Cheap Alternatives to Google Domains After Shutdown
Last Updated: June 8, 2024
It was just about a year ago when Google Domains came out of beta, and it has been one of the fastest-growing domain registrars that many developers and small business owners loved.
Unfortunately, Google Domains has prematurely reached its end of life with a recent news story from Squarespace announcing that they have acquired the business from Google.
This is quite a shocking and sad news because Google Domains seemed like a very promising service that millions of customers used.
Apparently, whatever profit Google was making from this business wasn’t worthwhile compared to the massive cash flow from their ad services and other products. Or maybe they just wanted to sharpen their focus, as one of their employees was quoted saying the in the news release.
Google Domains Going to Squarespace
All existing customers and domains will be automatically transferred from Google Domains to Squarespace, and the latter will become the new registrar on record.
Now, Squarespace is primarily a website builder and hosting service that is more geared toward beginners and those looking for a simple, no-coding, ready-to-go website building tool.
Although they also provide domain registration, it’s mostly used by their own customers who are interested in using their website builder.
There are two main drawbacks of Squarespace becoming your new domain registrar instead of Google:
- Higher prices: The cost of registering and renewing some TLDs is significantly higher compared to Google Domains’ pricing. For example, they charge $20 per year for .com, .net and .org, which is $8 higher than Google’s $12 fee for the same TLDs.
- No full Whois privacy: Squarespace offers Whois redaction feature that removes your personal data except for the country, state, and organization (if any). While some may not mind that, others may prefer complete Whois privacy.
I believe there are better alternatives to transfer your domain names to, and that’s what we’ll look at next.
Best Google Domains Alternatives
You don’t have to go with Squarespace as your new domain registrar. You can freely transfer your domains to any other registrar that offers better prices and features.
The following are my top choices for an alternative to Google Domains:
1. NameCheap
NameCheap has been among the most reputable domain registrars for more than two decades and they aren’t going anywhere. This is one of the top places I trust with my domain names and I haven’t had a single issue after years of sticking around with their service.
I think NameCheap makes a great alternative to Google Domains because of their good reputation, low prices, free and full Whois privacy, as well as several affordable premium add-ons (SSL, DNS, etc.)
All domain transfers to NameCheap receive a generous discount for the first year ($10.48 for .com), and then the regular retail price ($15.88 for .com) will be charged for subsequent renewals.
2. Spaceship
Spaceship is a relatively new domain registrar, but not entirely so. It is run by the old NameCheap team and it’s gaining traction among webmasters.
Compared to NameCheap, Spaceship has a more modern interface and lower prices. They currently offer some of the lowest domain renewal prices you can find on the market.
Will they raise renewal fees in the future? Probably. In the meantime, you can take advantage of their promotional low rates and renew your domains for multiple years.
3. Dynadot
Dynadot is another company that ticks all the boxes of a reliable domain registrar, including fair pricing, secure platform, simple checkout process, and good customer support. I’ve also been using this registrar for years and would positively vouch for them.
You can renew your domains for cheap at Dynadot ($10.19 for .com). Prices are mostly lower than those of Google Domains. Additionally, you get complete Whois privacy free of charge.
4. NameSilo
NameSilo may be a little less popular, nevertheless, they are a solid registrar to consider as an alternative to Google Domains.
They have very competitive prices for most TLDs with full Whois privacy and email forwarding included for free with each domain name.
5. Cloudflare
Many developers use Cloudflare’s DNS, CDN and other services — and if you do, you may as well transfer your domains to them. They offer domain registration and renewal at cost since it’s not really their bread and butter but more of a complimentary service for their customers.
Take note that Cloudflare doesn’t allow you to change the nameservers of any domains registered with them, so you must use their own DNS service. They also don’t have a full Whois privacy feature, but instead you get a redacted Whois record with most personal data removed except for your country, state and organization (if given).
Less Favorable Alternatives
There are a few other “popular” companies you must have heard a lot about, but may not be the best choice to migrate your domains to. Here are a couple of examples of those:
GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world (thanks to their huge marketing campaigns), but they’re not that advantageous these days. They have high renewal fees ($21.99 for .com), costly full Whois privacy ($10 per domain), buggy interface, and poor outsourced support.
Domain.com and BlueHost are owned by the same parent company and they also have relatively high renewal rates. Not to mention that Whois privacy will add about $10 to your annual bill, and that’s for each domain name you want to keep private.
Google Domains Alternatives Recommended on Reddit
Google Domains used to be one of the most liked domain registrars on Reddit. After the shutdown announcement, many Redditors sought advice on where to go next.
Some of the top recommended Google Domains alternatives on Reddit are Cloudflare, NameCheap and Dynadot. I totally agree and approve of these companies.
Another less popular alternative registrar that has a good reputation on Reddit is Porkbun. I haven’t used this one so I can’t say anything about it, except that I disapprove of the irrelevant name. They have competitive prices, so check it out and see if you like something beyond that distasteful name!
Conclusion: Which is the Best Google Domains Alternative?
I’d say two of the most reliable alternatives to Google Domains are NameCheap and Dynadot. Both are well-established domain registrars that I have been happily using for many years.
If you want the cheaper alternative, go with Dynadot. And if you’re interested in additional services like premium DNS, email and SSL certificates, then NameCheap has decent offers for those at affordable prices.
Also read: Reddit Picks: Best Domain Registrar to Use in 2024
References
- Lorenzo Baloci (March 15, 2022) “Google Domains launches out of beta.” The Keyword (link: https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/register-a-domain-google-domains/)
- “Squarespace Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Google Domains Assets.” Squarespace Newsroom (link: https://newsroom.squarespace.com/blog/googledomains)
- Matt Binder (June 16, 2023) “Google Domains sells to Squarespace in surprise move.” Mashable (link: https://mashable.com/article/google-domains-squarespace-acquisition)
- “Squarespace.” Wikipedia (link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squarespace)
- “Domain Name Transfer Service — Great Prices and Unmissable Benefits.” Namecheap (link: https://www.namecheap.com/domains/transfer/)
- “Domain Prices — Save More on Over 500 Domain Extensions.” Dynadot (link: https://www.dynadot.com/domain/tlds-prices)
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