Best Cheap Wildcard SSL Certificates

Now there can be a lot of sub-domains and there are different types as well. For example, example.com is the base (root) domain, while mail.example.com, blog.example.com and shop.example.com are its sub-domains. A wildcard certificate issued for *.example.com covers one sub-domain level: it matches blog.example.com, but not example.com itself or a deeper name such as a.blog.example.com. Many sellers add the root domain to the certificate at no extra cost (ssl2buy, for instance, says its AlphaSSL Wildcard secures the root domain and all sub-domains).

And some website has, even more, sub-domains so in that case, Wildcard SSL certificate is the best choice. Now there are different ways of domain validation so let’s see about them.

Wildcard SSL – Domain Validated vs. Organization Validated

This Wildcard SSL certificates are issued by just validating the domain ownership through the automated email and/or WHOIS registry verification process. It will provide same 256-bit security to your website as organization validated wildcard, but less trusted due to nonattendance of business verification process.

This certificate can be ideal for blog, personal website, basic website, small businesses where main concern is providing security and users trust isn’t require.

Organization Validation Wildcard SSL certificate is very much trusted as these are only issued after a thorough check. In this care, a real agent is needed to check the database registry hosted by government and then only the process goes forwards.

Legal and hard copy documents are exchanged in this case and properly written undertakings are given in this validation. This way Organization Validation Wildcard SSL is a much-secured way for your website as this ensures a high security for you and for your visitors.

Cheap Wildcard Certificates

Many certificate authorities and resellers sell wildcard certificates, and prices for the same product vary widely between them. I considered different resources like retailmenot.com, promopro.com, cheapsslcouponcode.com and many others to discover the sort-list of wildcard certificates by its prices.

#1 AlphaSSL Wildcard (Domain Validated)

The AlphaSSL Wildcard is the cheapest domain validation wildcard SSL for securing the multiple sub-domains. It provides a secure way to a number of sub-domains along with the streamlined management. Apart from this, it helps in minimizing the risk of breaching and building safe environment over the web.

Provider Name: ssl2buy.com.
Price: $38/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $40-$60/year at ssl2buy, $149 on AlphaSSL’s own site (prices change).
Validation: Domain only.
Warranty: $10,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#2 Comodo Positive SSL Wildcard (now Sectigo PositiveSSL Wildcard)

The Comodo Positive SSL Wildcard secures all the sub-domains immediately after its successful installation. It offers fast issuance (ssl2buy quotes about 10 minutes) with strong encryption, and HTTPS matters for search because Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal in August 2014. Comodo’s certificate authority business was rebranded as Sectigo in 2018, so this product is now sold as the Sectigo PositiveSSL Wildcard. It encrypts communications on the website and its sub-domains and suits businesses with low-volume online transactions.

Provider Name: ssl2buy.com.
Price: $49/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $50-$70/year at ssl2buy (prices change).
Validation: Domain only.
Warranty: $10,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#3 Comodo Essential SSL Wildcard (now Sectigo EssentialSSL Wildcard)

The Comodo Essential SSL Wildcard helps in verifying the ownership of the domain within just a few minutes. It helps in protecting unlimited sub-domains across over unlimited servers. Comodo will follow domain control validation process to prove requester has control of registered domain through the email or DNS CNAME or HTTPS based methods.

Provider Name: cheapsslshop.com.
Price: $65/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $39/year at cheapsslshop, $80/year at ssl2buy (prices change).
Validation: Domain only.
Warranty: $10,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#4 RapidSSL Wildcard (Domain Validated)

The RapidSSL Wildcard is for fulfilling the long-term needs of your business. If you are searching for a reasonable SSL solution to fulfil all the security needs of the sub-domains and the website, then it is the best choice you have.

This certificate is featured with unlimited service licenses, so you can secure all sub-domains even if hosted over the different servers.

Provider Name: ssl2buy.com.
Price: $70/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $90-$120/year at ssl2buy (prices change).
Validation: Domain only.
Warranty: $10,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#5 Comodo Premium SSL Wildcard (now Sectigo PremiumSSL Wildcard)

The Comodo Premium SSL Wildcard comes in handy when it is about securing the multiple sub-domains as well as putting the company on the internet map. It is must know that the company must be registered under Government Registration Agency legally.

