Cloudflare Registrar
Best for: Developers · At-cost renewals
- +At-cost renewal pricing — no markup on wholesale
- +Best-in-class DNS performance
- −Smaller TLD selection than full-service registrars
Last updated 2026-05-27Read review →
Best Domain Registrars (2026)
Independent ranking of the 9 registrars we have scored, out of 20 tracked. Each scored registrar is rated across renewal pricing, WHOIS privacy, DNS tools, security, support, transfer experience, TLD coverage, and developer features; the other 11 are published as facts-only profiles with no score.
Short answer: Porkbun is the best domain registrar for most users (9.0/10) — consistently low renewal prices, free WHOIS privacy by default, and a clean dashboard with no checkout upsells. Cloudflare Registrar holds the highest overall score (9.2/10) and is the strongest technical pick — at-cost renewals with no registrar markup, industry-leading anycast DNS, and scoped API tokens — but its TLD catalog is narrower and support is ticket-based, which makes it a harder first registrar, so it is not the default answer for most people. Every score uses the same published weights, and scores were last reviewed 2026-06-29. See methodology →
Last updated 2026-08-19Prices checked monthly1 of 9 scored reviews with published testing notes6 registrars with primary-source pricingTransparent methodology
| Registrar | Best for | Overall | .com first-year | .com renewal | 3-year cost | WHOIS privacy | DNS | Support | Prices checked | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Cloudflare Registrar | Developers | 9.2 | $10.44 (sample price, not yet verified) | $10.44 (sample price, not yet verified) | $31.32 (sample price, not yet verified) | Free | 10.0 | 7.0 | Review → | |
2  Porkbun | Cheap renewals | 9.0 | $11.08 (verified price) | $11.08 (verified price) | $33.24 (verified price) | Free | 8.5 | 8.0 | Review → | |
3  Namecheap | Small business | 8.6 | $11.28 (verified price) | $18.48 (verified price) | $48.24 (verified price) | Free, with exceptions | 8.0 | 9.0 | Review → | |
4  Spaceship | Modern UX | 8.4 | $8.88 +$0.20 (verified price) | $9.98 +$0.20 (verified price) | $29.44 (verified price) | Free | 8.0 | 8.0 | Review → | |
5  Dynadot | Domain investors | 8.1 | $10.88 (verified price) | $10.88 (verified price) | $32.64 (verified price) | Free | 7.5 | 7.5 | Review → | |
6NameSilo | Flat registration-equals-renewal pricing | 8.1 | $17.29 (verified price) | $17.29 (verified price) | $51.87 (verified price) | Free | 7.0 | 6.5 | Review → | |
7  Squarespace Domains | Squarespace site owners | 7.6 | $11.00 (sample price, not yet verified) | $20.00 (sample price, not yet verified) | $51.00 (sample price, not yet verified) | Free | 7.0 | 7.5 | Review → | |
8Hover | Clean UX | 7.6 | $18.99 (verified price) | $18.99 (verified price) | $56.97 (verified price) | Free, with exceptions | 7.5 | 6.0 | Review → | |
9  GoDaddy | Bundled services | 7.1 | $11.99 (sample price, not yet verified) | $21.99 (sample price, not yet verified) | $55.97 (sample price, not yet verified) | Free, with exceptions | 7.5 | 9.0 | Review → |
+$0.20 marks the mandatory ICANN fee where a registrar itemises it separately instead of including it in the headline price. Prices are shown exactly as each registrar publishes them, and every ranking on this site compares the all-in total, so no registrar gains a position by splitting its price up.
Verified from the registrar's official pricing pageSample / preview pricing — pending verificationData sources
WHOIS privacy shows the add-on price in each registrar's .com row; hover a cell for the registrar's own wording, since several qualify the offer to eligible TLDs. Dates are the day that registrar's .com price was last checked — see our methodology.
All scored registrars (9)
Porkbun
Best for: Cheap renewals · Free WHOIS privacy
- +Among the lowest renewal prices for .com, .net, .io, .dev
- +Free WHOIS privacy and SSL on many domains
- −Support limited to business hours for chat
Last updated 2026-04-29Read review →
Namecheap
Best for: Small business · Beginners
- +Free WHOIS privacy on all eligible domains
- +Reliable 24/7 live chat support
- −Renewals priced above the cheapest competitors
Last updated 2026-04-22Read review →
Spaceship
Best for: Modern UX · Competitive renewals
- +Modern, clean account UI
- +Competitive renewal pricing across many TLDs
- −Newer brand — fewer independent long-term reviews
Last updated 2026-04-26Read review →
Dynadot
Best for: Domain investors · Aftermarket tools
- +Strong toolkit for domain investors and bulk users
- +Competitive registration and aftermarket fees
- −UI feels dated compared with newer registrars
Last updated 2026-04-15Read review →
NameSilo
Best for: Flat registration-equals-renewal pricing · Bulk domain buyers and domainers
- +Flat-rate pricing — registration and renewal cost the same, with no promotional first-year trap
- +Free WHOIS privacy on all domains, for the life of the domain
- −Retail .com (about $17.29/year) is higher than Porkbun or Cloudflare Registrar; the lowest rates require the Discount Program or holding 100+ domains
Last updated 2026-06-28Read review →
Squarespace Domains
Best for: Squarespace site owners · Simple buyers
- +Clean, modern interface
- +Tight integration with Squarespace websites
- −No public API
Last updated 2026-04-10Read review →
Hover
Best for: Clean UX · Canadian users
- +No upsell during checkout — pricing is transparent and clean
- +Free WHOIS privacy on all eligible domains
- −.com renewal pricing is higher than budget leaders such as Porkbun, Cloudflare Registrar, and Spaceship
Last updated 2026-06-29Read review →
GoDaddy
Best for: Bundled services · Phone support
- +Comprehensive TLD catalog
- +Localized in many countries and currencies
- −Renewal prices are higher than budget competitors
Last updated 2026-06-26Read review →
Tracked but not scored (11)
These registrars have a facts-only profile — sourced facts, accreditation, and pricing surfaces — but no hands-on review, so we publish no score for them rather than a guessed one.