The 12 Best Domain Name Registrars
Want to know who the best domain registrars will be in 2022? Businesses called "domain registrars" handle the process of registering and administering domain names for websites all around the globe.
There are a plethora of scams out there, making it crucial to select a trustworthy domain registrar. By weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each service, this article will help you select the best domain registrar for your needs.
Are you looking to save time and just obtain our recommendations? Our research led us to conclude that Domain.com is the best domain registrar for those who are only interested in purchasing a domain name, while Bluehost is the best for those who want to create a website, since they provide a domain name at no additional cost.
Pro Tip: You may save money by bundling domain registration and web hosting at Hostinger
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Domain registration and web hosting should often be handled by different entities, especially if you want to acquire and sell domain names as a business. You should only trust your domain name registration and web hosting to specialized companies.
But if you're just starting out with a blog or a small portfolio site, it's OK to go with a single company for both your domain name and web hosting service.
If you fit this description, Hostinger is your best bet. They provide cheap web hosting that includes a free domain name. Getting a new website up and running has never been easier than with Hostinger, and you can save money by purchasing a name and hosting plan together.
The 12 Best Domain Registrars
- GoDaddy — Best for privacy and domain protection
- Hostinger — Best for hosting and domain registration packages
- Porkbun — Best for domain extensions with creative names
- Domain.com — Best for a quick and easy way to buy a domain
- Network Solutions — Best for registering domains for a long time
- Namecheap — Best for affordable domain registration
- NameSilo — Best for bulk domain purchases
- Bluehost — Best for starting your first website
- Hostgator — The best low-cost web hosting provider
- DreamHost — Best for low-cost and simple shared hosting
- BuyDomains — Best for premium domain names registration
- Google Domains — Best for Ease of Use
My top picks and why I like them are discussed in depth below. Keep reading to learn about your choices and make an informed domain purchase.
Best Domain Registrar Reviews
1. GoDaddy — Best for privacy and domain protection
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GoDaddy is a straightforward and inexpensive domain registrar.
Domain privacy and protection features are standard with every GoDaddy-hosted website. Your identity, including your name, address, email, and phone number, will be protected in this manner. Domain privacy is an added bonus that GoDaddy generously provides without charging extra.
You may get even greater security by upgrading to either the Full Domain Security or Ultimate Domain Protection plan from the basic level of protection.
If you value your privacy and safety, as you should, this is excellent. It serves as a barrier between yourself and potential identity thieves, hackers, and other bad actors.
When you first sign up with GoDaddy, you'll have access to one of the greatest deals in the business. Registering a domain name for two years only costs $0.01 for the first year. Finding a better rate from a reliable domain registrar is difficult.
By purchasing a matching email address and complete domain privacy together, you may save 39%. To get a.com domain with this plan, you'll just have to pay $2.50 monthly.
GoDaddy's domain search tool for several domains at once is another highlight. Check the availability of up to 500 domains at once and buy them all with only a few clicks.
Anyone interested in the domain investment market will find this function at GoDaddy to be indispensable, since it makes listing and parking domains a breeze.
If the domain name you desire is already in use, you can use GoDaddy's Domain Broker Service to find a suitable alternative. They'll put you in touch with a personal representative who acts as a go-between for you and the domain's owner to negotiate the most favorable terms for the domain's purchase.
Try GoDaddy today and get your first year for just $0.01.
2. Hostinger — Best for hosting and domain registration packages
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Hostinger is the most convenient option if you want to register a domain and host your website without spending a dime.
Use Hostinger to handle everything in one spot instead of shopping around for several providers.
Get free domain registration for the first year in addition to lightning-fast, dependable hosting that's easy enough for beginners to use.
Hostinger's $2.99/month options include free domain registration, so you can't lose.
If you are starting from scratch with a website, we strongly suggest using this service. The time it takes to find the right domain name, set up hosting, and create a website is drastically reduced when you use Hostinger.
Using Hostinger's one-click WordPress installation, you can quickly have your site up and running with some content. Not only that, but more than a hundred different applications can be installed with a single click on Hostinger.
In addition, unlike many domain registrars, Hostinger does not charge extra for SSL certificates. In addition, hPanel, Hostinger's intuitive control panel, makes it simple to manage SSL certificates.
Hostinger also offers free privacy protection for your domain as an added bonus. Your personal information is protected from the WHOIS database by default. This service is offered by other registrars for an annual fee of $10 to $15.
Hostinger makes it easy to obtain a domain name registered, get a low monthly hosting fee, and launch a website. Hostinger can help you save both time and money throughout the domain setup process.
3. Porkbun — Best for domain extensions with creative names
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Although Porkbun is a more recent addition to this list, they have already built a reputation for themselves with low, competitive prices. Porkbun is dedicated to maintaining competitive rates and flexible availability.
