How to Choose the Best Domain Registrar to Buy a Right Domain Name?
Are you looking for the best domain name registrar to register a domain name?
A domain name is the first stepping stone that you need to purchase to start a blog, an eCommerce store or online business website.
Therefore, choosing the right domain name registrar becomes very important as a single mistake can harm your website and online business.
But how to choose the best domain registrar? Especially when there are hundreds of options available on the market.
In this article, I have compiled a list of six best domain name registrars from where you can register your perfect domain name along with the necessary domain add-on services.
| Domain Registrar | .com | .org | .net | .info | .shop | .online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HostCron | $9.99 | $12.29 | $10.75 | $12.29 | $10.99 | $33.83 |
| Domain.com | $9.99 | $14.99 | $12.99 | $3.99 | $34.99 | $5.99 |
| DreamHost | $7.99 | $13.95 | $10.99 | $13.95 | $2.99 | $1.99 |
| NameCheap | $8.88 | $12.98 | $11.98 | $3.88 | $8.88 | $1.28 |
| HostGator | $12.95 | $12.95 | $12.95 | $12.95 | NA | $1.95 |
| Godaddy | $11.99 | $10.99 | $14.99 | $2.99 | $9.99 | $0.99 |
Table of Contents
How to Choose The Right Domain Registrar?
Domain name prices, services and tools vary from one domain registrar to another.
- For example, popular domain name registrars offer cheap domain names for the first time like – Godaddy and NameCheap.
- On the other hand, some domain registrars offer free add-ons like private registration, free SSL certificate, professional email addresses, email marketing services and much more.
Therefore, make sure you look for following services while choosing the best domain name registrar.
1. Domain Pricing & Renewal Pricing
The very first thing you should notice while registering a domain name is pricing and renewal charges.
- Many domain registrars offer lower domain name prices for the first year registration and charge higher renewal prices.
- On the other hand, many domain registrars allow you to register the available domain name for free when you purchase other services like web hosting from their platform.
2. Domain Registration Period
Different registrars allow different minimum registration periods for a domain.
- Most of the domain registrars allow you to register a domain name for 1 year.
- On the other hand, some domain registrars allow you to register the domain name for a minimum of 2 years.
3. Domain Transfer
Domain names can be transferred from one domain registrar to another.
Users transfer their domains because of multiple reasons, including higher renewal rates, services, poor customer support, etc.
- Many domain registrars offer domain transfer service free of cost and hassle-free while some domain registrars charge an extra fee to transfer domain names.
According to ICANN policies, one is allowed to transfer a domain name only after the 60 days of registration and not before that.
4. Customer Support
Customer support becomes an essential factor when choosing the best domain name registrars.
Because if anything goes wrong with your domain name, you will need help from customer support of domain registrar.
Make sure apart from the live chat service; the domain registrar offers email and phone support as well.
5. Domain Add-on Services
As your business grows, you will need additional services from your domain registrar, including –
- Domain privacy,
- Domain parking,
- Professional Email Address,
- SSL Certificate,
- Website builders,
- Email Marketing Services,
- WordPress hosting, and
- Much more.
Keep an eye on the above services when you choose domain registrars even if you don’t need them, its good to know as you might need them in future.
Now that we know what services you should look for in a domain registrar let’s move on our list of best domain name registrars.
Best Domain Registrars to Pick a Domain Name
We know the importance of choosing the right domain registrar, let’s check out the list of top domain registrars to buy a domain name.
1. HostCron – Cheap, Fast & Secure Web Hosting Service
HostCron is not accredited by ICANN directly and technically not a domain registrar, but it’s a reliable platform to register your domain name.
All of our domain names are registered with HostCron. Its been the past two years now, there is no problem at all.
| Domain Extension | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| .org | $12.29 | $12.29 |
| .net | $10.75 | $10.75 |
| .info | $12.29 | $12.29 |
| .shop | $10.99 | $15.99 |
| .online | $33.83 | $33.83 |
HostCron offers almost all the TLDs (top-level domain name extensions) and ccTLDs (country code top-level domains).
HostCron has a domain search tool that allows you to do your domain name research easily.
Apart from the above, they also offer domain management tools and domain add-on services including –
- Private registration,
- WHOIS privacy protection,
- Easy transfers,
- Directory listing protection,
- DNS management,
- Auto-renewal,
- Email account, and
- Other additional services.
Star Feature – One of the best things about registering a domain name from HostCron is that their domain registration and renewal prices remain the same without any extra fee or unnecessary hike.
2. Domain.com – Pick New Domain Names & Eco-Friendly Hosting Plans
Domain.come is one of the most popular ICANN Accredited Registrar in the market that offers top-level domain name extensions and many ccTLDs.
Star Feature – The domain search tool of Domain.com displays both reasonable and premium domains in the domain search results.
Also, it offers all necessary domain management tools including –
- WHOIS Domain privacy,
- Domain protection,
- Free Whois Lookup,
- Transfer lock,
- Bulk domain search and registration,
- DNS management,
- Email account,
- Email forwarding,
- Let’s Encrypt Free SSL certificate,
- GSuite,
- SiteLock Security, and
- Much more.
| Domain Extension | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $9.99 | $13.99 |
| .org | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| .net | $12.99 | $15.99 |
| .info | $3.99 | $14.99 |
| .shop | $34.99 | $34.99 |
| .online | $5.99 | $29.99 |
Domain.com offers support via a knowledge base, email and live chat service.
