Types of SSL Certificates: A Complete Overview

Two Ways to Classify SSL Certificate Types

Most confusion about SSL certificate types comes from mixing up two separate questions. The first is validation level: how thoroughly the certificate authority checks who is asking for the certificate — domain validation (DV), organization validation (OV), or extended validation (EV). The second is coverage: how many hostnames the certificate protects — a single domain, a wildcard covering subdomains, or multiple distinct domains (multi-domain/SAN).

These two axes are independent: you can buy a single-domain DV certificate, an OV wildcard, an EV multi-domain certificate, and so on. The combination you pick depends on your domain structure and how much organization identity you need embedded in the certificate. The sections below cover each axis, then combine them into one comparison table.

SSL Certificate Types by Validation Level: DV vs OV vs EV

Domain validation (DV) only confirms that whoever requested the certificate controls the domain. It typically issues in minutes and is the least expensive type, and it's what most DV SSL certificates are used for: blogs, personal sites, internal tools, and any page where encryption is the goal rather than displaying verified company details.

Organization validation (OV) adds a check of the business behind the domain — its legal registration and other identifying details — against business registries, which the certificate then carries. OV SSL certificates suit company websites, client portals, and stores where visitors might want to confirm who they're dealing with, not just that the connection is encrypted.

Extended validation (EV) goes through the most thorough vetting of a company's legal, physical and operational existence. Since around 2019, browsers no longer display the company name in the address bar for EV the way they once did; the verified organization details now show up in the certificate viewer instead. EV SSL certificates still suit organizations that want that deeper vetting on record, typically finance, larger e-commerce, and regulated sectors. Encryption strength is identical across DV, OV and EV — the difference is entirely in identity vetting, not security. The DV vs OV vs EV guide covers the practical differences in more depth; a separate article on whether EV SSL is worth it looks specifically at when the extra vetting pays off.

SSL Certificate Types by Coverage: Single Domain, Wildcard, Multi-Domain

A single-domain certificate covers exactly one hostname, such as example.com or www.example.com but not both unless both are listed. It's the simplest and lowest-cost coverage type and fits sites with a stable, small footprint.

A wildcard certificate covers one base domain plus every subdomain at a single level below it, written as *.example.com. Most wildcard products also include the bare domain, though this varies by product. Wildcards fit domains where the number of subdomains keeps growing, such as a SaaS platform creating a subdomain per customer — see the wildcard SSL product page for details. Wildcards are only available at DV or OV; there is no EV wildcard, because EV vetting is tied to specific, individually verified hostnames rather than an open-ended pattern.

A multi-domain (SAN/UCC) certificate covers several distinct hostnames in one certificate, regardless of whether they share a domain — useful for a company running a handful of unrelated brand domains. The number of SANs depends on the multi-domain SSL product you choose, and it's available at DV, OV or EV. Some products combine both approaches into a multi-domain wildcard (or "wildcard SAN") certificate, listing entries like *.example.com and *.example.net together — check the product details, since not every line offers this combination. The wildcard vs multi-domain SSL comparison goes into this in more depth if your domain list mixes both patterns.

SSL Certificate Types Compared

The table below lines up the main SSL certificate types across both axes.

Other Certificate Types: Code Signing and S/MIME

Not every certificate SSLCipher offers secures a website. Two related but distinct types serve different purposes:

• Code signing certificates sign software so users can verify who published it and that the file hasn't been altered since. Since June 2023, CA/Browser Forum rules require the private keys behind publicly trusted OV and EV code signing certificates to be kept on hardware — a certified token, an HSM, or a CA's cloud signing service. The code signing certificate guide covers how it works and what changed.
• S/MIME certificates sign and encrypt email rather than securing a website. Signing proves who sent a message and that it wasn't tampered with; encrypting a message additionally requires the recipient's own certificate. Mail clients including Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird support S/MIME. The S/MIME certificate guide explains the validation types and how it fits into an email setup.

Both are sold alongside TLS/SSL certificates but solve a different problem, so they're worth knowing about even if most of your buying decisions are about securing websites.

Which SSL Certificate Type Should You Choose?

A few concrete scenarios cover most real buying decisions:

• A personal blog or portfolio. A single-domain DV certificate is enough — visitors need the padlock, not a vetted company identity.
• A small company website. Single-domain OV is a reasonable default once the site represents a registered business rather than a personal project.
• An e-commerce store. OV is common; EV is worth evaluating if the added organization vetting matters to your customers or your industry, and a separate article on whether EV SSL is worth it walks through that trade-off.
• A platform creating many subdomains. A wildcard certificate covers new subdomains automatically without reissuing anything each time a customer signs up.
• An agency or company with several brands or country domains. A multi-domain (SAN/UCC) certificate, or a multi-domain wildcard if each brand also has growing subdomains, covers the whole set from one certificate.

If you're buying for the first time, a step-by-step guide on how to buy an SSL certificate walks through the purchase itself once you've settled on a type here.

Buying the Right Certificate Type

Once you know which validation level and coverage you need, the remaining question is where to buy. Reseller pricing across DV, OV, EV, wildcard and multi-domain products, plus code signing and S/MIME, is visible on SSLCipher's pricing page without creating an account — useful for comparing an exact product against your domain list before committing.

For hosting providers, agencies, and freelancers buying certificates on behalf of clients, that same pricing page and the underlying reseller packages (Standart, Premium, Elite and Ultimate, which get cheaper automatically as issued-certificate volume grows) make it practical to stock several certificate types rather than committing to just one.

SSL Certificate Types: Quick Recap

Start from two questions: how much validation does this site need (DV, OV or EV), and how many hostnames does the certificate need to cover (single domain, wildcard, multi-domain, or multi-domain wildcard)? Answer both and the right certificate type is usually obvious, whether you're securing one blog or a portfolio of client domains.

Browse the full lineup, including current reseller pricing, on the SSL certificates overview page.

Frequently asked questions