Scoring sheet
How we scored the best domain registrars
Every score in The best domain registrars comes from this sheet: the tools we considered, the scale for each criterion, and the evidence and date behind each score.
This page shows the working behind the best domain registrars: the field we considered, the criteria and weights, what each score means, and every score with the source behind it.
Everything here comes from desk research. We read each registrar's public price list, price API, price PDF or domain search, its help center and its security pages. We did not register, renew or transfer a domain at any of them, and we did not contact support. Prices were read by a script on November 2, 2026, the day after the .com registry price rose; the same script's October 21 and 22 runs give the prices before the rise, shown at the end of this page. Features were checked on October 21 and 22 and re-checked on November 2. Where a registrar's site refused automated visits, we used the domainoffer.net price tracker instead and say so next to the price. Where a help center refused our visits (Spaceship's knowledge base and Sav's help center), we read its pages through search results and say so next to each score that depends on them.
The question and the reader
The question, in the reader's words: "What's the best domain registrar?" People also ask which registrar has the cheapest .com renewals, Porkbun vs Cloudflare vs Namecheap, the best registrar for a small business and the best for privacy. We asked four AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, through their APIs with web search on) those five questions on October 21, 2026, which gave 20 answers. Those answers and the pages they cite helped build the field below.
The reader is a person or a small business buying or moving a few domains: a .com first, perhaps a .net, .org, .io, .co or .ai beside it. They want to pay a fair price every year, not only the first, and to get the basics (privacy, DNS, forwarding, a secure login) without add-ons. Small businesses, privacy-minded buyers and people chasing the cheapest renewal get the same winner for the same reasons, so they get one page.
Must-haves
A registrar had to pass all three to be scored. These are filters, not criteria.
- It sells .com registration to anyone, and the domain is registered in the buyer's own name.
- It sells domains on their own, without a website, hosting, store or other paid plan.
- Its renewal price can be read before buying, on a price list, a price API or the domain search.
The field
The field is every registrar named in the 20 AI answers, plus every registrar that a roundup cited by those answers, or ranking near the top of a search for the question, gives its own pick. We scored every one that passes the must-haves and whose prices and features we could read.
| Registrar | Named in the 20 AI answers | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Registrar | 20 | Scored |
| Porkbun | 19 | Scored |
| Namecheap | 18 | Scored |
| GoDaddy | 10 | Scored |
| Spaceship | 5 | Scored |
| Dynadot | 5 | Scored |
| Hostinger | 5 | Scored |
| Squarespace Domains | 4 | Scored |
| Hover | 4 | Scored |
| Network Solutions | 4 | Not scored: networksolutions.com and its help center answered every visit with a security check, so we couldn't read its features. The one page search surfaced, Network Solutions' private registration page, lists privacy as a paid add-on. Its .com renews at $22.99 a year plus the $0.20 ICANN fee (domainoffer.net, November 2, 2026). Owned by Newfold Digital, like Domain.com and Bluehost |
| IONOS | 3 | Scored |
| Bluehost | 3 | Not scored: a Newfold Digital hosting brand whose site answered every visit with a captcha, so its features couldn't be read. Its .com renews at $23.99 a year plus the ICANN fee (domainoffer.net) |
| NameSilo | 2 | Scored |
| Domain.com | 2 | Not scored: owned by Newfold Digital, with the same $22.99 .com renewal as Network Solutions, plus the ICANN fee (domainoffer.net). Its site answered every visit with a security check, so its features couldn't be read |
| Vercel | 2 | Not scored this round: named for developers deploying on Vercel, where domains are managed inside Vercel projects. We'll add it at the next check |
| Njalla | 2 | Not scored: registers the domain in Njalla's own name and lets you use it, so it fails must-have 1 |
| Sav | 1 | Scored. Prices from Sav's own price table; features from Sav's product pages, plus its help center read through search results |
| Amazon Route 53 | 1 | Scored |
| Name.com | 1 | Scored. TechRadar's roundup names it best for developers |
| Gandi | 1 | Scored |
| DNSimple | 1 | Not scored: registration needs a paid DNSimple subscription (Solo with pay-as-you-go charges, or Teams from $29 a month, per third-party price trackers in 2026), so it fails must-have 2 |
