AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)
#2 in SSL Certificate · Rated 4.7
Free TLS certificates for AWS and beyond, with new exportable public certs (2025)
AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) is a managed PKI service from Amazon that automates provisioning, deployment, and renewal of TLS certificates. It originally focused on AWS-integrated services (ELB, CloudFront) and offers free public certificates for those workloads. In 2025 AWS expanded ACM with exportable public certificates that can be used outside AWS, enabling termination on non-AWS workloads. The exportable public certs are priced per name (e.g., $15 per FQDN and $149 per wildcard), while standard public certs remain free when used with AWS resources. ACM Private CA (renamed AWS Private CA) provides paid private certificate authorities for internal use. This service is highly compatible with developers and large teams running multi-cloud or hybrid environments, particularly those leveraging Kubernetes, EKS, and hybrid architectures.
Features
- Automated provisioning and renewal
- Integration with ELB, CloudFront, API Gateway
- Public and private certificate support
- Exportable public certificates (2025)
Pros
- Zero-cost public certificates for AWS workloads
- Deep integration with AWS services
- Automation reduces certificate management toil
Cons
- Best experience within AWS ecosystem
- Exportable public certs carry regional/usage nuances