Given the high demand and inflated prices of.com domains, it's helpful to have options for shorter, catchier name extensions that nonetheless convey your message.
When you conduct a search on Porkbun, a long list of modern and popular TLDs will appear. Interested in writing a blog on the top camping supplies? Find a domain ending in.review or.camp. Looking to showcase your work and attract potential clients? If you're looking for a domain extension, you might want to try.studio,.art, or.ink.
Porkbun offers a wide variety of these nonstandard yet simple-to-remember extensions for less than $8 for the first year. And with so many options, the number of permutations conceivable after you plug in your chosen keywords is practically infinite. The cost to register a new.com domain is just $4.75.
At the moment, the.shop domain extension for online stores may be purchased for as little as $2.04 per year. That's a great price for the first year, and the renewal price of $26.85 each year is still affordable. Compared to the other companies on this list, your renewal rates are the best.
You may also prepay for up to ten years' worth of service at once. Although you won't be able to take advantage of Porkbun's enticing first-year discount, you can still lock in very low renewal rates for as long as ten years by signing up for a multi-year plan. The identical. Ten years of shop extension may be locked in for the low, low price of $228.93, a figure that is even better than their renewal rates.
In addition, the following freebies are included with every domain name purchase:
- WHOIS privacy
- SSL certificate
- URL and email forwarding
- Trials of Porkbun’s site builder, web hosting, and email hosting
Nowadays, coming up with the appropriate mix of keywords and extensions is half the battle in the quest for a new domain name. The latter is more challenging if you aren't familiar with your options. Porkbun's trending domain extensions and greatest bargains websites are a great resource for finding a low-cost solution. As of this writing, Porkbun offers the cheapest domain name registration for more than 200 different extensions. Plus, you may choose from more than 500 different domain extensions.
Make a catchy URL that won't break the bank to register by using your imagination. Registering a domain with Porkbun will provide you with a one-of-a-kind address for your website.
4. Domain.com — Best for a quick and easy way to buy a domain
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When it comes to service quality, ease of use, and cost-effective privacy features, Domain.com is among our top recommendations.
Domain.com offers.com domains for an annual fee of only $9.99. You may buy the domain name for as long as five years, giving you plenty of time to forget about it.
Access the Domain.com domain name registration, price, and availability website here.
Where they truly excel is in helping you maintain below-average domain expenses overall. Owning a website and domain name comes with a number of responsibilities, not the least of which is ensuring the security and anonymity of your domain name.
Domain Privacy + Protection from Domain.com only costs $8.99 per year. Network Solutions, on the other hand, charges $12.99 yearly and provides just WHOIS protection, omitting other forms of domain security like virus scanning.
If you register a lot of domains, you may save a lot of money by using Hostinger because they offer WHOIS privacy protection at no extra cost.
SiteLock, available on Domain.com, provides frequent virus scans and blocklist protection. Domain.com's privacy features also include the replacement of your contact information in the database with generic information.
Domain Privacy + Protection is an optional service that may be added at any moment, and it supports all the most common extensions (.com,.net,.org,.co, and more). There are extensions like.ae,.es,.gg, and others that don't allow domain privacy. In order to find out if your desired domain is compatible, you may check with the provider.
Along with its exemplary privacy features, Domain.com also offers a wide range of other services and round-the-clock assistance from knowledgeable staff. If you wish to utilize them for hosting, for instance, you might be able to cut costs even more. No matter how long of a contract you sign up for (12 or 36 months), Domain.com's shared hosting will only cost you $3.75 per month. In contrast to other hosting providers, here you may get a reduced monthly fee without having to commit to a longer term.
Domain.com provides convenient one-stop shopping by offering a website builder, online storefront hosting, and domain transfer services. They streamline the entire transfer procedure.
The whole transaction, including adding on the extra layer of security and anonymity, takes less than a minute to complete.
5. Network Solutions — Best for registering domains for a long time
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When you locate the perfect domain name, don't let it slip through your fingers. You should feel secure in owning your valuable online real estate for as long as possible, without having to constantly worry about renewing your registration.
Network Solutions is superior than other registrars since it allows you to register a domain for a period of time between one and one hundred years.
Home website for Network Solutions.
If you choose the 100-year term, you must make a single payment at the outset (and there are no prorated refunds for changing your mind around the half-century mark). On the other hand, Network Solutions facilitates long-term domain registration for those who are willing to put their money on the success of their business or personal name.
I think a century is a bit much, but the registrar's 10- and 20-year term options are great.
Expiration protection is available for just $9.99 per domain and can be purchased even if a lesser term is chosen. Network Solutions will protect your domain name against intruders and price increases for up to a year if you forget to renew, are unable to, or just have an outdated payment card on file.
The prices for Network Solutions' two most popular features—domain transfers and private registration—are higher than those of the other services on this list.
