The Best Domain Name Registrar in 2024

Domain names are among the most important online assets a blog, website, or online business can have. It’s something visitors and consumers will notice first, and it will stick with them. Very soon, you will find your domain name at the center of your online marketing campaign, helping extend the reach of your brand. All of this means that domain registration is very important.

But, before you buy a domain name, you should get informed. Why? Well, companies that sell domain names, so-called domain name registrars, are not the same. In fact, the services they offer vary in terms of offered features, reliability, and price.

Since we are talking about something as important as domain name registration, it is worth spending some time finding out what makes the best domain registrar. To help you out with it, we did some extensive groundwork.

EDITORS’ CHOICE

We’ve taken a closer look at all the popular domain registrar companies. Our goal was to find outstanding and trustworthy registrars you can use without having to worry about addressing any risks. All the registrars on our list offer dependable services and make domain registration a walk in the park.

Here is everything you need to know about domain name registrars, including the list of the best ones on the market.

The top 10 most popular domain registrars

Does domain name registration sound too technical to you? The best domain registrars will streamline the registration process for you and make it an easy thing to do (as it should be).

If you try looking for domain registrar companies on your own, you will find out that there are hundreds of them on the market. The trouble is that they all advertise as the best ones. To be honest with you, only a handful are worth your time and hard-earned money.

Here are the top 10 most popular domain registrars.

1. Namecheap Provides excellent value for money
2. Domain.com Provider with affordable prices
3. Iwantmyname Best for completely custom domains
4. GoDaddy The most reputable provider
5. Hover Easiest registrar to buy domain
6. Name Provider with excellent customer service
7. Gandi Great to secure large domain portfolios
8. NameSilo Enabling you to trade domains
9. IONOS One of the best registrars with support
10. Google Domains Registrations made simple and easy

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Namecheap — Provides excellent value for money

NameCheap is part of the domain name registrar’s veterans group. It was founded back in 2000. Currently, NameCheap manages over 5 million domains. It comes with great domain search usability, enabling clients to search domains in batches of up to 50. The search results are organized so that you can get immediate insights. You can see popular, international, discounted, and new domains.

NameCheap services come at affordable prices, and this allows you to access a pool of domains available at really low prices, starting at $0.48. We found the shopping cart to be very informative. Before you proceed with domain name registration, you will be able to see both registration and renewal prices.

Pricing

• .com domains start at $9.58
• .net domains start at $11.18
• .org domains start at $7.48
• .io domains start at $39.98

Register domain name with Namecheap >>

Domain.com — Provider with affordable prices

Domain.com focuses on providing services to small to medium-sized businesses. The company has been around for almost two decades and it stands as one of the reputable domain registrars out there.

Domain.com offers non-premium top-level domains (TLD) and has support for more than 25 country codes. Not long ago, Domain.com became a broker in the domain name world, selling premium domains. It offers access to a great dashboard and comes with a number of features that are all locked behind different pricing plans.

Pricing

• .com domains start at $9.99
• .net domains start at $12.99
• non-premium TLD starts at $2.99
• Privacy and protection $6.99

Register domain name with Domain.com >>

Iwantmyname — Best for completely custom domains

Iwantmyname is a three-man project that started back in 2008, and it turned out to be a huge success. The company founders, Paul, Timo, and Lenz, came around the idea of creating a good and reliable domain name registrar. The company outgrew its founders’ expectations. Today, it is one of the most popular domain registrars.

The official website is clean and easy to navigate. Finding and registering a domain name should be as easy as ordering food online. The registrar comes with all usual features and a transparent pricing plan.

Pricing

• .com domains start at $16.40
• .net domains start at $23.76
• .org domains start at $17.20
• .co domains start at $42.90
• .app domains start at $29.00

Register domain name with Iwantmyname >>

GoDaddy — The most reputable provider

While it may not be the oldest, GoDaddy is by far the biggest domain registrar on the market. It has an enormous customer base of over 17 million. GoDaddy currently manages more than 75 million domains. Hopefully, this paints a picture of how popular it is. After the company established dominance on the domain name market, the prices logically went up.

