Domain Name Registar Reviews: Popular, Cheap & Simple Providers

Domain.com is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar founded in 2000 that also provides web hosting, email, website builders, SSL certificates, and other web solutions. They’re part of Endurance International Group, who owns some of the biggest names in web hosting like Bluehost, HostGator, and Constant Contact.

While their focus is on domains, Domain.com has started positioning themselves as more than just domains — but that the process starts with a great domain name.

I’ve gotten some questions about Domain.com as a domain registrar, so I decided to give them a try. Here’s our Domain.com review with pros and cons.

Domain.com

Solid name-brand company with good onboarding and transparent pricing. A bit expensive on renewals and does not bundle WHOIS privacy.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
4

Porkbun is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar based out of Portland, Oregon. Their primary pitch is making the domain registration process easy, enjoyable, and affordable.

They are one of the myriad smaller domain registrars that have a dedicated but smaller following than the big brands like GoDaddy.

Does Porkbun hold up to their mission of being an “amazingly awesome” domain registrar? We recently tried them out. Here’s our full PorkBun review with pros, cons, and alternatives.

Porkbun

Porkbun is a great independent registrar with a seamless, wonderful purchase experience. They do lack complementary products though.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
4

Hover Domains is a domain registrar founded in 2009 as an offshoot of Tucows Inc. (the second largest ICANN accredited domain registrar online). Hover’s M.O. is that they stick to what they know, and that’s domains.

But let’s be honest, you probably only know them from their podcast ads on shows like Hello Internet and 99% Invisible. While Grey and Roman might plug them – you want to know how they actually stack up.

Well – this domain registrar deals solely with buying, managing, and transferring domains on their platform.

Hover does offer email services but they does not offer other complementary products such as hosting, website builders, etc.

It’s important to remember that a domain is not a website. It’s not an email, an app, or any other service. It’s simply your online address. It helps people locate where you are. If you want to set up a website, you’ll still need to get hosting or a website builder / eCommerce provider that provides hosting (which Hover does not provide).

I’ll dive deeper into this in the pros and cons, but it’s an important distinction to make up front because it helps us understand what Hover’s goal is.

They’re not about being an all-in-one solution — quite the opposite, actually. Their focus is only on simplicity. They’re all about getting you your domain and letting you use it wherever you need it through app integrations.

How does Hover stack up against other domain registrars? Here’s our review of Hover Domains as a domain registrar with pros and cons.

Hover Domains

Hover Domains is a domain registrar founded in 2009 as an offshoot of Tucows Inc. (the second largest ICANN accredited domain registrar online). This domain registrar deals solely with buying, managing, and transferring domains on their platform (they also offer email services, but no other complementary products).

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
4

Dynadot is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar and web host headquartered in California. They were founded in 2002 by a software engineer and state their primary focus is engineering and designing excellence.

Dynadot’s main pitch is to help customers “register domain names and create websites simply and affordably”.

They are one of the myriad smaller domain registrars that have a dedicated but smaller following than the big brands like GoDaddy.

Do they hold up to their mission? Here’s our Dynadot review with pros and cons.

Dynadot

Dynadot is an ICANN accredited domain registrar and hosting company founded in 2002. They offer domain registration and management along with complementary products like hosting, website builders, and email. Simple, straightforward domain purchasing process with cheap renewal rates. Domain management and complementary products are geared toward those with more technical experience.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
3

iwantmyname is a New Zealand-based domain registrar company focused solely on domain registration and management. The company, which was founded by employees from several ICANN accredited domain registrars, has been around since 2008 and prides itself on its simplicity, transparency, and ethics.

iwantmyname believes in making the domain buying, managing, and transferring process transparent and simple. They’re big on company values (like transparency) and give off the “good guy” vibe when it comes to domain registrars.

