Dogtag Certificate System vs Smallstep Certificates

Struggling to choose between Dogtag Certificate System and Smallstep Certificates? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Dogtag Certificate System is a Security & Privacy solution with tags like certificates, public-key-infrastructure, pki, identity-management, authentication.

It boasts features such as Issues and manages public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates, Provides certificate life-cycle management tools, Supports X.509 v3 certificate profiles, Integrates with LDAP directories for certificate authentication, Includes certificate authority (CA), registration authority (RA) and key recovery authority (KRA) services, Enables automated certificate enrollment and renewal, Allows creation of certificate policies and constraints, Includes web-based management console and command line tools, Offers high availability configurations with database replication, Built-in support for hardware security modules (HSMs) and pros including Open source and free to use, Enterprise-grade security and scalability, Flexible architecture and integration options, Automates certificate management workflows, Rich policy control for certificates, Supports industry standards like ACME, EST, SCEP, Backed by Red Hat with long term support.

On the other hand, Smallstep Certificates is a Security & Privacy product tagged with certificates, tls, ssl, pki, encryption.

Its standout features include Automated certificate issuance and renewal, Support for multiple certificate authorities, CLI and APIs for automation, Built-in OCSP and CRL endpoints, Cryptographic private key generation, Configuration management with JSON/YAML, and it shines with pros like Open source and free to use, Simple and easy to use, Secure by default with short-lived certificates, Highly customizable and extensible, Active development and community support.

Feature	Dogtag Certificate System	Smallstep Certificates
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Security & Privacy	Security & Privacy

Product Overview

Dogtag Certificate System

Description: Dogtag Certificate System is an enterprise-grade open source certificate authority that can issue and manage public key infrastructure certificates. It provides easy-to-use tools for certificate life-cycle management.

Smallstep Certificates

Description: Smallstep Certificates is an open source certificate authority that makes it easy to issue and manage TLS certificates. It provides a simple CLI and APIs to automate certificate lifecycle.

Key Features Comparison

Dogtag Certificate System Features

• Issues and manages public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates
• Provides certificate life-cycle management tools
• Supports X.509 v3 certificate profiles
• Integrates with LDAP directories for certificate authentication
• Includes certificate authority (CA), registration authority (RA) and key recovery authority (KRA) services
• Enables automated certificate enrollment and renewal
• Allows creation of certificate policies and constraints
• Includes web-based management console and command line tools
• Offers high availability configurations with database replication
• Built-in support for hardware security modules (HSMs)

Smallstep Certificates Features

• Automated certificate issuance and renewal
• Support for multiple certificate authorities
• CLI and APIs for automation
• Built-in OCSP and CRL endpoints
• Cryptographic private key generation
• Configuration management with JSON/YAML

Pros & Cons Analysis

Dogtag Certificate System

Pros

• Open source and free to use
• Enterprise-grade security and scalability
• Flexible architecture and integration options
• Automates certificate management workflows
• Rich policy control for certificates
• Supports industry standards like ACME, EST, SCEP
• Backed by Red Hat with long term support

Cons

• Complex installation and configuration
• Requires Linux system administration skills
• Limited built-in monitoring and reporting
• Not as user friendly as some commercial CAs
• Lacks graphical workflow designer
• Requires additional components like database and web server

Smallstep Certificates

Pros

• Open source and free to use
• Simple and easy to use
• Secure by default with short-lived certificates
• Highly customizable and extensible
• Active development and community support

Cons

• Limited enterprise management features
• Not as feature rich as some commercial CAs
• Requires more technical expertise to operate
• Not ideal for extremely high certificate volumes

Pricing Comparison

Dogtag Certificate System

• Open Source

Smallstep Certificates

• Open Source