Extended Validation Certificate Pricing

EV certificates occupy the premium tier of the market, with annual costs ranging from $200-1,500. Entry-level EV certificates from budget providers might cost $200-400, though these often come from less established CAs with potentially limited browser compatibility. Mainstream EV certificates from well-known providers typically cost $400-800 annually. Premium EV certificates from industry leaders can exceed $1,000, especially when bundled with comprehensive security services.

The high cost of EV certificates reflects both the extensive validation work and the liability CAs assume. The manual verification process can require several hours of labor from trained validation specialists. CAs must maintain rigorous audit standards and insurance coverage for EV issuance. The limited market for EV certificates also means providers can't achieve the same economies of scale as DV certificates.

Despite high costs, EV certificates can provide positive ROI for appropriate use cases. E-commerce sites report conversion rate improvements of 15-20% with EV certificates compared to DV. For a site processing $1 million annually, a 1% conversion improvement would generate $10,000 in additional revenue, easily justifying a $1,000 certificate cost. Financial services and healthcare organizations often view EV certificates as necessary costs of doing business in security-sensitive industries.