Cheap GoDaddy Alternatives for Domain Registration
GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world, and they got there by spending millions of dollars on online ads and TV commercials. Well, that’s good for them, but not for their customers who end up footing the bill for those costly ads with the higher prices they’re charged.
Several years ago, GoDaddy used to have more competitive prices and it was my go-to domain registrar. But unfortunately, they kept increasing their prices while at the same time the quality of their support has been declining as a result of outsourcing it to off-shore agents.
They try to attract new customers with low introductory prices and then they milk you sideways with high renewal fees and premium add-ons!
For example, a .com domain currently costs $22.17 to renew, and if you need full Whois privacy protection, add an extra $10 to that.
I rarely use GoDaddy these days except when I catch a worthy expired domain in their Auctions section. There are other places where you can buy a cheap domain name and pay about half the price GoDaddy charges for renewal.
Best Affordable GoDaddy Alternatives
These are my top recommendations for GoDaddy alternatives that offer lower domain prices:
1. NameCheap
I’ve been registering my domains with NameCheap for several years now and it’s been nothing short of a great experience.
They did increase renewal fees in recent years but they still remain reasonable in my opinion. You get full Whois privacy for free in addition to free basic DNS service. If you’re interested in a more reliable DNS service for mission-critical use, I’d recommend the PremiumDNS add-on.
2. Dynadot
Dynadot is another great alternative to GoDaddy for cheap domain registration and renewal. I give them a big thumbs-up for keeping their renewal prices very competitively low while many other registrars have been greedily jacking up prices.
Other things I like about Dynadot are: the nice interface, straightforward checkout process, lack of BS upselling, and of course, the full Whois privacy they offer at no additional charge.
3. NameSilo
NameSilo is another low-cost domain registrar I can recommend if you are looking to move away from GoDaddy. This registrar is popular among domainers because they offer generous discounts for bulk domain registrations.
You can pay for your domain purchases at NameSilo using a wide range of payment options that include crypto payments (Bitcoin).
4. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a bit more advanced than the registrars mentioned above. This company primarily provides CDN, DNS and networking services, but they also provide domain registration at cost.
The catch is that you must use Cloudflare’s DNS service with any domain name registered with them. You won’t be able to change the nameservers, so you’ll have to manually set up DNS records for your domain.
I’d recommend Cloudflare for developers and tech-savvy users interested in using their CDN solution, otherwise, you may find the other registrars above more convenient.
Which is The Best GoDaddy Alternative According to Reddit?
There aren’t many fans of GoDaddy among Redditors, and the main reason for that is their pricing practices. In fact, you’d often see Reddit users advising others to stay away from GoDaddy’s domain registration and web hosting services.
NameCheap and Cloudflare are commonly recommended on Reddit as better alternatives to GoDaddy. Cloudflare is the cheaper alternative that many developers favor, but NameCheap is simpler to use for beginners.
Google Domains also used to be one of the best domain registrars that Redditors vouch for, but unfortunately, it has been recently shut down and sold to Squarespace.
Which GoDaddy Alternatives Offer Free Whois Privacy?
NameCheap, Dynadot and NameSilo all offer complete Whois privacy for free with each domain registration or transfer.
Cloudflare offers Whois redaction for free. This isn’t a full Whois privacy feature like that offered by the three registrars above, but it does provide basic privacy protection. All your personal contact details will be redacted (hidden) and only your country, state and organization/company name will be shown in the public Whois record.
Also read: Reddit Picks: Best Domain Registrar to Use in 2024
