Active Directory Certificate Services VS X.509_
As of 4 November 2026, X.509 is named by 147 companies and Active Directory Certificate Services by 194; Active Directory Certificate Services skews to companies under 200 people (40% vs 43%), X.509 to companies over 1,000 (33% vs 41%).
As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Active Directory Certificate Services's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, X.509 rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Active Directory Certificate Services: 2–200 employees
- 40%
- X.509: 2–200 employees
- 43%
- Active Directory Certificate Services: 1,000+ employees
- 41%
- X.509: 1,000+ employees
- 33%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.4 · 1.9
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | Active Directory Certificate Services | share | X.509 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 4 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 16 | 8% | 13 | 9% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 28 | 14% | 16 | 11% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| 51-200 employees | 34 | 18% | 34 | 23% | X.509 |
| 201-500 employees | 19 | 10% | 21 | 14% | X.509 |
| 501-1000 employees | 13 | 7% | 13 | 9% | X.509 |
| 1001-5000 employees | 29 | 15% | 21 | 14% | even |
| 5001-10000 employees | 13 | 7% | 7 | 5% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 38 | 20% | 21 | 14% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Segment | Active Directory Certificate Services | share | X.509 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & industry | 73 | 38% | 26 | 18% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Technology & software | 43 | 22% | 79 | 54% | X.509 |
| Business & finance services | 25 | 13% | 27 | 18% | X.509 |
| Public, community & associations | 12 | 6% | 6 | 4% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 11 | 6% | 2 | 1% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Health care | 9 | 5% | 1 | 1% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Media & content | 7 | 4% | 1 | 1% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 5 | 3% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Automotive | 3 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 3 | 2% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 3 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Property & construction | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory Certificate Services | share | X.509 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 130 | 67% | 102 | 69% | X.509 |
| United Kingdom | 9 | 5% | 4 | 3% | even |
| Germany | 7 | 4% | 10 | 7% | X.509 |
| France | 6 | 3% | 4 | 3% | even |
| Switzerland | 5 | 3% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Canada | 4 | 2% | 4 | 3% | even |
| India | 4 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Australia | 2 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Denmark | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 1% | 4 | 3% | even |
| Singapore | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Brazil | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Poland | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| BJ | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Active Directory Certificate Services | share | X.509 | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT operations & business systems | 209 | 36% | 127 | 34% | even |
| Engineering (non-software) | 168 | 29% | 8 | 2% | Active Directory Certificate Services |
| Software engineering | 43 | 7% | 138 | 37% | X.509 |
| Customer service & success | 10 | 2% | 3 | 1% | even |
| Product, program & project management | 7 | 1% | 7 | 2% | even |
| Sales | 7 | 1% | 6 | 2% | even |
| healthcare support and caregiving | 6 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Administration & office | 4 | 1% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Design & UX | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Finance & accounting | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| healthcare clinical | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| research and science | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Unclassified | 4 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Education & training | 3 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| facilities cleaning and security | 2 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| skilled trades and field service | 2 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | 1 | 0% | 3 | 1% | even |
| hospitality and food service | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Legal, compliance & risk | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| public safety and protective services | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Data & AI | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Active Directory Certificate Services →
Companies using X.509 →
pki certificates ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
X.509 is named by 147 companies in job postings and Active Directory Certificate Services by 194; 27 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/active-directory-certificate-services-vs-x-dot-509)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
Active Directory Certificate Services vs X.509: questions
Which is more used, Active Directory Certificate Services or X.509?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Active Directory Certificate Services (194) over X.509 (147). By website-and-DNS footprint, X.509 (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Active Directory Certificate Services?
40% of Active Directory Certificate Services companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 43% for X.509. 41% of Active Directory Certificate Services companies have over 1,000 employees, against 33% for X.509.
Do companies run both?
27 companies name both in their postings, usually Active Directory Certificate Services in marketing and X.509 in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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