If you are looking to buy a domain name at GoDaddy, you should be aware that the prices are above the industry average. Some of the features such as WHOIS, don’t come free in the extras package. GoDaddy will charge you for every perk that you want to unlock. Anyhow, it is a great option for people who want to get a web hosting and domain registration package. Excellent customer support is available even over the phone to help you choose the best package for your needs.

Pricing

• .com domains start at $11.99
• .org domains start at $9.99
• .mobi domains start at $7.17
• WHOIS start at $8

Note: The prices apply if you pay for two years up-front, and they go significantly up once the two-year period is over.

Register domain name with GoDaddy >>

Hover — The easiest registrar to purchase domain

Behind the popular domain name registrar company, we have Tucows. This company owns two other brands in the domain name waters, eNom, and OpenSRS. Unlike other registrars on our list that don’t have a dedicated web page for disclosing the pricing policy and plans as we hoped, Hover does the job perfectly. You will be able to see exactly how much you will have to pay for the domain you choose. The list is quite long, so be sure to spend some time cross-referencing prices with other offers.

Hover offers a lot of features and provides a free WHOIS service, as long as you stay with the company.

Pricing

• .com domains start at $14.99
• .mobi domains start at $29.99
• .net domains start at $16.99
• .org domains start at $13.99
• Bulk domain pricing

Register domain name with Hover >>

Name.com — Provider with excellent customer service

Name.com is managed by the Right Side Group, with headquarters in Denver, CO. The company started out as a small project launched by William Mushkin in 2003. However, it provided premium domain registration services and became quite popular among businesses and individuals. As a valuable member of the Right side Group family, Name.com is responsible for managing over 300,000 domains.

The website is intuitive and really easy to use. Domain lookup and registration are straightforward. When it comes to features, Name.com doesn’t fall behind the competition at all. However, the lack of customer support options may discourage some clients with a no-to-limited technical background from using its services.

Pricing

• .com domains start at $12.99
• .net domains start at $14.99
• .org domains start at $7.99
• .mobi domains start at $8.99

Register domain name with Name.com >>

Gandi — Great option to secure large domain portfolios

Gandi is the result of a collaboration between French internet pioneers, Valentin Lacambre, Laurent Chemla, and Pierre Beyssac. It was founded in 1999. After it was bought in 2005 by a professional management team, it became one of the most popular domain registrars in Europe.

The Gandi domain management team currently manages over 2,4 million domains from almost 200 countries. Its services are tailored to meet the needs of individuals as well as big enterprises. We found Gandi to have all the must-have features. Their pricing is reasonable, and customer support is outstanding.

Pricing

• .com domain names start at $16.13
• .net domain names start at $18.61
• .org domain names start at $9.69

Register domain name with Gandi >>

NameSilo — Enabling you to trade domains

Although new in the game, NameSilo managed to quickly become competitive by offering high-quality services at very affordable prices. NameSilo is one of the fastest-growing registrars with a great offer of cheap domain names. The company offers tools based on cutting-edge technologies to streamline your domain management. You can also register to become an official reseller of the domain names through the platform.

You can find the perfect domain for yourself on NameSilo’s domain name marketplace. Here, you can browse through expired domains, or participate in one of the many domain name auctions.

Pricing

• .com domain names start at $10.95
• .net domain names start at $11.79
• .org domain names start at $10.79

Note: You can get big discounts when making bulk domain name registration orders.

Register domain name with NameSilo >>

IONOS — One of the best registrars with support

IONOS is a pioneer in the domain registration business. Originally, it was founded under the name 1&1 in 1988. IONOS is owned by a German internet services company, United Internet. There is not much to say when you have a domain registrar with a reputation longer than 30 years. It comes with all the features you need to buy domains.

The website is easy to use, as is the server control panel. There is one thing, though. IONOS services are not available worldwide. At the moment, you can use it if you are in one of the following counties: US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, France, Poland, and Great Britain.

