When you purchase a certificate, the fees you need to pay vary depending on the certificate type, domain type, SSL certificate brand, or service you select. Before purchasing, we recommend that you understand the billing details of the product. This topic describes the billing details of SSL certificates and how to handle expired SSL certificates.
Billing method
SSL certificates and their related services use a prepaid billing model.
Billing items
The following table lists all billable services related to SSL certificates. Choose the services you need based on your actual requirements.
For the specific prices of different billing items, refer to the prices displayed on the buy page.
Service Type | Billing Description |
SSL Certificate Management Service | The certificate purchase fee is billed based on Number of Instances, Domain Type, number of domains, Certificate Type, Certificate Brand, and Duration. For the exact fee of your configuration, check the price displayed on theSSL Certificate buy page. |
Certificate Hosting Service | Certificate hosting is a service that ensures automatic renewal of SSL certificates before they expire. When your certificate is about to expire, the hosting service helps you automatically apply for a new certificate to extend the validity period, avoiding situations where you forget to renew and cannot obtain a new certificate in time. Certificate hosting also provides automatic deployment capabilities. When automatic deployment is enabled, the new certificate is automatically deployed to the corresponding cloud products after issuance. Important
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Cloud Product Deployment Service | Cloud product deployment service refers to the fee for one-click deployment of issued certificates to Alibaba Cloud products that require certificates (such as Anti-DDoS Pro, WAF, CDN, etc.).
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Cloud Server Deployment Service | Cloud server deployment service refers to the fee for one-click deployment of issued certificates to Alibaba Cloud servers (Simple Application Server or Elastic Compute Service instances).
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Renewal price query and estimation
The price of an SSL certificate is affected by the certificate brand, certificate type (DV/OV/EV), domain type (single domain/wildcard/multi-domain), number of domains, and subscription duration. Different configuration combinations have different prices. Refer to the buy page for specific prices.
Estimate renewal price
To estimate the renewal price, log on to theSSL Certificate buy page, select the same configuration as your current certificate—including the Certificate Brand, Certificate Type (domain validated (DV), organization validated (OV), or extended validation (EV)), Domain Type, number of domains, and Duration—and use the new purchase price displayed on the page as a reference for the renewal price.
The actual renewal price is subject to the price displayed on the buy page at the time of renewal. The estimated price is for reference only.
The renewal price may not be the same as your historical purchase price. Prices may change due to CA institution price adjustments or the end of promotional offers.
If you need a formal quotation, we recommend contacting your business manager.
Price fluctuation notice
SSL certificate prices may change due to the following reasons:
CA institution price adjustment: Certificate prices are related to the pricing strategies of upstream CA institutions (such as DigiCert, CFCA, etc.). When a CA institution adjusts its prices, Alibaba Cloud will correspondingly adjust the certificate selling price and publish a price adjustment announcement in advance.
Promotional offer changes: After first-purchase discounts, limited-time discounts, and other promotional offers end, prices will return to the list price.
Renewal price may differ from first-purchase price: If you enjoyed a discount on your first purchase, the renewal may be charged at the current list price.
For the latest price change information, pay attention to official price adjustment announcements.
Subscription mode
Due to global certificate industry policies, a single certificate can be issued only with a limited maximum validity period. As a result, you may need to apply for a certificate more than once within one subscription to cover the entire service duration. The Subscription Period and the certificate validity period are related as follows:
The Subscription Period is calculated from the issuance date of the first certificate. For example, if you purchase a one-year subscription and the first certificate is issued on T, the subscription expires on T plus one year. If you renew during the subscription, the expiration date is extended by the renewal duration.
Each time a certificate is about to expire, apply for the next certificate to replace it so that expiration does not affect your business. You can also enable the auto-managed service to apply for and deploy the next certificate automatically, as described in What is certificate hosting.
Handling SSL certificate expiration
Impact of SSL certificate expiration
SSL certificate expiration refers to when an SSL certificate exceeds its validity period. After an SSL certificate expires, it may cause the following impacts on your website:
Your website cannot be accessed.
Users see a security warning when visiting the website through a browser.
Your website's search engine ranking may be affected.
Communication between visitors and the website cannot be encrypted.
Handling an expiring SSL certificate
If a certificate is about to expire during the subscription period, submit a new certificate application to have the next certificate issued. For detailed steps, refer to Submit a CA application.
If both the subscription and the certificate are about to expire, first complete the renewal to extend the subscription period, and then apply for the next certificate. For detailed steps, refer to SSL certificate renewal and expiration.
