AWS Certificate Manager vs Let's Encrypt

Developers should use ACM when deploying web applications on AWS that require HTTPS encryption, as it eliminates the manual overhead of purchasing, uploading, and renewing certificates from third-party authorities meets developers should use let's encrypt when they need to implement https on websites or web applications quickly and at no cost, especially for personal projects, small businesses, or development environments. Here's our take.

AWS Certificate Manager

Nice Pick

Developers should use ACM when deploying web applications on AWS that require HTTPS encryption, as it eliminates the manual overhead of purchasing, uploading, and renewing certificates from third-party authorities

Pros

• It is ideal for use cases involving load balancers, content delivery networks (CloudFront), or APIs where security and automation are priorities, such as e-commerce sites, SaaS platforms, or microservices architectures
• Related to: aws-elastic-load-balancing, amazon-cloudfront

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Let's Encrypt

Developers should use Let's Encrypt when they need to implement HTTPS on websites or web applications quickly and at no cost, especially for personal projects, small businesses, or development environments

Pros

• It is ideal for automating certificate issuance and renewal in DevOps workflows, such as with web servers like Apache or Nginx, to ensure continuous security without manual intervention
• Related to: ssl-tls, https

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. AWS Certificate Manager is a platform while Let's Encrypt is a tool. We picked AWS Certificate Manager based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

AWS Certificate Manager wins

Based on overall popularity. AWS Certificate Manager is more widely used, but Let's Encrypt excels in its own space.