Provider Name: ssls.com.
Price: $129.99/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $275-$350/year at ssl2buy; the ssls.com page could not be checked (prices change).
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $250,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 15 days.

#6 DigiCert Wildcard SSL (Secure Site)

So, we have the DigiCert Wildcard SSL which has the strongest encryption available and is one of the most secured ones. It does help in increasing conversions with streamlined maintenance, unlimited duplicated, compatibility with all the browsers and much more.

Provider Name: sslguru.com.
Price: $158/year in 2016. As of September 2026, DigiCert sells wildcard coverage as an option on its Secure Site subscriptions; check its current price directly.
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $100,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 15 days.

#7 SSL.com Wildcard SSL

SSL.com Wildcard SSL certificate doesn’t want the user to install any separate certificate for any of the sub-domains. This means that with a single certificate you can easily secure the multiple sub-domains. Using this SSL certificate will not only help you in saving money but even help you in simplifying the certificate management.

Provider Name: ssl.com.
Price: $224/year in 2016. As of September 2026: from $224.25/year at SSL.com (prices change).
Validation: High Validation and Trust Value.
Warranty: $125,000 USD in 2016; as of September 2026, SSL.com lists a $1,250,000 relying party warranty.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#8 Trustwave Wildcard SSL (certificate business sold)

The Trustwave Wildcard SSL assures the visitors that your websites is secure and trustworthy. It does include a dynamic security site seal which helps in giving a proper assurance to the customers about the identity of an organization.

Provider Name: pciworks.com.
Price: $229/year in 2016. Trustwave sold its SecureTrust certificate business to the Sysnet Global Solutions Group on October 17, 2021 (now run as VikingCloud), and SSL.com acquired VikingCloud’s certificate customer portfolio on November 5, 2025; no current Trustwave-branded wildcard price could be verified.
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $100,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#9 Thawte SSL Web Server Wildcard (Organization Validated)

If you are looking for a budget security certificate, then Thawte Wildcard SSL is an easy to use, powerful and a versatile option to go with. It helps in reducing the administrative hassles as well as the cost. It helps in creating a secure connection between the web servers and the browsers.

Provider Name: cheapsslshop.com.
Price: $234/year in 2016 (with coupon “CSHP152”, which may no longer work). As of September 2026: $270/year at cheapsslshop as Thawte SSL Webserver Wildcard OV (prices change).
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $1,250,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#10 GoDaddy Wildcard SSL

If you want your customers to come back to your website, then protect them using the SSL certificate. The GoDaddy Wildcard SSL ensures the security of the customers and even accepts the credit card payments safely. Also, it is compatible with all the major browsers, offers unlimited free reissues, boosts Google search ranking, and protects unlimited servers and much more.

Provider Name: godaddy.com.
Price: $269.99/year in 2016. GoDaddy still sells a Wildcard SSL certificate; its current first-term and renewal prices could not be checked, so compare them on GoDaddy’s site.
Validation: Domain verification.
Warranty: $2000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#11 GeoTrust Wildcard SSL (True BusinessID, OV)

The GeoTrust Wildcard SSL is an affordable SSL solution for all the organizations. It gives a full business validation aspect with 256-bit encryption. The customers can easily carry the web transactions safely which are transact over the sub-domains scenario.

Provider Name: cheapsslshop.com.
Price: $284/year in 2016 (with coupon “CSHP153”, which may no longer work). As of September 2026: $300/year at cheapsslshop; GeoTrust is operated by DigiCert (prices change).
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $1,250,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#12 GlobalSign Domain SSL Wildcard (Domain Validated)

The GlobalSign Domain SSL Wildcard doesn’t only help in securing the sub-domains along with the website and servers, but even offers 256-bit encryption. It has such a higher encryption level that all the web transactions have the robust protection which helps in securing against data snooping.