Network Solutions, on the other hand, has superior search capabilities, allowing user to use their portal to bid on expired domains, place a certified bid on held domains, peruse the stock of premium reseller domains, conduct bulk searches for up to 25 keywords or phrases, and snag pre-registration discounts on new domain extensions.
If you're serious about securing ownership of your ideal domain name for the foreseeable future, go on further than this registrar.
6. Namecheap — Best for affordable domain registration
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Namecheap lives up to its name by providing high quality domain names at rock bottom pricing.
It's easy and quick to get a domain name from them as well. In less time than it takes to order a UberEats meal, you can buy and register a domain name.
Besides the minimal number of upsells and the straightforward nature of the entire procedure, nothing will hold you up.
It's perfect in every way; I couldn't ask for a better domain-buying experience.
Here's my advice on which upsells to buy at checkout: nothing. There really isn't anything more you need to buy. WhoisGuard is a privacy service provided by Namecheap that, at no additional cost, hides your contact information from the public WHOIS database.
WhoisGuard is free forever as long as your domain is registered via Namecheap. However, GoDaddy charges $12 annually, whereas other site servers just charge $10.
Namecheap's free WhoisGuard protection shown on the final payment page.
The domain's control panel is simple to navigate after purchase.
Namecheap has an excellent information base, in my opinion. Since acquiring and configuring a domain is outside of most people's skills, thorough documentation is essential. It's not something you do on the regular.
Namecheap provides round-the-clock live chat assistance in addition to a two-hour response time for tickets.
In order to get the most out of a limited budget, you should purchase a domain name through Namecheap.
7. NameSilo — Best for bulk domain purchases
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When it comes to domain registration growth, NameSilo is second only to GoDaddy. The simplicity and low cost of their bulk domain purchase system is a major factor in this.
Searching for and buying one of the hundreds of available domain names is as easy as a few clicks. You may save a lot of money if you buy domain names in bulk. NameSilo is a top domain registrar, however its website seems outdated and doesn't reflect its professionalism.
For orders of 5,000 or more names, they offer their lowest pricing at only $8.39 per domain each year. You won't find a better price for domains anywhere.
You'll need to spend enough money on domain names to start a sizable city. However, this is a quick and inexpensive approach for a firm to get a variety of possible branding options or enter the domain trading market.
You may start tweaking your domain right at checkout by adding custom name servers and connecting it to a third-party service (like a website builder). There are almost no upsells. Protect your privacy by activating WHOIS anonymization.
Oh, and NameSilo includes free domain privacy (though you have to pick it up in your shopping).
It's time to begin using NameSilo.
8. Bluehost — Best for starting your first website
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As one of the most popular web hosts, Bluehost is recommended by the WordPress team. They also provide domain name registration in addition to web hosting.
SiteDomainer readers who use our Bluehost discount code will receive a free domain name, an SSL certificate, and a discount on web hosting—an ideal package for anybody wishing to launch a new website.
You may get started for as little as $2.75/month and receive a brand new domain name for free.
Bluehost is an excellent web host, and we use them for numerous of our smaller websites. The software has a user-friendly design, WordPress is installed by default, and the company's live chat agents are always happy to answer questions.
Their features include the opportunity to create an infinite number of subdomains, website virus protection, professional email services provided by G Suite (Google Workspace), and much more.
You may reach them at any time via their toll-free hotline or their real-time chat feature.
9. Hostgator — The best low-cost web hosting provider
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One such well-known firm that provides both domain registration and web hosting under one roof is HostGator. Their domain privacy protections and user-friendly DNS administration tools are great.
You can rapidly find the perfect domain name for your company with the aid of their user-friendly domain search tool. Their domain administration interface is user-friendly for newcomers and thoroughly detailed, making domain transfers a breeze.
HostGator, a new drag-and-drop website builder, has been released alongside domain name and hosting. As part of any of their website builder packages, you may get a free domain name and hosting.
HostGator was the web host of choice for the early iteration of WP beginner. When our site expanded beyond the capacity of their VPS hosting offerings, we made the transition to Google Cloud.
10. DreamHost — Best for low-cost and simple shared hosting
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If you're looking for a reliable web server and domain name registrar, DreamHost is a good option. Anyone who signs up for their Shared Unlimited hosting plan through our link will receive a free domain name and domain privacy protection at no additional cost.
They provide domain name registration for $8.99 per year (with free private registration) even if you don't use their hosting services.
DreamHost has all the features you'd expect from a big domain provider, including support for 400+ TLDs and a full suite of domain administration tools.
Dreamhost also provides a managed WordPress hosting service (named DreamPress) that is ideal for more trafficked sites than can be handled by shared hosting.
DreamHost is yet another well-liked domain registrar and web server. If you're interested in their Shared Unlimited hosting package, they're giving away a free domain name and domain privacy to our readers.
