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.

Feature	EJBCA	Smallstep Certificates
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Security & Privacy	Security & Privacy

Product Overview

EJBCA

Description: 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.

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

EJBCA Features

• 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

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

EJBCA

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

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

EJBCA

• Open Source

Smallstep Certificates

• Open Source