The Best Domain Name Registrars: 7 Top-Rated Alternatives
Do you want to purchase a domain name for your business?
DNS is one of the most important steps in building a website. It’s also important to know the right way to choose your domain registrar. You should pick a reliable yet affordable provider when shopping for a domain name from the get-go because it will affect the cost of your domain purchase, your hosting plan, and much more.
In this article, we will focus on the best domain name registries available to help you decide which one is best for your business.
7 of the most popular registrars are given here:
The Best Domain Name Registrars
- Namecheap – The best domain name registrar overall.
- Bluehost– Best domain name registrar.
- Domain.com – Get a top domain registrar with Domain.com
- NameSilo – Affordable Domain Name Registrar
- GoDaddy – Best domains auction for expired domains onto the cheapest market rate
- Porkbun – Best domain name registrar with free privacy and SSL included
- Network Solutions – What you need to know about buying domain name registrars.
1. Namecheap
Namecheap is one of the most successful and popular domains on the internet. It has an easy-to-use search function that can help you find your perfect domain name in seconds.
A trustable site for quality deals. Namecheap features discounts, promotions and cashback offers on certain domain extensions such as .co or .store.
In terms of finding domain names, Namecheap provides a comprehensive search functionality. You can find relevant domains with a quick and easy search. This lets you find different domain extensions that match your keyword choice.
Domain names that have highly marketable keywords such as “bestdomain.com” will be more expensive. Namecheap helps you determine if a domain name is worth the investment by listing those domains that are most likely to keep their value longer. Namecheap also offers an option to spend less on your domain name by purchasing it at a discounted rate or registrars’ expiration dates
Namecheap offers 1-year registration with all new domain purchases and features add-ons like WordPress hosting, DNSPlus, and SSL that are available as separate options.
Namecheap’s domain name search features are incorporated into the interface. It’s easy to transfer a domain with Namecheap as well – there is a simple tutorial on their homepage that only takes seconds.
Namecheap has a large selection of domains and add-ons, which makes it easy to use.
2. Bluehost
Bluehost is only focused on selling hosting plans and they’re mainly a hosting company.
They also appear frequently on lists of best web hosting providers. They are one of the top domain registrars if you want a solution where you have your hosting, domain name and blog all in one spot.
The hosting prices are great, but what makes this a deal is that you get an entire year of free domain name which can be exchanged for hosting service at any point throughout the contract.
Going through the Bluehost promotion links on this page results in two things. It is an affiliate link, meaning that we earn a small commission if you buy through them and it will also unlock a discounted deal for you of $2.75 for standard bluehost service versus $3.95 for premium bluehost services. If you visit their site in any other way, then this discount won’t be available to you.
While Bluehost is not the worst when it comes to customer service, there are quite a few complaints online. In our WordPress hosting survey, they scored a 3.2 out of 5 which was near the bottom of the most popular hosts.
What you can count on is a good support score when purchasing online hosting. This factor is not only included in the service but also allows you to better estimate what type of support you might be able to receive if issues arise.
3. Domain.com
With a compilation of over 69,592 available domains, Domain.com is an industry heavyweight in domain registration and hosting.
Domain.com offers a neat homepage with only a search bar. Simply input your chosen keywords, and you’ll be presented with a wide range of domain name options in just a few seconds.
You can view if a domain is worth buying even before you input information to find the value of it. The result will show a premium or highly valuable domain, which helps you focus on the more expensive options. In addition to cost, you have the option to add privacy and protection for $8.99/year.
Daily discounts for new domain purchases, as well as management tools like DNS management, email options, and others help make this a low-risk move. The ability to easily transfer domains to your personal account is also an invaluable tool.
Domain.com offers 1 or 2 years of registration upfront and is preferable in some cases, as you don’t need to worry about failing to renew the first year and can focus on your site building and growth. You can also opt for extras like SSL certificates, Sitelock security, and Google Workspace subscriptions.
If you have any problems purchasing your new domain name or transferring it, you can call their live support team or chat with them online. They even have an extensive knowledge center that includes a range of useful resources.
Domain.com is a no-frills domain name registrar and nothing more. The website doesn’t offer any added services other than registering your domain.
4. NameSilo
NameSilo is a domain name registrar that provides quality, cheap, and secure domain names. They tout that NameSilo is cheaper than other popular registrars such as GoDaddy and Name.com.
NameSilo offers domain names starting at $0.99, and there are other discounts available to make purchases even cheaper.
For instance, if you buy premium domain names that are at a reduced price, NameSilo offers attractive discounts and also participates in their discount program for further reductions. NameSilo has millions of domains available with over 400 different domain extensions.
You can quickly search for domains by typing in the phrase you’re looking for with the domain name that best suits your needs in the search bar on our homepage. The results are presented to you and can also be filtered so that you only see what you need.
NameSilo does a great job of showing you the renewal cost before you enter your domain name in order for you to make good decisions about the purchase of it. Sometimes other registries don’t provide this info, but with NameSilo, it is usually the same price or less than the original.