Provider Name: ssl2buy.com.
Price: $333/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $320-$400/year at ssl2buy (prices change).
Validation: Domain verification.
Warranty: $10,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#13 GlobalSign Organization Wildcard SSL (OV)

The GlobalSign Organization Wildcard SSL is an amazing SSL certificate because it can be used in dual ways. It not only helps in securing the unlimited sub-domains at a single price but even helps in validating the organization too. It even allows a scanning mode to the customers.

Provider Name: ssl2buy.com.
Price: $500/year in 2016. As of September 2026: $480-$600/year at ssl2buy (prices change).
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $1,250,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

#14 nsProtect™ Secure Wildcard (now Network Solutions Wildcard)

The nsProtect™ Secure Wildcard is an ideal choice for all types of businesses and organizations as it helps in securing the entire website, including the unlimited sub-domains and servers. With a single host name, this SSL certificate issues a number of sub-domain names.

Provider Name: networksolutions.com.
Price: $512/year in 2016. As of September 2026, Network Solutions sells it simply as “Wildcard” (OV) at $384.89/year on a 2-year term with a $1,250,000 guarantee (prices change).
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $1,000,000 USD.

#15 Symantec Secure Site Wildcard SSL (discontinued; see DigiCert)

The Symantec Secure Site Wildcard SSL was the most expensive option on this list in 2016. Symantec no longer sells certificates: DigiCert bought Symantec’s TLS/SSL and PKI business in August 2017, and Google and Mozilla stopped trusting certificates that chain to the old Symantec roots by October 2018. DigiCert now sells its own Secure Site certificates with a wildcard option. But, it does help in securing the transferring of data across the multiple sub-domains using a single certificate. In 2016 this certificate came with extras such as daily malware scanning, the Norton secure seal and seal-in-search. The Symantec-branded version is no longer available, and DigiCert’s current Secure Site page promotes its own DigiCert Smart Seal instead.

Provider Name: symantec.com.
Price: $1698/year in 2016. This Symantec product is no longer sold, and the old Symantec pricing page now redirects to a Broadcom error page.
Validation: Domain plus business verification.
Warranty: $1,500,000 USD.
Refund Policy: 30 days.

So these are some of the best Wildcard SSL certificates available. You must choose carefully as these certificates will make your website more safe and secured. These certificates will also make people trust your website so see which Wildcard SSL certificate you need and then go for it.

If your website needs high security then, a much-secured certificate should be taken and if not then Domain Validation Wildcard certificate will also do. 🙂

On the hosting side, the cheapest cloud hosting providers in India applies the same test.

Wildcard SSL Price Comparison

The table below shows prices listed on seller and certificate authority pages checked in September 2026. Resellers change prices and run promotions often, multi-year plans usually cost less per year than a single year, and renewal prices can differ from the first term, so treat these as a snapshot rather than a quote.

Wildcard certificate	Brand today	Validation	Listed price, September 2026
AlphaSSL Wildcard	GlobalSign (AlphaSSL brand)	DV	$40-$60/yr (ssl2buy); $149 (AlphaSSL site)
PositiveSSL Wildcard	Sectigo (formerly Comodo)	DV	$50-$70/yr (ssl2buy)
EssentialSSL Wildcard	Sectigo (formerly Comodo)	DV	$39/yr (cheapsslshop); $80/yr (ssl2buy)
RapidSSL Wildcard	DigiCert	DV	$90-$120/yr (ssl2buy)
PremiumSSL Wildcard	Sectigo (formerly Comodo)	OV	$275-$350/yr (ssl2buy)
SSL.com Wildcard SSL	SSL.com	See seller	From $224.25/yr (SSL.com)
Thawte SSL Webserver Wildcard	DigiCert (Thawte brand)	OV	$270/yr (cheapsslshop)
GeoTrust True BusinessID Wildcard	DigiCert (GeoTrust brand)	OV	$300/yr (cheapsslshop)
GlobalSign Domain SSL Wildcard	GlobalSign	DV	$320-$400/yr (ssl2buy)
GlobalSign Organization SSL Wildcard	GlobalSign	OV	$480-$600/yr (ssl2buy)
Network Solutions Wildcard (ex-nsProtect)	Network Solutions	OV	$384.89/yr on a 2-year term
Let’s Encrypt wildcard	Let’s Encrypt	DV (DNS-01)	Free

DigiCert Secure Site (wildcard option) and GoDaddy Wildcard SSL are still sold but are not in the table because a comparable per-year price could not be confirmed. Trustwave- and Symantec-branded wildcards are no longer sold under those names.

