Least terrible domain registrars
Least terrible domain registrars
I want to get some domains for selfhosted stuff, but I'd like to use a registrar that I won't regret doing business with later, both in terms of ethics and potential customer service stuff. Who do y'all like most?
Top answers from the last 39580202 times this was asked:
- Namecheap
- Porkbun
- Gandi
- Cloudflare
I was with Namecheap for years, and they're totally fine. I am now with Cloudflare because they're a bit cheaper and their API is well supported in various tools, and they also seem fine.
I use porkbun and you get cloudflare through them, not sure to what extent, porkbuns just cheaper, I like their ui, straightforward, everything you need on one screen.
I wouldn't buy domains from Cloudflare from a risk mitigation perspective. At work I direct six figures of budget their way annually, but as a free-tier customer in my personal life I don't trust them not to fuck up at some point and lock my account. If I register my domain elsewhere I can bring myself back online by moving the nameservers. If it's registered at Cloudflare I'm fucked.
Gandi massively increased their prices 2 years ago.
For email hosting only. But yes, they are not as trustworthy as they once were
I'll throw in for namecheap. Been with them for a while with no complaints.
I like pair domains.
As a side question, are there other free DNS providers besides Cloudflare? Ones that don't require you to register your domain there.
Namecheap. Avoid Dynadot.
Just curious. Why should dynadot be avoid?
I can only speak from personal experience but for me they jacked up the price significantly after year one and then sent my domain straight to auction after I decided not to pay. I respect that there are reseller-focused providers out there but they aren't for me.
On the other hand, I've had nothing but quality service from namecheap for the best part of a decade.
Porkbun has been great
Seconded. I switched from namecheap when they raised the price of my domain. I never had a problem with name cheap but porkbin is cheaper.
Agreed.
I've always used NameCheap. Can't speak to their ethics, but customer support has been excellent the few times I've needed it.
Been using Namecheap for a decade or more now. Great company, no muss, no fuss, just works. The greatest thing is that they're boring as fuck. That's one of the best qualities to have in a domain registrar.
Also been using namecheap for years with no complaints. Boring and dependable.
Boring and dependable.
Just like I wish politics were.
In case anyone was wondering:
- namecheap: US
- porkbun: US
- INWX: Germany
- OVH: French
- onlydomains: NZ
I personally have been with onlydomains for a decade or so. No complaints.
I've domains from both DomainMonger and NameCheap. If it were trivial, I'd probably move my domains to NameCheap. The web UX is a little better; aside from that, I've never had issues with either, not heard anything particularly bad about either.
But, yeah: +1 on the NameCheap suggestion.
I've been with Porkbun since Gandi got acquired. No complaints.
Acquired by whom?
Total Webhosting Solutions
I switched to Porkbun from Namecheap recently because Porkbun is somewhat local.
Porkbun is decent but cheaper if you have a dozen domains too
Namecheap
This. NameCheap actually responds to abuse reports, as well. Turns out they actually think it's bad for business to allow grifters and con artists to use their services, unlike other major registrars.
I'm using Cloudflare, because it's quite convenient since I always end up using them as DNS server.
They're also slightly cheaper since they don't take any profit from their registrar side, hoping to make it back with other services.
Also use Cloudflare as new domain registrar because I use them as DNS as well. I can’t say that I’ve had any problems with them at all.
Same, I also use Cloudflare dns, tunnels, and pages. Having these all in the same place makes it easy to deploy/keep track of everything
I have had a lot good experience with Porkbun.
I've been with 1984.is for a couple of years now. I think my domains cost around 12 Euros a year each. Their web GUI works fine and I've never needed to contact their customer service, so I cannot comment on that.
I've been with 1984.is for some time as well. They're international domain is 1984.hosting. I've also had contact with their support and they're friendly, knowledgeable and straight on point.
I had to transfer my domain and they wanted the domain key. Not wanting to send that over insecure email asked if they have a GPG key and told me they do, sent me a link to their site to get it and a specific mail to send it to which I then was able to send over. The process of contacting them and getting everything set was very speedy and I felt in good hands.
I use namesilo for everything but my .au domains.
Iwantmyname.com ticked almost all boxes last i looked. Hasnt been mentioned yet. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=iwantmyname.com&sort=byDate&type=comment
Namesilo is quite good - cheap & been using it for 5 years now (coming from namecheap)
I find their website so awful and painful to use. Everything is difficult to find and just takes longer to accomplish than nearly anywhere else. I bought one domain from them once and will never use them again.
I’ve been happy with Hover for several years. They don’t bug me and they’re owned by Tucows so they’ve got decades-old staying power.
I can't believe they're still around
I moved all my domains from Google to OVH, OVH have an API so you can get certs with certbot. You could also use the API to update records for a dynamic home broadband
I have a server with OVH. I hadn't realised they're a registrar also.
Yeah, OVH do website hosting as well
INWX has been great so far, have been with them for about 6 years at this point. Also had good experiences with their customer support.
-1 for INWX. Still waiting on a domain transfer, domain is stuck for about a month, chat support was useless
+1 for INWX
I’ve been a happy customer of Metaregistrar for over a decade. No complaints, fair prices. Just moved a .be from Gandi there because they wanted to charge me €30 excl. VAT for 1 year. Retail price of .be by DNS.be is about €5 and Metaregistrar only charges me €7,5 excl. VAT for a .be for a year. Was at Gandi with that domain because they used to offer free mailboxes with domain name registrations but have since stopped that. Shop around people!
Thanks for the tip, I'm getting pissed off at the Gandi .be prices as well, just ludicrous.
Pair domains supports ipv4/6 DNS, Dnsmasq, and dynamic DNS. Cheap, 2fa secured and does the job reliably.
Have you tried......GoDaddy???
giggles as the downvotes pour in
I have a domain with godaddy that renews very soon. Is it posible to migrate it to another registrar?
Unfortunately yes, and I hate them with everything I've got.
Every time I think GoDaddy has hit bottom they find a way to dig deeper.
Tested porkbun and namecheap. Namecheap has a nice and reactive support from my experience. Porkbun also helped me quickly.
I have two domains through Porkbun. Never had an issue with them. No-nonsense, simple UI, good prices.
I've used two, NameCheap, and PorkBun.
Hated Namecheap, would never use them again. Janky pricing, tons of email spam, terrible UI.
Porkbun has been pretty great. Simple, solid prices, easy to use, no issues for about a year and a half.
I migrated from IONOS and Namecheap to INWX because it does support both domains I use.
And their prices were reasonable.Migration was quick and neat. Had to issues doing it.
@wetdog love porkbun. Love their API.
Hetzner
They don't support DNSSEC.
Yeah,one of the few drawbacks they have. Most people can live with it, but it's indeed one of the things they should be providing by now but don't
Is this important when self hosting?
I've been using Namecheap for almost a year now with no complaints
I’ve been with namecheap for years too. No complaints