Once you choose a domain, NameSilo offers a variety of extras like domain protection and SSL certificate. You can also use the website builders they offer.
NameSilo provides a variety of different plans that start as low as $2.99/month, including hosting, email, website builder, email campaigns, cPanel, and easy WordPress installation.
5. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is an exemplar in the domain name registrar industry, and offers a great option for e-commerce merchants looking to set up new websites.
GoDaddy’s domain database is enormous, and you can even get a .com starting from just $0.01 for two years, with a generous 252 extensions to choose from. You’ll only need to keep browsing, or their built-in desktop search will do the work for you.
If you want to register domains, it is easy as pie. Getting affordable privacy protection is a cinch too. If you have an expired domain, we have auctions for 10 years of amazing deals.
In addition to domain name services, GoDaddy also offers a variety of hosting plans. If you are an ecommerce vendor, then GoDaddy’s hosting plan is quite worth considering. With their WooCommerce plan, you get a free domain name and a whole lot of other benefits.
Making setting up an e-commerce store quick and hassle-free, GoDaddy offers $6000 worth of WooCommerce extensions, automatic WordPress updates, and patching.
This hosting plan would be useful for bloggers and start-ups who want to sell an online product or service. The pre-installed plugin with GoDaddy makes your store set up time much more efficient, which is already included with the price of the hosting package.
With brand name marketing options and site building services to boot, GoDaddy allows e-commerce merchants to have their own store without breaking the bank. Starting at $15.99 a month, WooCommerce hosting is cheap compared with other e-commerce sites recommended by leading brands out there which are often $90 a month or more.
In the domain name registrar industry, GoDaddy is a well-known name. They offer a great option for e-commerce merchants looking to set up new websites.
How to choose a domain and domain registrar
GoDaddy’s database of domain names has a lot of options, and starting your domains with the premium option will only cost you $0.01 for the first two years. You can easily browse their database to find some of their 400+ affiliate domains as well as premium ones.
You should buy domains you will use in the future from a trusted, high quality hosting company, where privacy and protection is available for as low as $4.99/month. The site also has auctions for expired domains that are often just as good.
Whether you’re getting a hosting for an ecommerce business or just to handle your own personal website, GoDaddy also offers a range of other benefits. The company provides a complementary domain name for WooCommerce hosting with 4 GB of total storage space, 13 GB mailboxes that have SSL certificate verification and managed WordPress.
Setup an e-commerce site quickly and easily with GoDaddy’s WooCommerce hosting plan. It comes with $6000 worth of extensions and automatic WordPress updates and patching.
With this hosting plan, you will have access to a plugin from GoDaddy which helps you to seamlessly integrate payments into your website. This is already installed and activated on WordPress when you sign up, so this could greatly reduce the setup time for your store.
6. Porkbun
Porkbun is a US-based domain name registrar with a vast database of TLDs. Porkbun prides itself on being a quick and simple way to purchase domains and add-ons. Porkbun offers an easy-to-use search tool that can be used to search single or bulk domains.
You can input your desired keyword to see which domains it matches. The program lists over 400 different domains. This website is often referred to as a “registry of extensions” similar to others like NameSilo or NameCheap, with a much smaller audience and arguably better service.
If you’re on a limited budget, you can avoid the price spike of adding privacy and protection when shopping for your domain at checkout. With most companies charging $10+ for this, Porkbun includes it in their service for free as standard.
They offer add-ons for domains that include email and hosting, a great deal if you want to compare different options.
Porkbun offers hosting packages for WordPress, PHP, and Static hosting with prices starting at $5 per month. You can try anything out before committing to one of their plans!
If your trial with Pork Bun ends you’ll be able to transfer your domain with no additional fees. They compete with other top-tier offers like name.com, and come with valuable services such as encryption and privacy protection included in the rate.
7. Network Solutions
Network Solutions is known for 25 years of experience and still going strong. They’ve been handling businesses like small businesses and fortune 500 companies over the past 25 years.
Network Solutions domain registrar has been around since the 1980s
Network Solutions is a great option for those looking to register their own gTLD. They’re currently running special offers on the top level domains like .tech, and .site, so now’s the perfect time to pick up one of these if you are in the market.
As the popularity of these new TLDs has not caught up with traditional TLDs, it is often easier to secure your brand name or target keyword.
Another con of Network Solutions is that their product prices aren’t transparent upfront. You have to go through a few pages of the checkout process before they even tell you what the pricing for a domain will be.
I was quoted a price of $25/year for the domain I tested, with discounts for longer terms. This is probably a good average price that’s within reason.
NM offers a lot of features, such as easy online account management, supported sub-domains, auto-renewals (so you never have to worry about your domain expiring), domain transfer locks for added security, easy DNS management, and more. NS supports third-party vendor integration, so you can integrate with different services that make your hosting experience convenient as well.
If the domain you want isn’t available, Network Solutions also provides a Certified Offer Service, which allows you to make an anonymous offer to purchase it from the current holder. You can also sign up for notifications when a domain becomes available through an RSS feed. The service pairs potential buyers with sellers looking for buyers so that everyone gets the best possible deal.
