Where to buy domains, where not to, and which registrars hide the renewal price.
| # | Provider | Best For | Price | Score / 10 | Δ 90d | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | At-cost domains, zero markup, no marketing | Anyone willing to use Cloudflare DNS | $10.5/ yr | 9.5 | — flat | |
| 02 | PorkbunIndie Indie registrar with honest pricing | Owners who hate the upsell pattern | $11.5/ yr intro $9.00 1.3× intro | 9.1 | — flat | |
| 03 | NameSiloIndie Cheap renewals are the actual feature | Portfolio holders who care more about renewal than year one | $12/ yr | 8.4 | — flat | |
| 04 | DynadotIndie Indie, technical, transparent pricing, no upsells | Domain investors and devs who want flat pricing across the board | $11/ yr | 8.4 | — flat | |
| 05 | INWXIndie German API-first registrar, used by Cloudflare for some TLDs | European devs and agencies who need API + ccTLD coverage | $9.50/ yr | 8.3 | — flat | |
| 06 | The Google Domains successor, Squarespace-priced | Former Google Domains customers who got migrated and want a clean UI | $20/ yr | 7.8 | — flat | |
| 07 | Clean UI, premium prices, no hosting upsells | Buyers who want a polished UI and will pay for it | $17/ yr | 7.6 | — flat | |
| 08 | NamecheapIndie Cheap intro, mediocre renewals, heavy upsells | Bulk domain buyers who watch their cart at checkout | $15/ yr intro $6.00 2.5× intro | 7.6 | — flat | |
| 09 | Mid-tier registrar, owned by Identity Digital | Buyers who want a polished UI and don't mind paying $5 more per year | $18/ yr intro $13 1.4× intro | 7.5 | — flat | |
| 10 | Namecheap's new brand swing, jury still out | Curious early adopters who want Namecheap-backed infrastructure with a new UI | $13/ yr intro $9.00 1.4× intro | 7.0 | — flat | |
| 11 | Once-beloved indie, gutted by 2023 price hikes | Existing customers who haven't transferred out yet | $30/ yr intro $12 2.5× intro | 7.0 | — flat | |
| 12 | GoDaddyGoDaddy Cheap intro, brutal renewal, relentless upsells | Almost no one — the brand recognition is the only reason to choose it | $22/ yr intro $12 1.8× intro | 5.5 | — flat | |
| 13 | Domain.comNewfold Newfold's generic-brand registrar, same playbook | No one — it's the cheap-sounding Newfold brand | $25/ yr intro $10 2.5× intro | 5.0 | — flat | |
| 14 | Network SolutionsNewfold Newfold-owned legacy brand with the worst .com renewal on this list | No one. Transfer your domains out. | $35/ yr intro $10 3.5× intro | 4.5 | — flat |