EJBCA vs Smallstep Certificates

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

EJBCA is a Security & Privacy solution with tags like certificates, pki, x509, tls, ssl, encryption.

It boasts features such as Manages full certificate life cycle, Issues and revokes certificates, Supports multiple CAs and profiles, Web-based and CLI management, LDAP and database integration, Validation via OCSP and CRL, Plugin architecture for extensions, High availability and load balancing and pros including Open source and free, Highly customizable and extensible, Scales to large deployments, Strong security features, Active development community.

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.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

EJBCA

EJBCA

EJBCA is an open source certificate authority software used to issue and manage digital certificates. It provides features like customizable workflows, integrable modules, and advanced validation options to automate and secure the certificate life cycle.

Categories:
certificates pki x509 tls ssl encryption

EJBCA Features

  1. Manages full certificate life cycle
  2. Issues and revokes certificates
  3. Supports multiple CAs and profiles
  4. Web-based and CLI management
  5. LDAP and database integration
  6. Validation via OCSP and CRL
  7. Plugin architecture for extensions
  8. High availability and load balancing

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Open source and free

Highly customizable and extensible

Scales to large deployments

Strong security features

Active development community

Cons

Complex installation and configuration

Steep learning curve

Limited official support options

Not as user friendly as commercial options


Smallstep Certificates

Smallstep Certificates

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.

Categories:
certificates tls ssl pki encryption

Smallstep Certificates Features

  1. Automated certificate issuance and renewal
  2. Support for multiple certificate authorities
  3. CLI and APIs for automation
  4. Built-in OCSP and CRL endpoints
  5. Cryptographic private key generation
  6. Configuration management with JSON/YAML

Pricing

  • Open Source

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