Hosting Australia offers a range of SSL Certificates for purchase. Some packages also include an AutoSSL certificate via cPanel.
The below highlights some of the key differences between an AutoSSL and a purchased SSL, such as the popular RapidSSL.
| Free AutoSSL Certificate | Purchased SSL Certificate | |
| Issuance Period | AutoSSL (cPanel, Comodo issued) certificate is valid for 90 days and renewed automatically in cPanel.More renewals, can mean more points of failure or issue. | Purchased SSL Certificates are valid for a minimum of 1 year. |
| Risk & Business Impact | If it fails or breaks, your site shows security warnings and may go offline with no SLA. | Backed by support and accountability – issues can be escalated and resolved faster, reducing downtime risk. |
| Warranty / Financial Protection | No warranty or financial protection if something goes wrong. | Includes a warranty (often $10k–$1M+ depending on certificate type) that provides financial protection in the unlikely event of certificate failure. |
| Business Verification / Trust Signals | Domain Validation only – proves control of the domain, not that a real business exists. | OV and EV certificates verify your business identity, adding an extra layer of trust for customers and partners. |
| Renewal Control | Fully automated – great when it works, but failures can happen silently and cause outages. | Manual or managed renewals with visibility and reminders – fewer surprise expiries on business-critical sites. |
| Certificate Ownership & Portability | Tied to your hosting environment and AutoSSL provider – harder to migrate between hosts. | You own the certificate and can move it between servers or hosts if you migrate. |
| Secured Site Seal | AutoSSL Certificate doesn’t provide the site seal to display on your site, and earn trust from your website users. | Purchased SSL Certificates provides a secured site seal for their SSL certificates, which earns the trust of your website visitors. |
| Support | AutoSSL does not provide any kind of support - you will need to troubleshoot and manage as the end user. | Most of the Purchased SSL Certificate provides customer support including sales, technical and installation. |
| Validation Type | AutoSSL doesn't provide Organisation Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV). | Purchased SSL do provide Organisation Validation (OV) and Extended Validation (EV). |
| Users | You can install a AutoSSL Certificate to secure your informative website or a blog. | If you are running your business, we recommend you to go with a Purchased Certificate as a more robust and trustworthy solution. |
| Best Use Case | Personal sites, blogs, test environments | Business websites, eCommerce, membership sites, any site handling customer data |
Why a Paid SSL Certificate Is the Right Choice for Business Websites
While AutoSSL is a convenient free option for basic sites and personal projects, it isn’t designed to support serious business needs. For any commercial website, customer-facing platform, or brand-driven business, a paid SSL certificate is the professional standard.
Purchased SSL certificates provide longer validity, proper business validation (OV/EV), warranty protection, and dedicated support if anything goes wrong. This means fewer renewal risks, clearer trust signals for visitors, and peace of mind knowing your security is backed by real accountability – not just automated renewals.
More importantly, paid SSL certificates reinforce credibility. They demonstrate that your business takes security seriously, which builds confidence with customers, improves conversion rates, and supports compliance with modern security and privacy expectations.
If your website is tied to your reputation, revenue, or customer trust, a purchased SSL certificate isn’t just an upgrade – it’s the only appropriate choice.
