Best Domain RegistrarsBEST DOMAIN REGISTRARS

Preview data. Pricing is verified from the registrar's own source for 6 of 23 registrars (fetched live where the registrar publishes one); the remaining registrars' prices, plus all scoring and country recommendations, are illustrative placeholders pending verified testing. See data sources for a row-by-row breakdown, the methodology, or fetch /data/verification-status.json for a machine-readable view.

Best Domain Registrars in China

Recommendations for .cn, .com.cn, .中国 and .com domains, plus notes on local rules, payment methods, and support languages.

Last updated 2026-08-19Prices checked monthly1 of 9 scored reviews with published testing notes6 registrars with primary-source pricingTransparent methodology
Short answer

No registrar we track sells .cn, and the reason is structural rather than commercial: .cn registration is bound to a real-name verification step administered by CNNIC-accredited registrars, and a name that has not passed verification does not resolve. That workflow does not fit a global self-service checkout, which is why the registrars we track stay out of it. Separately, a site actually serving mainland users needs an ICP filing, which is a hosting and content requirement rather than a domain one, and is the step that most often surprises foreign buyers. For .com and other gTLDs the registrars we track are the cheaper long-run option.

Best options

Use caseRecommendedWhy
Local ccTLD (.cn)—No global registrar we track sells .cn — register through a registry-accredited local registrar.
.com from China
Porkbun logoPorkbun
Verified .com renewal of $11.08. WHOIS privacy: free, included by default.
Business use
Namecheap logoNamecheap
Support channels: 24/7 live chat, ticket support, knowledge base.
Developers
Cloudflare Registrar logoCloudflare Registrar
Industry-leading anycast DNS with deep developer tooling. Public API documented.

The .com, business and developer picks above are the same in every country we cover, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise: they are global registrars, and nothing about them changes at a border. What genuinely varies by country is on this page below — which registrars can sell the local ccTLD and under what eligibility rules, how billing and VAT work, and which support languages are available.

Local registry and rules

Registry operator: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) (www.cnnic.cn)
Policy authority: China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
Local presence: Not nationality-based, but verification-based. Registration requires real-name verification of the registrant carried out by a CNNIC-accredited registrar; a name that has not completed verification does not resolve.
DNSSEC: Signed at the root
IDN: .中国 (.xn--fiqs8s) and .中國 (.xn--fiqz9s) are delegated separately as China's Chinese-character ccTLDs.
The verification workflow is why global self-service registrars stay out of .cn. Serving a site to mainland users additionally requires an ICP filing tied to the hosting arrangement, which is a separate requirement from domain registration.
Source: www.cnnic.cn

ccTLD breakdown

.cn

Last checked 2026-08-19

Purpose: China's country code, one of the largest ccTLD namespaces in the world.

Eligibility: Registration requires real-name verification of the registrant, carried out by a CNNIC-accredited registrar. A domain that has not completed verification does not resolve.

Tracked registrars that sell .cn

None of the registrars we track sell .cn at retail — it's available only through registry-accredited registrars (see Local registry and rules above for the official list).

CNNIC operates the registry and accredits the registrars. Serving a site to mainland users additionally requires an ICP filing tied to the hosting arrangement, which is separate from domain registration.

.中国

Last checked 2026-08-19

Purpose: China's Chinese-character internationalised ccTLD.

Eligibility: Administered by CNNIC under the same verification regime as .cn.

Tracked registrars that sell .中国

None of the registrars we track sell .中国 at retail — it's available only through registry-accredited registrars (see Local registry and rules above for the official list).

Punycode .xn--fiqs8s, with .中國 (.xn--fiqz9s) delegated in traditional characters. Separate delegations, not aliases of .cn.

.com pricing in USD

Verified and sample pricing per registrar for this TLD, with first-year, renewal, three-year cost and the date each figure was checked
RegistrarFirst-yearRenewal3-year costWHOIS privacyLast checked
(verified price)
Spaceship logoSpaceship
$8.88 +$0.20$9.98 +$0.20$29.44Free2026-08-19
(verified price)
Dynadot logoDynadot
$10.88$10.88$32.64Free2026-08-19
(verified price)
Porkbun logoPorkbun
$11.08$11.08$33.24Free2026-08-19
(verified price)
NameSilo
$17.29$17.29$51.87Free2026-08-19
(verified price)
Namecheap logoNamecheap
$11.28$18.48$48.24Free, with exceptions2026-08-19
(verified price)
Hover
$18.99$18.99$56.97Free, with exceptions2026-08-19
(sample price, not yet verified)
Cloudflare Registrar logoCloudflare Registrar
$10.44$10.44$31.32Free2026-05-12
(sample price, not yet verified)
Squarespace Domains logoSquarespace Domains
$11.00$20.00$51.00Free2026-05-12
(sample price, not yet verified)
GoDaddy logoGoDaddy
$11.99$21.99$55.97Free, with exceptions2026-05-12

+$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

Most global registrars price domains in USD; local registrars often invoice in CNY.

Can a registrar we track handle China?

No registrar whose prices we verify sells any of the ccTLDs on this page, so a local or specialist registrar is the only route to them. A global registrar can still hold the .com, which renews from $10.18 at the cheapest seller we verify — many owners here run both.

China ccTLDs and whether a registrar we verify sells each one
ccTLDSellers we verifyCheapest verified renewalvs cheapest .com
.cn0Local registrar only—
.中国0Local registrar only—

Renewals are all-in and per year, at the cheapest registrar we verify for that extension, checked 2026-08-19. The .com reference is the cheapest verified .com renewal ($10.18). "Listed" counts registrars our country notes record as selling the extension without a price we have read ourselves.

What this page does not tell you: how the registrars based in China compare. We do not track a single registrar based there — so any claim here that a local registrar is cheaper, better supported or easier to pay would be invention. Where local billing in Chinese Yuan (CNY), local-language support, or a registry rule requires a local registrar, that is a reason to use one, and comparing them is work we have not done.

FAQ

What is the best domain registrar in China?
No registrar we track sells .cn, and the reason is structural rather than commercial: .cn registration is bound to a real-name verification step administered by CNNIC-accredited registrars, and a name that has not passed verification does not resolve. That workflow does not fit a global self-service checkout, which is why the registrars we track stay out of it. Separately, a site actually serving mainland users needs an ICP filing, which is a hosting and content requirement rather than a domain one, and is the step that most often surprises foreign buyers. For .com and other gTLDs the registrars we track are the cheaper long-run option.
Do I need a local presence to register a .cn domain?
Not nationality-based, but verification-based. Registration requires real-name verification of the registrant carried out by a CNNIC-accredited registrar; a name that has not completed verification does not resolve.
Which global registrars sell .cn?
None of the registrars we track sell .cn at retail. CNNIC operates the registry and accredits the registrars. Serving a site to mainland users additionally requires an ICP filing tied to the hosting arrangement, which is separate from domain registration.
Which currency are domains billed in for users in China?
Most global registrars bill in USD regardless of buyer location. Local registrars typically invoice in Chinese Yuan (CNY). CNNIC-accredited registrars invoice in yuan and Alipay and WeChat Pay are the normal rails. Global registrars bill in USD by card, which is the main friction for a mainland buyer purchasing gTLDs.
What payment methods work in China?
CNNIC-accredited registrars invoice in yuan and Alipay and WeChat Pay are the normal rails. Global registrars bill in USD by card, which is the main friction for a mainland buyer purchasing gTLDs.

Sources and changelog