| Wix | 1 | Not scored: Wix's extension list shows only a "starting price for 1 year", so the renewal can't be read before buying, which fails must-have 3 |
| 1984 Hosting | 1 | Not scored: its domain page shows prices only after you sign in, which fails must-have 3, and it bills in euros |
| FlokiNET | 1 | Not scored: bills in euros only (about €18.75 a year for a .com, per a hosting directory), so its prices can't be compared with the dollar prices here without guessing an exchange rate |
| Shopify | 1 | Not scored: domains are bought from a Shopify store's admin, so they come with a Shopify store, which fails must-have 2 |
| Google Domains | 1 | Not scored: closed. Squarespace bought the business in 2023 and moved its customers to Squarespace Domains, which is scored |
| DreamHost | 0 | Scored. TechRadar's roundup and Fit Small Business both give it a pick |
| OVHcloud | 0 | Not scored: in best-domain-registrars.com's renewal table, which Claude cited. Its international site sends US visitors to OVHcloud US, which doesn't sell domains, and its international prices include VAT |
| SiteGround | 0 | Not scored: in Fit Small Business's list. It sells domains as part of its hosting sign-up, and we found no way to buy one on its own (must-have 2) |
| ScalaHosting | 0 | Not scored this round: in Fit Small Business's list and in none of the 20 answers. Its domain page lists a .com at $16.95 a year to register and renew. We'll add it at the next check |
Criteria and weights
These were set before any registrar was scored, and we kept them when we added five registrars on October 22.
| Criterion | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 30 | The first year plus nine renewals at today's listed prices, against the at-cost price |
| Renewals on other extensions | 15 | Renewal prices for .net, .org, .io, .co and .ai against the at-cost price |
| Free essentials | 20 | WHOIS privacy, DNS hosting, DNSSEC, email forwarding and URL forwarding included at no extra charge |
| Account security | 15 | Two-factor sign-in with an authenticator app, and with a security key or passkey |
| Control | 20 | Freedom to use any DNS provider's nameservers, and an API to manage domains or DNS |
Why these weights: a domain is a yearly bill you keep paying for as long as the name matters, so price counts for 45, and the .com, which most readers buy first, counts twice as much as the rest. The free essentials are what you would otherwise pay for every year. Account security matters because whoever gets into the account controls the domain, and with it the website and email. Control decides whether you can move DNS, email or hosting later without moving the domain.
The API gets 10 of the 100 points although most readers won't write code against their registrar. We gave it that weight because the tools readers do use, such as a web host that sets up DNS records for you, a certificate tool that proves you own the domain, or a dynamic DNS client, depend on it. It moves the middle of the order, not the top three: with no weight on the API and 20 on nameservers, Spaceship, Porkbun and Dynadot stay first, second and third, Sav (8.4) passes Cloudflare Registrar (8.0) for fourth, and Namecheap and Squarespace move ahead of Amazon Route 53, with Squarespace also passing NameSilo and Hostinger.
Not scored: support quality, ease of use and how often prices rise. We can't measure the first two without using each registrar for months, and found no independent test with a published method. Every registrar must hand over the transfer code within five days under ICANN's Transfer Policy, so the right to leave isn't scored either. Transfer prices are shown on the page but not scored, because a transfer is a one-off cost that adds a year at the new registrar. Restore fees and premium-domain prices vary too much by case to score fairly.
What each score means
.com cost over 10 years
The ten-year cost is the first-year price anyone gets without a coupon code, plus nine renewals at the listed renewal price, plus the $0.20 ICANN fee each year where the registrar adds it at checkout. Where the first-year offer needs a longer purchase (three years at GoDaddy and Hostinger), years two and three are billed at the renewal price, so the total is the same as nine renewals. A public sale price shown to everyone (Name.com's, for example) counts as the first-year price.
The at-cost price is Cloudflare Registrar's: $11.17 a year since November 1, 2026, which is Verisign's $10.97 wholesale price plus the $0.20 ICANN fee. Cloudflare says it sells at cost and changes prices only "to reflect our new cost" (Cloudflare's price changes page). Ten years at cost is $111.70.
