Comparing Wildcard and SAN Approaches

The choice between wildcard and SAN certificates depends on your specific domain structure and management needs. Wildcard certificates excel when securing multiple subdomains under a single domain, providing unlimited flexibility for future growth. They're ideal for organizations with dynamic subdomain creation, standardized services across subdomains, or development environments with frequently changing configurations. The simplicity of "set and forget" wildcard coverage appeals to resource-constrained teams.

SAN certificates provide superior flexibility for diverse domain portfolios but require more careful planning. Each domain must be explicitly listed during certificate issuance, making them less suitable for dynamic environments. However, they excel for organizations managing multiple brands, securing both apex domains and subdomains, or requiring different validation levels for different domains. The explicit nature of SAN certificates provides precise control over coverage.

Hybrid approaches combining wildcard and SAN capabilities offer maximum flexibility. Many Certificate Authorities allow SAN certificates to include wildcard entries, enabling coverage like *.example.com, *.shop.example.com, example.net, and support.differentcompany.com within a single certificate. This combination provides wildcard flexibility where needed while maintaining precise control for specific domains.