A Comparison of Domain Hosts

What is the best place to get your domain?

Written by Maxwell Pelic, April 6, 2022

When deciding on a host for my domain name (maxpelic.com) I did a lot of research to find the cheapest/best option. Here are some of the websites I looked at, ranked worst to best:

note: to remain unbiased, I didn’t include any affiliate links in this article. All pricing shown is for .com domains as of June 4, 2020

5. Web.com web.com

If you’re only buying a domain, definitely don’t get one from Web.com. As far as I can tell, they don’t offer any discounts for your first year, and they overprice their .com domains at $38. Also their privacy protection is WAY overpriced.

Web.com

Registration: No Discount

Renewal: $38?!

Privacy Protection: $15

4. GoDaddy godaddy.com

I have many problems with GoDaddy, their domain pricing being one of the main ones. They charge a hugely discounted registration price, but it costs way too much to renew your domain registration. As of this article, a .com domain costs $1 to register and (I think) $18 to renew. GoDaddy is only a good option if you plan on getting rid of/transferring your domain after a year. GoDaddy is overpriced in terms of privacy protection, but the first year of registration is still slightly cheaper than some options.

GoDaddy.com:

Registration: $1

Renewal: $17

Privacy Protection: $10

3. Domain.com domain.com

With slightly better pricing than GoDaddy, domain.com ranks 3rd on the list of domain name hosts. They charge $10 for their first year of registration, and $14 for every year after that. Protection costs $9/yr.

Domain.com:

Registration: $10

Renewal: $14

Privacy Protection: $9

2. NameCheap namecheap.com

With more reasonable pricing than the previously mentioned sites, NameCheap offers registration for $8.88 (which you can have for up to 10 years) and renewal of $13. If your willing to pay up front, the first 10 years are cheaper than the competition. NameCheap offers privacy protection for free.

NameCheap.com

Registration: $8.88 (up to 10 years, pay up front)

Renewal: $13

Privacy Protection: FREE

1. Google Domains domains.google

My personal favorite, Google Domains offers up-front pricing. Domains cost $12/year, with privacy protection included. Although Namecheap beats Google’s pricing when you register, Google Domains is cheaper in the long run (and I appreciate their lack of gimmicks)

Google Domains:

Registration: No Discount

Renewal: $12

Privacy Protection: FREE

Depending on your need, I would go with Google Domains or NameCheap. If you really want to get the best deal, you could get your domain from NameCheap for the first 10 years and then transfer to Google Domains.