So, how does this domain registrar stack up against the rest? Here’s my experience so far and my full iwantmyname review with pros & cons…

iwantmyname

iwantmyname is a New Zealand-based domain registrar company focused solely on purchasing and managing domains. It promises simplicity and transparency for global customers. A bit pricier than rivals, but a solid product for those who want an easy domain-buying experience. Clean, simple, and zero tech experience necessary, but lacks complementary products.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
4

Namesilo is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar who boasts cheap, easy, and secure domain registration and management. They have been around since 2009.

Does Namesilo hold up to their mission of being a cheap and easy-to-use domain registrar? We recently tried them out. Here’s our full Namesilo review with pros, cons, and alternatives.

Namesilo

Namesilo is a domain registrar that has been around since 2009. They have good pricing but fall down on management, design & onboarding.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
2.5

Name.com is a Denver-based, ICANN-accredited domain registrar company that also offers web hosting, email, a website builder, and SSL certificates. It’s owned by Donuts Inc, a domain servicing company who specializes in serving premium & new top-level domains (TLDs), which go beyond generic .com/.net/.org domains website owners were previously limited to.

Name.com touts an all-in-one approach to getting you online — they have everything you need to get up and running quickly (AKA a domain name, hosting, website builder, security, and email).

So, how does Name.com stack up against other domain registrars? Here’s my Name.com review with pros and cons based on my experience with them so far…

Name.com

Name.com is a Denver-based, ICANN-accredited domain registrar company that also offers web hosting, email, a website builder, and SSL certificates. It offers everything someone needs to get up and running online, all in one place. Offers basic complementary products and a wide variety of TLDs. Inexpensive pricing upfront with high renewal pricing and WHOIS privacy not included.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
2

Google Domains is a domain name registrar owned and operated by Google. Google rolled out the product in 2014, and is out of “beta” as of 2020.

Google Domains is not my primary domain registrar (which is NameCheap). As a Googlephile and SEO consultant, I pretty much had to register a domain with Google Domains the day they started.

Here’s my experience so far (going on 6+ years) and my full Google Domains review with pros & cons…

Google Domains

Google Domains is Google's domain registrar product. It promises simplicity and transparency for US based customers. A bit pricier than rivals. But a solid product for owning a few domains. Simple and clean but lacks complementary products.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
4

Network Solutions is one of the oldest consumer Internet companies still operating. They are most well-known as a domain registrar, though they offer a full suite of business Internet solutions.

In fact, from 1993 to 1999, they were the only company authorized to register domains. If you wanted a domain in the ‘90s – you had to buy it from Network Solutions. Because of that, they’ve built a brand around being “the Internet’s domain provider.”

Network Solutions is not my primary domain registrar (which is NameCheap). But I’ve had enough clients purchase their domains with Network Solutions that I wanted to try them myself to see if there was something to their branding.

Here’s my experience and my Network Solutions review with a focus on their domain registration service.

Network Solutions

Network Solutions is the Internet's original domain registrar. They also sell a suite of complementary Internet products. Network Solutions has an good brand, but their prices, upsells and usability seriously make them a less than desirable domain provider.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
2

Register.com is a domain registrar owned by Web.com (one of the largest and oldest website hosting/builder brands in the industry). They were one of the first give companies chosen by ICANN to participate in the initial test phase of the new competitive shared registry system, making them one of the oldest and most established domain registrar companies in the game outside of Network Solutions.

Aside from domain purchasing and management, Register.com offers a range of products, from marketing to hosting to web design. Their main pitch is that their services and solutions cover all ranges of business sizes and especially help small businesses build their web presence without the need for technical experience.

Given Register.com has a certain level of brand recognition and clout, I decided to try them out as a domain registrar. Here’s my Register.com review – structured with pros & cons based on my recent experience as a customer.

Register.com

Register.com is a domain registrar owned by Web.com (one of the largest and oldest website hosting/builder brands in the industry). They offer domain registration and complementary products such as hosting and website builders. Register.com is a classic example of a company riding on its name while getting outdone by other companies who are competing on raw value. Their lack of transparency and high prices make them a poor choice for a domain registrar.

Operating System: All

Application Category: Domain Registration

Editor's Rating:
1