Apart from the above services, it also offers web hosting and WordPress hosting at $3.75/month.
3. DreamHost – Buy Affordable Domain Names & Hosting Packages
DreamHost is one of the most popular domain registration companies that offers over 400 TLDs and simple domain management panel.
They have a neat and clean domain search tool which allows you to easily search your domain name along with further featured, accessible, and other suggestions.
Star Feature – You can get a free domain name from DreamHost if you signup for any of the shared hosting plan (starts from $3.95/year for one website).
Apart from the free domain name with free private registration, DreamHost offers –
- SSD storage,
- Free SSL Certificate,
- unlimited traffic,
- Pre-installed WordPress,
- WP website builder, and much more in its shared hosting plan.
| Domain Extension | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $7.99 | $15.99 |
| .org | $13.95 | $15.99 |
| .net | $10.99 | $16.99 |
| .info | $13.95 | $16.99 |
| .shop | $2.99 | $29.95 |
| .online | $1.99 | $29.95 |
If you are only looking to buy your domain name from DreamHost, then you can register it for $7.99/yr along with FREE domain privacy.
4. NameCheap – Find Your Perfect Domain Fast
NameCheap is another top domain registrar accredited by ICANN. It allows you to find the right domain name at low prices.
| Domain Extension | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $11.99 | $17.99 |
| .org | $10.99 | $20.99 |
| .net | $14.99 | $19.99 |
| .info | $2.99 | $23.99 |
| .shop | $9.99 | $44.99 |
| .online | $0.99 | $49.99 |
NameCheap comes with a powerful domain name search tool that suggests you more domain names if your searched domain is unavailable.
Apart from the domain search tool, it also offers a beast mode advanced domain search that lets you search with options like – domain hacks, prefix, suffix, and even premium domain names.
Talking about the NameCheap add-on services, it offers – Whois Lookup, Premium DNS, Free DNS, Email Hosting, PositiveSSL, and many others.
Star Feature – One of the best things about NameCheap is that it offers free Whois Guard protection with almost all the domain names.
5. HostGator – Best Hosting and Domain Name Provider
HostGator is another most popular domain name registrar company that offers almost all popular top-level domain names.
HostGator comes with easy DNS management tools, powerful domain search tool, and extensions including domain privacy protection, domain locking, domain transfer, SiteLock, Gsuite, and much more.
It not only allows you to find a suitable domain name for your website quickly but also let you transfer your domain name without any extra fee or issue.
Their domain management area is easy-to-use and allows the user to manage all their domains from a single dashboard.
| Domain Extension | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $12.95 | $17.99 |
| .org | $12.95 | $17.99 |
| .net | $12.95 | $17.99 |
| .info | $12.95 | $17.99 |
| .shop | NA | NA |
| .online | $1.95 | $15 |
Star Feature – It also offers a free domain name, free SSL certificate, and free cPanel website transfer with their shared and WordPress hosting plans.
Also, if you purchase their website builder plan, they offer free domain name and hosting along with their drag-and-drop website builder – Gator.
6. Godaddy – Buy Domain Names, Websites, Hosting & Online Marketing Tools
Godaddy is one of the oldest and world’s largest domain registrars in the market.
Godaddy is popularly known for –
- It’s easy to use domain search tools,
- User-friendly domain management interface, and
- Providing popular domain name extensions, including TLDs and ccTLDs.
| Domain Extension | Registration | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $11.99 | $17.99 |
| .org | $10.99 | $20.99 |
| .net | $14.99 | $19.99 |
| .info | $2.99 | $23.99 |
| .shop | $9.99 | $44.99 |
| .online | $0.99 | $49.99 |
Star Feature – It offers massive discounts on domain registration of the first year which makes it highly competitive.
Apart from the above, Godaddy offers –
- Bulk registration,
- Easy and secure domain transfer service,
- Free domain parking,
- Powerful business name generator,
- Domain name privacy, and
- Much more.
Some FAQs on Domain Registrars
A domain registrar is a company or organization from where you can register domain names for your website.
You can quickly check it by using ICANN’s domain registrar lookup tool. All you need to do is to visit the ICANN lookup tool, enter your domain name in the search bar and click the lookup button.
Yes. Almost all popular domain registrars in the market allow registrants to transfer their domain away to the different domain registrar.
Domain registrars are authorized by ICANN, a non-profit organization that manages all the domain names on the internet.
Yes. Godaddy and NameCheap are 100% reliable and trustworthy domain registrars for registering and managing domain names.
Final Words – Which Domain Registrar Should You Choose To Buy Domain?
All of the above domain registrars provide top-quality services when it comes to registering a domain name.
Apart from the above, there are many other resellers and domain registrars available in the market.
If you’re just getting started and looking for cheap domain name registration, you can opt NameCheap and later transfer it to the HostCron that offers affordable renewal charges.
And if you want to register a domain without web hosting, then you should go with Domain.com as it’s the best domain registrar both for small and large-scale businesses.
Lastly, if you are looking to build a website and yet to purchase domain and hosting, then you should go with DreamHost or HostGator as they provide free domain name along with their hosting plan.
