x509.systems

← All comparisons

Venafi vs Sectigo

How Venafi and Sectigo differ on deployment, pricing, openness and what each is actually built for.

VenafiSectigo
TypeCLM platformPublic CA + CLM
DeploymentSaaS + self-hostedSaaS
How it worksCA-agnostic control plane for machine identities: discovers every certificate across the estate, enforces issuance policy, automates renewal and installation, and reports on expiry and crypto-agility. Sits above whichever CAs you already use.Formerly Comodo CA. Issues public TLS, code-signing and S/MIME at volume through a large reseller channel. Sectigo Certificate Manager handles discovery, renewal and private PKI alongside the public roots.
Pricing*Enterprise quoteFrom $110/yr (1-yr DV)
Free tierNoNo
Open source——
ComplianceFIPS 140-2, SOC 2, Common CriteriaWebTrust, CA/B Forum
Best forLarge regulated estates with many CAsCost-sensitive estates that still want a CLM

Venafi

  • Deepest policy and governance controls
  • CA-agnostic — no lock-in to one issuer
  • Strong discovery across sprawling estates
  • Expensive, and sold enterprise-first
  • Heavy to deploy and operate

Sectigo

  • Markedly cheaper than DigiCert for equivalent certificates
  • Public and private PKI in one console
  • Wide reseller availability
  • Brand still carries the old Comodo association
  • Support quality varies by channel

Bottom line

Choose Venafi for large regulated estates with many cas. Choose Sectigo for cost-sensitive estates that still want a clm.

* Indicative list pricing (vendor documentation and public pricing pages, August 2026).