Score = 10 minus one point for every 10% above the at-cost ten-year total, from 0 to 10, to one decimal place.
- 10: at or below the at-cost total.
- 9: 10% above (about $123 over 10 years).
- 7: 30% above (about $145).
- 4: 60% above (about $179).
- 0: double or more (about $223).
Renewals on other extensions
For each of .net, .org, .io, .co and .ai, the registrar's renewal price (with the ICANN fee where it's added at checkout) divided by Cloudflare Registrar's renewal price for the same extension. The score uses the average of the five ratios, on the same scale as the .com score: 10 at or below at cost, 9 at 10% above, 7 at 30%, 4 at 60%, 0 at double. Renewals rather than ten-year totals, because first-year offers on these extensions swing the most and last one year.
Free essentials: the sum of five parts
Two points each, when the registrar includes the feature with the domain at no extra charge and you set it up in its own dashboard:
- WHOIS privacy (or redaction) for the extensions scored here;
- DNS hosting;
- DNSSEC on the registrar's own DNS, in a few clicks (1 point if it works only when you use another provider's nameservers, or only for a limited number of domains);
- email forwarding from addresses on your domain to an inbox you already have;
- URL forwarding (redirecting the domain to another web address).
Account security: the sum of two parts
- 5: two-factor sign-in with an authenticator app (time-based codes).
- 5: two-factor sign-in with a security key or a passkey.
A feature we couldn't confirm from the registrar's own pages, or from search results of them, scores 0.
Control: the sum of two parts
- 5: you can point the domain at any DNS provider's nameservers.
- API: 5 if any customer can create an API key to manage domains or DNS at no charge; 2 if API access comes with conditions (a minimum number of domains, an account balance, a hosting plan, partner status or a support request); 0 if there is none.
Scores
Every price below was read on November 2, 2026. Prices are in US dollars for one year. "Ten-year cost" follows the rule above.
Spaceship: total 10.0
A 10.0 means Spaceship met or beat every anchor above, not that it has no catch: its prices come from a tracker, its .com renewal is below the at-cost price, which can't last forever, and its total is 9.985 before rounding. Its knowledge base refused our visits, so the guides marked "via search results" below were read in search results, not opened. 2fa.directory, a public list of two-factor options, also lists authenticator apps and security keys for Spaceship.
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 10 | $9.68 for the first year, then $10.88, both including the $0.20 ICANN fee, which Spaceship's own .com page shows as a separate line ($9.48 and $10.68 before the fee): $107.60 over 10 years, 4% below at cost. Spaceship's site refused our automated visits, so these are the regular prices (no promo code) on the domainoffer.net tracker, updated November 2, 2026. On October 22 they were $9.08 and $10.18. A promo code for one domain per customer takes the first year to $3.18 (same tracker page, November 2, 2026) |
| Renewals on other extensions | 9.9 | Renewals: .net $11.40, .org $11.59, .io $51.75, .co $31.05, .ai $79.98 (domainoffer.net, November 2, 2026); 1% above Cloudflare's renewals on average |
| Free essentials | 10 | Free WHOIS privacy and DNSSEC (Spaceship security page); DNS hosting; up to 100 email forwarding aliases (Spaceship's forwarding guide, via search results; the guide doesn't say whether the limit is per domain or per account); URL redirects and email forwarding "for free" (Spaceship domain updates, via search results). Redirects created since December 9, 2025 need Spaceship's DNS. 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | Authenticator-app codes and U2F security keys in the Security Center (Spaceship domain updates, via search results), and passkeys (Spaceship's passkeys post). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers (Spaceship's nameserver guide, via search results); any customer can create an API key and secret in API Manager (Spaceship API documentation), with domain registration, renewal, transfer and DNS endpoints. 5 + 5 |
Porkbun: total 9.8
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 9.4 | $11.81 for the first year and every renewal, ICANN fee included (Porkbun pricing API): $118.10 over 10 years, 6% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 9.6 | Renewals: .net $12.52, .org $11.84, .io $51.80, .co $31.20, .ai $82.70 (pricing API); 4% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 10 | Free WHOIS privacy, URL forwarding, up to 20 email forwards and DNS management "come free with every Porkbun domain" (Porkbun's domain page); DNSSEC is a toggle on Porkbun's DNS (Porkbun's DNSSEC guide). 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | Authenticator-app two-factor, WebAuthn security keys (Porkbun's security key guide) and passkey sign-in (Porkbun's passwordless guide). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers; a free API for any account, with domain and DNS endpoints (Porkbun API documentation). 5 + 5 |
