CAcert

Public Key Infrastructurecacert.org

CAcert is a volunteer-run, non-profit Certificate Authority founded in 2002 that issues free X.509 digital certificates to over 250,000 registered community members using a Web of Trust model, funded entirely by donations and sponsors BIT and NLnet.

Company typePrivate
Founded2002
HeadquartersBurwood East, Australia
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2C
OfferingSoftware

What CAcert does

CAcert is a community-driven, non-profit Certificate Authority that issues free X.509 digital certificates to the public. Founded in 2002, the organization operates without paid staff, relying entirely on volunteers to run its infrastructure and community programs. Its core differentiator is a Web of Trust identity verification model in which approximately 6,000 trained assurers worldwide conduct in-person identity checks, granting assurance points to users who must accumulate at least 50 points to unlock full certificate generation. The technology stack is built on OpenSSL, PHP, and MySQL, and the organization maintains root certificates, a public bug tracker, wiki documentation in 26+ languages, and mailing list-based support.

The portfolio spans Class 1 and Class 3 certificates for email encryption, client authentication, server SSL/TLS, and code signing, with a recently expanded set of OpenID Connect integrations for WordPress, Drupal, and Nextcloud that enable certificate-based single sign-on. CAcert's business model is donation-funded, with monthly data center hosting costs of approximately 2,000 EUR covered by sponsors BIT (bit.nl) and NLnet (nlnet.nl). A structural constraint is the organization's absence from major web browser root certificate stores, which has historically limited its utility for mainstream TLS use cases despite its scale of over 250,000 registered community members and several thousand certificates issued annually. The legal entity, CAcert Inc., is domiciled in Switzerland, with operational presence documented across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia.

CAcert firmographics

Firmographics

Name: CAcert
Legal name: CAcert Inc.
Website: https://cacert.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2002
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: CAcert is a volunteer-run, non-profit Certificate Authority founded in 2002 that issues free X.509 digital certificates to over 250,000 registered community members using a Web of Trust model, funded entirely by donations and sponsors BIT and NLnet.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

CAcert industry classification

Industry

Product category: Public Key Infrastructure
NAICS: Professional Organizations (813920), Offices of Notaries (54112)
SIC: Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Services, Nec (8900)
akta.pro industry: PRIMARYEDABAGAN
Secure Software & DevOps Awareness (Secure Coding Basics)
Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Cybersecurity Awareness & Secure Practices Training
SECONDARYBPAKAEAI
Credential, Education & Professional License Verification
Business & Public Services/Security & Investigations Services/Private Investigation & Background Screening
SECONDARYFSAKAKAD
Consumer Identity Verification (KYC) & Fraud Risk for Credit
Financial & Insurance/Lending & Consumer Finance/Credit Reporting, Scoring & Underwriting (Consumer)
SECONDARYEDAFADAO
Transcript, Score Reporting & Verification/Credential Wallet Platforms
Education/Education Technology (EdTech) & Digital Learning/Assessment, Testing, Proctoring & Credentialing Platforms

Keywords

Digital certificate authority
X.509 certificates
Public key infrastructure
SSL/TLS certificates
Identity verification

Where CAcert is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Burwood East
HQ country: Australia
HQ region: Oceania

Markets served

CAcert business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

Donations: CAcert is a non-profit community-driven organization funded entirely by donations. Operations are sponsored by BIT (bit.nl) and NLnet (nlnet.nl). Monthly electricity bills and data center rack costs (about 2000 EUR) are covered by user donations.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Pay-as-you-go	Free certificates for all users

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

CAcert product offering

Product offering

Core offering

CAcert is a community-driven, non-profit Certificate Authority that issues free X.509 digital certificates for email encryption and signing, SSL/TLS server authentication, code signing, and document signatures. It uses a Web of Trust model in which volunteer "assurers" verify the identities of community members face-to-face and assign assurance points, enabling participants to obtain progressively higher-trust certificates.

Product overview

CAcert is a community-driven, non-profit Certificate Authority offering free X.509 digital certificates. The core offering includes Class 1 and Class 3 certificates for email encryption and server/client authentication, built upon a Web of Trust assurance system where community members verify each other's identities. The portfolio extends to OpenID Connect integrations (for WordPress, Drupal, and Nextcloud) that leverage CAcert certificates for password-free single sign-on authentication. The infrastructure is based on OpenSSL, PHP, and MySQL, with services including a bug tracker, wiki documentation, and community support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

X.509 Digital Certificates
Class 1 Root Certificate
Class 3 Root Certificate
Client Certificates
Server Certificates (SSL/TLS)
Web of Trust Assurance Program
CAcert OpenID Connect for WordPress
CAcert OpenID Connect for Drupal
CAcert OpenID Connect for Nextcloud

Quantifiable outcome

3993 free certificates issued in FY 2024/25
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use CAcert

Customer profile

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

CAcert technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

CAcert partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

CAcert competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

CAcert financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

CAcert leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

CAcert funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

CAcert M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CAcert

What does CAcert do?

Is CAcert a public or private company?

CAcert is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was CAcert founded?

CAcert was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is CAcert based?

CAcert is headquartered in Burwood East, Australia, in the Oceania region.

How does CAcert make money?

One revenue line is on record: donations.

Does CAcert have an API?

No public API is recorded for CAcert.

What industry is CAcert in?

CAcert's product category is Public Key Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDABAGAN, Secure Software & DevOps Awareness (Secure Coding Basics), with a secondary code of BPAKAEAI, Credential, Education & Professional License Verification. Its NAICS code is 813920 and its SIC code is 8200.