Pricing

• .com, .org, .net, and .biz domains start at $1
• .shop domains start at $50
• .blog domains start at $6
• .app domains start at $12

Register domain name with IONOS >>

Google Domains — Registrations made simple and easy

Google decided to leverage its position in the IT world and attract clients who prefer famous and trustworthy companies above anything else. To help individuals and businesses register domains with ease, Google launched Google Domains. Google Domains is very easy to get used to. It offers a clean user interface, a transparent pricing policy, and one of the best domain search features. There are no discounts, special deals, and ongoing sales.

Google did a perfect job of making domain purchasing as straightforward as possible. While the domains are listed in an informative way, we found that you won’t be able to register some of the domains with Google Domains. On the other hand, these domains are available across other registrars, including .tv and .mobi. On the other hand, it is the only registrar on our list that offers prices standardized to whole numbers.

Pricing

• .com, .net, .us, .dev, and .org domains start at $12
• .app domains start at $14
• .me domains start at $20
• .tech domains start at $40
• .store domains start at $50

Register domain name with Google Domains >>

How to choose the right domain registrar

Before you buy a domain, you have to choose the right domain registrar for you. With so many factors in play, it can appear that it is an impossible task.

It’s quite the opposite. Once you know what to do, you can skim through the offers and be able to quickly identify the right domain registrar for your needs as an individual or a business owner.

Domain names extension

Long gone are the days when .com played the most important role in SEO. Unique domain name extensions can help you differentiate yourself from the competition. It can also make it easier for customers and clients to remember it. If you are looking for something unique that goes well with your brand or blog name, narrow down your options to registrars that offer a variety of domain name extensions.

Domain registration vs. renewal price

Many domain name registrars tell customers to buy domain names by listing out cheap domains. But, very often, this happens to be the price for registering a domain. Once you have to renew it, you will most likely have to pay twice as much as your initial investment.

Before choosing the best domain registrar, check the registration and renewal price. Also, if you are transferring the domain from another registrar, check the domain transfer price.

Bundled services

To make the biggest bang for your buck, look for registrars that offer bundled services. Some registrars will charge for these services such as protection, privacy, SSL encryption, and WHOIS lookup. Others offer them for free as long as you stay loyal and keep renewing your domain name registration with them.

If you want to save some cash in the long run, you should consider registrars with bundled services.

Domain registration and web hosting

A majority of domain registrars on our list offer website hosting as an extra. Some people find it convenient to use one company’s website hosting and domain name registration services. It makes management easier.

This is a two-way street, though. Web hosting companies also offer domain name registration services. Web hosting and domain registration are both as important. For example, Bluehost, our recommended hosting provider, will give you a free domain name for the first year if you sign up for their hosting package.

Hidden fees

Unfortunately, domain name registrars play the “small print” game like many other firms offering IT services. Whenever purchasing something online, we advise you to exercise caution. Always look at the fine print before making the final decision.

Customer support

Customer support is also an important factor when choosing the right registrar for you. In critical situations, you will need help, and if it is not available 24/7 or you have to resolve matters via email, you will have a hard time. It’s always better to go with a registrar that offers multi-channel 24/7 customer support.

The best of the best

It’s completely understandable if you can’t be bothered with cross-referencing domain name registrars’ offers. You need to make an informed decision as soon as possible. Alright, here are the best of the best domain name companies listed in several categories that might reflect your unique needs.

The best cheap domain registrars

The following registrars offer their services at affordable prices. We made sure that there are no trade-offs. You can buy domain names from any of the following companies for a fraction of the price and still get a premium-like service.

The best domain registrars with the most TLDs

If you are only interested in investing in a TLD domain, you don’t have to wander around. These two are the best domain registrars that will offer you access to the most available TLDs on the market.

The best domain registrars with hosting service

Do you want to avoid the hassle of having one company for web hosting and another one for domain name registration? No problem. The following two are the best registrars that have a hosting service as well, for your convenience.

FAQs

Conclusion

Now that you had the chance to take a closer look at the most popular domain name registrars and the features they offer, you can make an informed decision.

Domain name registration is not something that you should rush. Take your time and closely examine all the options you have on the market. If you do want to take shortcuts, go back to our “Best of the best” section and consider the best domain registrar we put in the use-case categories.