Dynadot: total 9.6
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 9.6 | $11.62 for the first year and every renewal (Dynadot's price list): $116.20 over 10 years, 4% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 9.5 | Renewals: .net $12.52, .org $11.64, .io $53.50, .co $31.20 (price list); .ai $85.60 (missing from the list we read, so from domainoffer.net, November 2, 2026); 5% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 9 | "All domains include" free domain privacy (price list); DNS hosting; email forwarding to up to 50 addresses (Dynadot's email forwarding help); free URL forwarding (domain forwarding help). DNSSEC needs third-party nameservers, because Dynadot's own nameservers don't support it (Dynadot's DNSSEC help), so 1. 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | Text codes, an authenticator app and a physical security key, plus backup codes (text codes, authenticator app, security key and backup codes help pages). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers; production and sandbox API keys under Tools, API in any account (API settings help; API documentation). 5 + 5 |
Cloudflare Registrar: total 9.0
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 10 | $11.17 for the first year and every renewal (Cloudflare's price list): $111.70 over 10 years, the at-cost reference |
| Renewals on other extensions | 10 | Renewals: .net $11.86, .org $11.20, .io $50, .co $30, .ai $80 (price list); the reference for this criterion |
| Free essentials | 10 | Free WHOIS redaction (Cloudflare's redaction docs); DNS hosting; one-click DNSSEC (enable DNSSEC); Email Routing on all plans (Email Service docs, which cover Email Routing); redirects on all plans (URL forwarding docs). 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | An authenticator app, a security key, or both (Cloudflare two-factor docs). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 5 | "No, all domains on Cloudflare Registrar use Cloudflare nameservers" (Registrar FAQ); to use other nameservers you have to transfer the domain away, so 0. The Registrar API, in beta, works with an API token in any account (Registrar API), so 5. 0 + 5 |
Sav: total 7.8
Sav's help center (help.sav.com) refused every visit with Cloudflare error 1034, so the help articles below were read through search results. Its prices and product pages were read directly.
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 10 | $11.29 for the first year, then $10.99, from the price table on Sav's domain page, with no ICANN fee listed separately: $110.20 over 10 years, 1% below at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 9.6 | Renewals: .net $12.12, .org $11.64, .io $51.99, .co $31.19, .ai $83.19 (same table); 4% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 10 | WHOIS privacy "to all eligible domains for free" (Sav's privacy page); free DNS and "free DNSSEC for every supported domain using our DNS" (Sav's DNS page); email forwarding and domain forwarding listed under "Free DNS, SSL & More" on Sav's home page (the version still served at api.sav.com). 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 0 | Sav says it offers two-factor sign-in (Sav's home page), but not which kinds. The only descriptions we found mention codes by text message or email (a NamePros thread from 2022, and Trustpilot reviews about emailed codes); 2fa.directory has no entry for Sav. We couldn't confirm an authenticator app or a security key, so 0 + 0 |
| Control | 7 | Custom nameservers. API access needs a support ticket listing the IP addresses you'll call from (Sav's "Using Sav's API" help article, via search results), so 2. 5 + 2 |
Amazon Route 53: total 6.6
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 5.7 | $16 a year to register and renew, up from $15 on July 1, 2026 (Route 53's domain price list, linked from Route 53 pricing): $160 over 10 years, 43% above at cost. The DNS hosted zone Route 53 creates for each domain is billed separately (below) and not counted here |