Is There a Free Wildcard SSL Certificate?

Yes. Let’s Encrypt, the free nonprofit certificate authority, issues wildcard certificates at no charge. According to the Let’s Encrypt FAQ, wildcard issuance must use the DNS-01 challenge, which means the requester proves control of the domain by publishing a DNS TXT record, usually through an ACME client that can update DNS automatically.

Let’s Encrypt certificates are valid for 90 days, and Let’s Encrypt recommends renewing every 60 days. A paid wildcard makes more sense when a business needs organization validation or vendor support.

What a Wildcard Certificate Does Not Cover

Deeper sub-domain levels: *.example.com matches shop.example.com but not eu.shop.example.com; that needs a separate wildcard for *.shop.example.com.
The bare root domain, by definition: *.example.com does not match example.com, although most sellers listed above add the root domain as an extra name on the certificate.
Extended Validation: EV certificates cannot be issued as wildcards, so the highest validation level available for a wildcard is OV.
Partial wildcards: names such as shop*.example.com are no longer supported by major browsers.

How Shorter Certificate Lifetimes Affect Wildcard SSL

In April 2025 the CA/Browser Forum adopted Ballot SC-081v3, which cuts the maximum validity of public TLS certificates in stages from 398 days to 47 days. According to Sectigo’s summary of the schedule, the maximum became 200 days on March 15, 2026, drops to 100 days on March 15, 2027, and reaches 47 days on March 15, 2029.

For wildcard buyers this has two practical effects. First, a “1-year” or “5-year” wildcard is now a subscription: the seller reissues the certificate several times during the paid term, and each new certificate has to be installed on every server that uses it. Second, because one wildcard is often copied to many servers, automated renewal matters more than a small price difference.

How to Choose a Cheap Wildcard SSL Certificate

Pick the validation level first. A DV wildcard is issued in minutes after an email, DNS or HTTP check and suits blogs, personal sites and most small businesses. Choose OV if the organization name must appear in the certificate details or a client contract requires it.
Compare the per-year price on the same term. Resellers often quote the cheapest multi-year rate; the 1-year price is usually higher.
Look at the renewal price and reissue terms. With certificates now limited to 200 days, unlimited free reissues and server licenses (offered on the ssl2buy, cheapsslshop and SSL.com listings above) are essential.
Do not overvalue the warranty. SSL.com describes its warranty as a relying party warranty, which is meant to compensate a site visitor who loses money because a certificate was wrongly issued, not the site owner.

For the rest of a secure site setup, see five key website security checks, the Hostinger hosting review (many hosts bundle a free certificate), what to know about web hosting, what to consider in a domain name search and the secure password generator for server and hosting-panel logins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a wildcard SSL certificate cover the root domain?

A wildcard for *.example.com does not match example.com by itself, because the asterisk stands for exactly one sub-domain label. Most commercial sellers, including ssl2buy for AlphaSSL, PositiveSSL and GlobalSign wildcards, add the root domain to the certificate so both are secured.

Can I get a free wildcard SSL certificate?

Yes. Let’s Encrypt issues free wildcard certificates, but only through the DNS-01 challenge, and each certificate lasts 90 days. The domain’s DNS provider must allow TXT records to be created, ideally automatically through an API.

Is there an EV wildcard SSL certificate?

No. Extended Validation certificates cannot be issued with a wildcard. Organizations that want EV must list each host name on an EV certificate, or use an OV wildcard instead.

What happened to Comodo and Symantec SSL certificates?

Comodo CA was rebranded as Sectigo in 2018, so Comodo PositiveSSL, EssentialSSL and PremiumSSL wildcards are now sold under the Sectigo name. Symantec sold its TLS/SSL business to DigiCert in August 2017, and browsers stopped trusting the old Symantec roots by October 2018.