FAQ
Straight answers about how CertPost watches your certificates
How do the checks actually work?
We open a real TLS connection to your host and read the certificate it presents — the same thing a visitor's browser sees. Nothing to install, no agent, no DNS changes. If your server serves the wrong cert, an expired intermediate, or a name that doesn't match, we see exactly what your users would.
We use Let's Encrypt with auto-renew. Why would we need monitoring?
Because renewal automation fails silently: a DNS challenge breaks, a rate limit hits, or certbot renews but the web server never reloads. Let's Encrypt stopped sending expiry emails in June 2025, so nothing warns you anymore. We check the output of your automation — the served certificate — not the automation itself.
Do you check more than expiry dates?
Yes. Every check validates the full chain (including dying intermediates — ask anyone who was on AddTrust in 2020), verifies the hostname matches the certificate, records the fingerprint so unexpected changes trigger an alert, and tracks your domain's registration expiry too.
Can you watch non-HTTPS ports, like SMTP or LDAPS?
Any TLS port. Add smtp.example.com:465, ldap.example.com:636, or an internal admin panel on :8443 the same way you add a website. IPv4 and IPv6 both work.
What does the free plan include?
Three certificates, checked daily, with every alert channel — email and webhooks. Free forever, commercial use welcome, no card required. Enough for your main domain, www, and API.
How many certificates can I monitor, and on which plan?
Free covers 3, forever — enough for your main domain, www and API. Team is $29/month for unlimited certificates, hourly checks and up to five people, which is the plan most businesses want. Agency is $79/month and adds 15-minute checks and public status pages for client work.
How is this different from UptimeRobot or StatusCake?
Uptime tools ping your site and treat SSL as a checkbox — usually leaf expiry only. We are a dedicated certificate monitor: full chain validation, hostname verification, change detection, custom ports, and alerts written for the person who has to fix it.
Can I cancel any time?
One click from your billing settings, effective at the end of the period. Your monitors drop back to the free plan's three certificates instead of disappearing.