| Renewals on other extensions | 5.5 | Renewals: .net $17, .org $16, .io $71, .co $38, .ai $137 a year, two-year minimum (price list); 45% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 3 | Privacy protection on by default (Route 53's privacy guide), so 2. Route 53 "charges a small monthly fee for the hosted zone" it creates for each domain (registering a domain), so 0 for DNS hosting. DNSSEC signing on Route 53's DNS needs a customer managed key in AWS KMS, which is billed (DNSSEC key requirements); DS records for outside DNS are free (configuring DNSSEC for a domain), so 1. No built-in email or URL forwarding, so 0 + 0. 2 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 |
| Account security | 10 | Passkeys and security keys, virtual authenticator apps or hardware TOTP tokens for the AWS sign-in (AWS's MFA guide). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 10 | Any nameservers (name servers and glue records); every domain operation is in the AWS API and command line for any account. 5 + 5 |
Namecheap: total 6.4
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 2.6 | $12.08 for the first year, then $19.98, plus the $0.20 ICANN fee added at checkout (Namecheap's domain page): $193.90 over 10 years, 74% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 4.5 | Renewals: .net $18.58, .org $18.98 (each plus the ICANN fee), .io $75.98, .co $45.48, .ai $114.98 (domain page); 55% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 10 | Free domain privacy for life (Namecheap's privacy FAQ); free BasicDNS; DNSSEC as a toggle on BasicDNS (Namecheap's DNSSEC guide); free email forwarding (forwarding guide); domain redirects (redirect guide). 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | Authenticator-app (TOTP) and U2F security key two-factor at no extra charge (Namecheap's two-factor page). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 7 | Custom nameservers. API access needs at least 20 domains in the account, at least $50 in the account balance, or at least $50 spent in the last two years (Namecheap's API FAQ), so 2. 5 + 2 |
NameSilo: total 6.2
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 2.1 | $19.99 for the first year and every renewal: $199.90 over 10 years, 79% above at cost. NameSilo's site refused our automated visits, so these are the regular prices on the domainoffer.net tracker, updated November 2, 2026 ($17.29 on October 22). NameSilo's discount program, for accounts that top up at least $50 in advance, lowers prices; we scored the price everyone pays |
| Renewals on other extensions | 6.7 | Renewals: .net $15.95, .org $14.99, .io $69.99, .co $38.99, .ai $99.99 (domainoffer.net, November 2, 2026); 33% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 9 | Free WHOIS privacy and DNS (NameSilo's add-on costs post); email forwarding free with every domain, up to 100 addresses (NameSilo's email forwarding help); URL forwarding in the domain manager (described in a third-party guide; we couldn't open NameSilo's own article). NameSilo's help lists DS records for DNSSEC, which you bring from another DNS provider, so 1. 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 5 | Authenticator-app two-factor at no charge (NameSilo's two-factor help); no security key or passkey option found. 5 + 0 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers; free API keys from the API Manager (NameSilo's API Manager help). 5 + 5 |
Hostinger: total 6.1
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 3.7 | $0.01 for the first year with a three-year term, then $19.99, plus the $0.20 ICANN fee (fee as reported by domainoffer.net) (Hostinger's price table, where /domain-pricing now redirects): $181.92 over 10 years, 63% above at cost. Hostinger's own roundup of October 15, 2026 quotes a $2.49 first year; either offer moves the ten-year total by less than $3 |
| Renewals on other extensions | 5.6 | Renewals: .org $17.99, .io $74.99, .co $34.99, .ai $109.99 (price table); .net $17.99 (missing from the table we read, so from domainoffer.net, November 2, 2026); 44% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 7 | Free privacy "for supported extensions" (Hostinger's price table page); DNS hosting; redirects without a hosting plan (Hostinger's redirect help). DNSSEC isn't supported on Hostinger's nameservers, only with outside DNS (Hostinger's DNSSEC help), so 1. Email forwarders come with Hostinger's email plans, including the free business email that some hosting plans include; we found no free option for a domain alone, so 0. 2 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 2 |
| Account security | 5 | An authenticator app or email codes, one at a time (Hostinger's two-factor help); no security key or passkey found. 5 + 0 |
| Control | 10 | Up to four custom nameservers (Hostinger's nameserver help); an API with domain, DNS and forwarding endpoints, using a token any customer creates in hPanel (Hostinger API). 5 + 5 |