You can register a domain name with them even if you don't use their hosting services for just $8.99 per year, and they'll throw in private registration at no extra cost.
If you're looking for a huge domain provider, go no further than DreamHost. We provide 400+ TLDs and all the name administration tools you'd need.
Dreamhost provides both standard web hosting and a managed WordPress service (named DreamPress) that is ideal for more trafficked sites.
11. BuyDomains — Best for premium domain names registration
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Find premium domain names that match your search criteria using BuyDomains's handy search function. Already registered domain names that are being offered for sale by a third party are called "premium domain names." This is because these names are easier to remember, shorter, and better for branding purposes, making them more costly.
In the event that you are unable to discover a good domain name and you have the necessary funds, you can utilize BuyDomains to look for a premium domain name.
12. Google Domains — Best for Ease of Use
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It's possible to register a website address with Google's help thanks to Google Domains. In 2014, the beta version of the service was released. This tool is meant to work in tandem with Google's other offerings, such as Google My Business and the redesigned Google Sites Website Builder.
Of course, Google didn't begin as a domain provider. Moreover, I doubt that many employees at Google are aware that the company also provides domain name registration services. However, Google Domain benefits from Google's backing and the ease of use that comes with being a Google product, much like all of Google's other offerings.
You already have a Google Domains account if you use any other Google service, such as Gmail, YouTube, etc. It has a user-friendly interface, reasonable prices, and ICANN certification.
If you need to register a domain name, Google Domains is where you want to go. The process of purchasing a domain name is simple and unobtrusive. You probably don't even require a new account, making it more straightforward than even the simplest domain registrars.
How to Find the Best Domain Registrar
The search for the ideal domain registrar for your company might be challenging. How can you decide when every choice is excellent, even on a list like this?
Allow me to assist you in simplifying it.
These are the standards by which I judge each entry on this list. To determine how each product fared, I compared it to these standards. In order to make a choice that is tailored to your specific needs, please use the following information as a starting point.
Free vs. Paid Domain Protection
WHOIS is a public database containing information on people who have registered domain names or IP addresses; it is a requirement throughout the domain registration process.
Picture a phone book, but for the World Wide Web. It functions similarly to a phone book in that it provides contact details for anybody who has registered a domain name, such as a person's name, phone number, email address, and physical location.
The WHOIS database is highly valued by spammers. By having this information at their fingertips, they have a wider pool of potential targets to reach out to.
Thankfully, you can prevent them from accessing the data by using domain privacy and protection.
Namecheap is among the many domain name registrars that offer free WHOIS privacy protection. The annual fee for the latter group is around $12.
Because of this, it's possible that it will influence your final choice of domain registrar. Inquire about the domain registrar's WHOIS privacy policy and whether or not it must be purchased separately.
Since this information is already in the public domain, you can also utilize it to promote your company. You should not use your real information when buying a domain unless you want to be inundated with spam thereafter.
The Top 3 Factors When Selecting a Domain Name Registrar
You will come across businesses with some really alluring offers because of the competitiveness in the domain registration industry. These deals could seem appealing, but there might be drawbacks that you don't immediately see.
What to look out for while selecting a domain name registrar is listed below.
1. Add-on Pricing
When you buy a domain name, certain domain name registrars can automatically pre-check add-on services. Unchecking those boxes would dramatically raise your bill if you don't. A.com domain names shouldn't typically cost you more than $14.99 per year. If it happens, that should send up a warning sign.
On the checkout page, pay close attention and uncheck any upsells or add-on registrar services that you don't require, such as WHOIS Guard. Additionally, you should constantly double-check the entire amount charged on your credit card accounts.
2. Bad User Experience
To maintain you as a client, the majority of domain registrars work to make their websites simple to use. Some domain registrars, however, take the exact opposite approach.
You would find it challenging to modify your domain name settings, such as nameservers, as a result. If you wanted to transfer your domain to a new server or domain registrar, you would need to accomplish that.
Finding this is made simple by conducting an online search for domain registrar reviews. It's vital to read the reviews carefully because few satisfied people post reviews online.
3. Hidden Fees
When selecting a domain registrar, you might also need to be on the lookout for additional fees and expenditures.
For new registrations, certain domain registrars may be offering discounted domains. The renewal fee for the domain is frequently fairly different and even greater, but most newcomers are unaware of this.
It is simple to transfer your domain name to a different business with any reputable domain registrar. Some, nevertheless, will impose an extra charge.
Final Thoughts – Best Domain Registrar
Finding a reputable domain registrar will make your life a lot simpler, whether you're acquiring a new name for the first time or buying domains in large quantities as an investment.
The major domain registrars on the market right now are GoDaddy and Hostinger. GoDaddy stands out for its straightforward registration procedure that comes with free domain privacy and protection for every order. Web hosting from Hostinger comes with a free domain, which is ideal for novices who wish to combine both services from the same vendor.