SSL certificate expired data handling
If an SSL certificate has been expired for more than one year, Alibaba Cloud will automatically delete the certificate and it cannot be recovered.
FAQ
Why is the SSL certificate price I see more expensive than before or inconsistent with my historical order?
If the SSL certificate price is inconsistent with your historical order, it is usually due to the following reasons:
Promotional offer differences: You may have enjoyed a first-purchase discount or limited-time discount (such as 20% or 25% off) when you previously purchased. The current price may be the list price or the original promotional offer has ended.
Official price adjustment: The prices of some certificate brands (such as DigiCert, CFCA, etc.) are adjusted according to the pricing strategies of CA institutions. Alibaba Cloud publishes price adjustment announcements before making price changes. Refer to official price adjustment announcements for details.
Configuration differences: Before comparing prices, confirm that the certificate brand, certificate type (DV/OV/EV), and domain type (single domain/wildcard) you currently selected are exactly the same as those in your historical order. The price difference between different configurations can be significant.
First-purchase eligibility: A newly registered Alibaba Cloud account may enjoy a first-purchase discount when buying an SSL certificate for the first time. Subsequent purchases will not be eligible for this discount.
For specific reasons for price changes or to apply for a discounted plan, we recommend contacting your business manager or submitting a support ticket.
How do I view the historical order amount and billing details for SSL certificates?
You can view the historical order information for SSL certificates in the following ways:
Method 1: View through Billing Management
Log on to the Billing Management console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Orders > My Orders.
In the search bar, enter "SSL Certificate" or a specific order number to search.
After finding the target order, click Details to view the bill amount.
Method 2: View through the Certificate console
Log on to the SSL Certificates Service console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Comprehensive Management > Refund Management.
Find the corresponding historical order and click Details. You are redirected to the Billing Management console to view the order details and bill amount.
Which SSL certificate services are free? Which require additional payment?
Free services:
Certificate upload: Manually uploading third-party certificates to Alibaba Cloud products (such as ALB, WAF, etc.) is free of charge.
Deployment of commercial certificates: Deploying commercial certificates and certificates shared across different Alibaba Cloud accounts under the same identity verification entity to cloud products or cloud servers is free of charge.
Paid services:
Service Type | Fee Description |
Commercial Certificate (DV/OV/EV) | Requires purchase. Price varies by certificate brand, certificate type, and domain configuration. |
Cloud Product Deployment Service | When using one-click deployment to deploy an uploaded SSL certificate to a cloud product, you need to purchase a deployment count package. |
Cloud Server Deployment Service | When using one-click deployment to deploy an uploaded SSL certificate to a cloud server (ECS/Simple Application Server), you need to purchase a deployment count package. |
Certificate Auto-Managed Service | The auto-managed service fee does not include the certificate itself cost; certificates need to be purchased separately. |
How do I issue and download an invoice after renewing an SSL certificate?
Prerequisite for invoicing: You can apply for an invoice only after completing the purchase or renewal payment. You cannot apply for an invoice in advance during the period when the certificate has not expired and the renewal entry is not yet open.
Invoice title requirement: The invoice title must be consistent with the real-name verification entity of the Alibaba Cloud account.
If your account has personal real-name verification, a personal title invoice is issued by default.
If you need to issue a corporate title invoice, you can do so in the following ways:
Change real-name verification: Change the account to corporate real-name verification, then update to the latest entity information on the invoice information page before applying for invoicing.
Apply for a corporate title: On the invoice information page, click Apply for Corporate Title > Personal Apply for Corporate Title, and submit supporting documents such as employment certificates and labor contracts. After approval, you can issue an invoice with a corporate title.
Issue and download an invoice:
Log on to the invoice management page.
Select the corresponding renewal order and apply for an invoice.
After the invoice is issued, go to the Invoice Download and Return page to download the electronic invoice in PDF, OFD, or XML format from the operations column.
Why does the price displayed in the SSL Certificate console differ from the actual payment amount?
If the price displayed in the console differs from the actual payment amount, it is usually due to the following reasons:
Reason 1: Unpaid historical orders exist
If you previously created an SSL certificate order but did not complete the payment, that order may have included the promotional price at that time. A newly created order may use the current price (without the previous discount).
Resolution: Go to the Order List to check whether there are any unpaid orders. If there are unpaid orders, complete the payment or cancel the order before placing a new order.
Reason 2: The promotional offer has expired
If an unpaid order has been voided, the original first-purchase discount or limited-time discount may have expired when you purchase again, causing the price to return to the list price.
First-purchase discounts are valid only for the first order. After an order is voided, you will no longer be eligible for the first-purchase discount when purchasing again.