Squarespace Domains: total 5.7
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 1.4 | $10 for the first year, then $22 ($20 when we read it on October 22), all fees included, from the price service Squarespace's domain search loads: $208 over 10 years, 86% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 5.5 | Renewals: .net $20, .org $20, .io $70, .co $40, .ai $85 (same price service); 45% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 10 | WHOIS privacy "for all eligible domains", DNSSEC "powered by CloudDNS", email forwarding and free domain forwarding, all listed as included (Squarespace Domains); DNS hosting. 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | A passkey (including a hardware security key), an authenticator app or a text message (Squarespace's two-factor help). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 5 | Custom nameservers (Squarespace's nameserver help). Its public APIs are for commerce data, and its reseller program sells domains to other people (Squarespace developers); neither lets a customer manage their own domains or DNS, so 0. 5 + 0 |
IONOS: total 5.6
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 3.8 | "$1 /year for 1 year", then $20 (IONOS domain page): $181 over 10 years, 62% above at cost. The page's "Save 48%" label doesn't match $20 to $1; the ten-year cost is the same if the offer needs a longer term |
| Renewals on other extensions | 3.3 | Renewals: .net $20, .org $20, .io $90, .ai $120 (domain page); .co $48 (missing from the page we read, so from domainoffer.net, November 2, 2026); 67% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 6 | Free private registration for eligible domains, on IONOS's private registration page when we read it on October 22 (that page now redirects to IONOS's domain page, and its help articles on private registration were gone on November 2, so check at checkout); free DNS (IONOS free DNS); domain forwarding in the domain's settings (forwarding help). DNSSEC "is not included" in free DNS; it comes with Domain Guard or DNS Pro (Domain Guard), so 0. Email forwarding is set up inside an Email & Office package, and we found no free one for a domain alone, so 0. 2 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 2 |
| Account security | 5 | An authenticator app or the IONOS app (IONOS two-factor help); we found no way to register a security key for the IONOS login. 5 + 0 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers; the DNS API "is available to all IONOS customers for free" (free DNS page). 5 + 5 |
DreamHost: total 5.5
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 1.3 | A sale price of $10.99 for the first year, then $21.99, with no ICANN fee listed separately (DreamHost's price list): $208.90 over 10 years, 87% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 5.7 | Renewals: .net $19.99, .org $21.99, .io $59.99, .co $34.99, .ai $89.99 (price list); 43% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 7 | Free private registration with every domain (DreamHost's domains page); DNS hosting; redirects for domains "hosted or registered with DreamHost" (DreamHost's redirect guide). "DreamHost's nameservers are not compatible with DNSSEC", which works with outside DNS (DreamHost's DNSSEC overview), so 1. "Domain registration-only accounts do not include email", so forwarding needs a paid plan (DreamHost's forward-only address guide), so 0. 2 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | An authenticator app, or a YubiKey (DreamHost's MFA overview). Only YubiKeys that use Yubico's one-time codes work, not FIDO security keys (DreamHost's YubiKey guide); we counted it as a security key, which is what DreamHost calls it. 5 + 5 |
| Control | 7 | Custom nameservers. Any account can create an API key (connecting to the DreamHost API), but the DNS commands don't cover registration-only domains (DreamHost's DNS API commands), so DNS by API needs a hosting plan: 2. 5 + 2 |
Gandi: total 5.5
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 0 | $11.71 for the first year, then $38.38 for a one-year renewal (US prices, taxes excluded, no ICANN fee listed separately) (Gandi's .com prices): $357.13 over 10 years, 3.2 times the at-cost price. A promotion showed $34.54 a year for multi-year renewals in October |
| Renewals on other extensions | 0 | Renewals: .net $39.98, .org $39.98, .io $74.99, .co $71.98, .ai $179.76 (Gandi's page for each extension); 2.6 times Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 10 | Free WHOIS privacy (Gandi's privacy docs); LiveDNS hosting; DNSSEC on LiveDNS from the domain's page (Gandi's DNSSEC docs); "as many email aliases or forwarding addresses as you want, for free" (Gandi's email page); free web forwarding (Gandi's web forwarding docs). 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | TOTP and WebAuthn security keys, either or both (Gandi's security key docs). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers; personal access tokens for the public API, with domain and LiveDNS endpoints, in any account (Gandi's personal access token docs; Gandi API). 5 + 5 |
Name.com: total 5.4
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 1 | A public sale of $13.99 for the first year (regular $21.99), then $21.99 since October 31, 2026, with no ICANN fee listed separately (Name.com's price list): $211.90 over 10 years, 90% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 3.7 | Renewals: .net $23.99, .org $19.99, .io $79.99, .co $44.99, .ai $99.99 (price list); 63% above Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 9 | WHOIS privacy and HTTP redirects free with every eligible domain in Domain Safe; HTTPS redirects need the $7.99 Domain Safe Pro (Name.com's Domain Safe page); DNS hosting; email forwarding on Name.com's nameservers (Name.com's forwarding guide; Name.com describes it as free in its forwarding post). "Name.com's nameservers currently do not support DNSSEC" (Name.com's DNSSEC FAQ), so 1. 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 |
| Account security | 5 | Two-step verification with Google Authenticator or another authenticator app, free (Name.com's two-step page), with text-message backup; no security key or passkey found. 5 + 0 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers; any account can create production and sandbox API tokens after accepting the API terms (Name.com's API sign-up guide; Name.com Core API docs). 5 + 5 |
GoDaddy: total 5.3
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 1.3 | $0.01 for the first year with a three-year purchase, then $22.99, plus the $0.20 ICANN fee (GoDaddy's .com page): $208.92 over 10 years, 87% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 0 | Renewals: .net $24.99, .org $23.99 (each plus the fee), .io $89.99, .co $59.99, .ai $159.99 (GoDaddy's extension pages); double Cloudflare's on average |
| Free essentials | 7 | Free domain privacy (GoDaddy domain privacy); DNS hosting; forwarding, now over HTTPS (GoDaddy's forwarding help). Five free DNSSEC credits per account on GoDaddy nameservers, more with Premium DNS (GoDaddy's DNSSEC help), so 1. Email forwarding credits bundled with domains "can no longer be used" since Workspace Email was retired (GoDaddy's email forwarding help), so 0. 2 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 2 |
| Account security | 10 | An authenticator app, or a passkey that can be a USB or Bluetooth security key (GoDaddy's verification methods). 5 + 5 |
| Control | 10 | Custom nameservers. "Customers with at least one active domain in their account get access to the Domains API"; the 50-domain and $20-a-month conditions apply only to availability checks (GoDaddy's API access help; GoDaddy developer guide), so 5. Developers reported tighter limits in 2024 (Domain Name Wire) that were later relaxed. 5 + 5 |
Hover: total 4.6
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| .com cost over 10 years | 1.9 | $19.99 for the first year and every renewal (Hover's price list), up from $18.99 when we read it on October 22, plus the $0.20 ICANN fee (as reported by domainoffer.net): $201.90 over 10 years, 81% above at cost |
| Renewals on other extensions | 5.7 | Renewals: .net $19.99 and .org $17.99 (each plus the fee), .io $74.99, .co $25.99, .ai $114.99 (price list); 43% above Cloudflare's on average. Hover's .co renewal is below Cloudflare's |
| Free essentials | 7 | Free WHOIS privacy (Hover's security standards); DNS hosting; unlimited forwards, which use a 302 redirect and don't work over HTTPS (Hover's forwarding help). Email forwarding costs $5 a year per address (Hover's email options), so 0. DNSSEC only for domains that use another provider's nameservers (Hover's DNSSEC help), so 1. 2 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 2 |
| Account security | 5 | Two-step sign-in is mandatory, with an authenticator app (Hover's two-step help); no security key or passkey option. 5 + 0 |
| Control | 5 | Custom nameservers; no public API. 5 + 0 |
The order
Spaceship 10.0, Porkbun 9.8, Dynadot 9.6, Cloudflare Registrar 9.0, Sav 7.8, Amazon Route 53 6.6, Namecheap 6.4, NameSilo 6.2, Hostinger 6.1, Squarespace Domains 5.7, IONOS 5.6, DreamHost 5.5, Gandi 5.5, Name.com 5.4, GoDaddy 5.3, Hover 4.6. The site computes each total as the weighted average of the scores, rounded to one decimal place. DreamHost (5.545 before rounding) ranks above Gandi (5.500).
How close is the top? Spaceship leads Porkbun by 0.2 (9.985 to 9.760 before rounding), and all of it comes from price: the two score the same on free essentials, security and control, and Porkbun beats Spaceship on no criterion. So no change of weights can put Porkbun first; with no weight on price they would tie. Only a price change can: Spaceship's lead rests on a $10.88 .com renewal that is $0.29 below the at-cost price, and above about $12.25 it would fall behind Porkbun.
Cloudflare Registrar has the lowest prices that are set to stay at cost, and loses only on control, because it won't let you use another DNS provider's nameservers. Move 15 of control's 20 points to the .com cost and Cloudflare (9.8) passes Porkbun (9.7) and Dynadot (9.5) for second place; moving 10 points isn't enough to pass Dynadot.
With authenticator-app and security key sign-in Sav would score 9.3 and pass Cloudflare for fourth; with an open API as well, 9.9 and second. It also passes Cloudflare if the API carried no weight. Its 0 on sign-in is the score most likely to change once Sav's help center can be read; it still refused our visits on November 2.
Gandi shows what the price criteria do: it has full marks on everything else and still ranks 13th, because a .com renews at $38.38.
The price change on November 1, 2026
Verisign raised the .com wholesale price from $10.26 to $10.97 at 04:00 UTC on November 1, 2026, so the at-cost price rose from $10.46 to $11.17 (Domain Name Wire's report). This page was first scored on October 22, 2026, and re-scored on November 2 with every price read again, before it was published. The .com prices that changed:
| Registrar | First year, October 22 | First year, November 2 | Renewal, October 22 | Renewal, November 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spaceship | $9.08 | $9.68 | $10.18 | $10.88 |
| Porkbun | $11.08 | $11.81 | $11.08 | $11.81 |
| Dynadot | $10.88 | $11.62 | $10.88 | $11.62 |
| Cloudflare Registrar | $10.46 | $11.17 | $10.46 | $11.17 |
| Sav | $10.87 | $11.29 | $10.15 | $10.99 |
| NameSilo | $17.29 | $19.99 | $17.29 | $19.99 |
| Namecheap | $11.28 | $12.08 | $18.48 | $19.98 |
| Squarespace Domains | $10 | $10 | $20 | $22 |
| Name.com | $12.99 | $13.99 | $19.99 | $21.99 |
| Gandi | $11 | $11.71 | $38.38 | $38.38 |
| Hover | $18.99 | $19.99 | $18.99 | $19.99 |
Namecheap and Hover add the $0.20 ICANN fee on top of the prices shown. Amazon Route 53, Hostinger, IONOS, DreamHost and GoDaddy kept their .com prices. No price for .net, .org, .io, .co or .ai changed between the two readings, so the renewals scores didn't move.
What moved in the scores: only the .com cost criterion, because both the prices and the at-cost reference changed. Spaceship, Sav, Cloudflare Registrar, Dynadot and Porkbun kept their scores. Registrars that kept their prices gained, because the reference rose under them: Amazon Route 53 4.7 to 5.7, IONOS 2.7 to 3.8, Hostinger 2.6 to 3.7, DreamHost and GoDaddy 0 to 1.3. Registrars whose ten-year .com cost rose by more than the at-cost total's 7% lost ground: NameSilo 3.5 to 2.1, Squarespace Domains 1.8 to 1.4, Name.com 1.6 to 1.0, Namecheap 2.8 to 2.6. Hover's $1 rise came to 5% over 10 years, so its score rose from 1.7 to 1.9. The top five and their order didn't change; Amazon Route 53 moved from eighth to sixth and Name.com from 11th to 14th.
On November 2 we also re-opened every source this page links to. No feature score changed. IONOS's private registration page and help articles had been taken down, so its privacy point now rests on what we read on October 22 (noted in its row).