
Ask HN: Which domain registrar do you recommend? - xlii
I&#x27;ve been using GoDaddy for a long time (as probably it was one of the first international registrar that would take my local credit card) but after recent news and pointing out different issues with them I&#x27;d like to move out.<p>Since I own some regional domains that I&#x27;d like to move not all registrars are possible as a destination (I know, for instance, that Namecheap won&#x27;t work due to the lack of .SE support).<p>What are some reputable domain registrars where I could move my domains to?
======
gkbrk
Very happy with Namecheap [1]. I have 3 domains registered with them, one of
them going back a long time. Never had problems with anything from search to
payment.

They have 2FA support that works with the open source TOTP apps too.

[1]: [https://www.namecheap.com](https://www.namecheap.com)

~~~
greenbush
Namecheap is expensive when you go to renew. I switched all my domains to
Porkbun - cheaper, and a cleaner/simpler UI.

~~~
cosmotic
Which TLD did they increase on renew?

------
_hao
Gandi[1] and Namecheap[2] are the only ones that I trust.

[1]: [https://www.gandi.net/](https://www.gandi.net/)

[2]: [https://www.namecheap.com/](https://www.namecheap.com/)

~~~
sandGorgon
you should look at this for Gandi - [https://www.cbronline.com/cloud/gandi-
outage-hardware-failur...](https://www.cbronline.com/cloud/gandi-outage-
hardware-failure/)

~~~
ptman
Different service. They got most of the data back in the end. And you should
always have backups somewhere else. I'm not sure why this is relevant.

~~~
undecisive
Yeah, at the time they got a lot of bad press for their abysmal support
responses. Things like saying that their backup solution was not a backup
solution, blaming the customer, etc etc.

Saying that people should have geographically diversified backups is like
saying you should always read the T&Cs of every website you interact with.
Yes, you definitely should. But many people would rather just trust the brand,
and a trust broken is not easily fixed.

And understandably, that broken trust has a knock-on effect for other services
in the same brand.

------
capableweb
I regularly use three different providers depending on needs.

\- Gandi for general usage, free and hassle-free
[https://www.gandi.net/](https://www.gandi.net/)

\- Njalla when my privacy is needed and don't want to risk the domain from
being taken over/down because of moral/ethical issues (nothing illegal, but
for "frowned upon" websites) [https://njal.la/](https://njal.la/)

\- dnsimple when needing absolute control over as much as possible,
flexibility in using APIs for controlling the zone and for really important
domains, costs 5 USD per month minimum though
[https://dnsimple.com/](https://dnsimple.com/)

~~~
malikNF
Thanks for this comment, I didn't know about Njalla before this.

If anyone is interested there is a previous thread on HN on Njalla[1] and
according to a torrentfreak article from 2017 the site was founded by tpb
founder [2]

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14177597](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14177597)

[2] [https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-launches-
anonymo...](https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-launches-anonymous-
domain-registration-service-170419/)

------
bearbin
NearlyFreeSpeech.NET is the registrar I use. They're a web hosting company, so
domain registration is not their only service, but they have an excellent
company philosophy and customer-friendly policy set.

I've been using them for about 10 years now, and they have been extremely
reliable, zero-maintenance; and the web-interface is very easy to use and
logically organised. (no javascript!)

Their prices aren't too bad either, since domain registration isn't their main
priority.

Only downside is that they don't support all domain types, only the legacy
GTLDs and a small list of new ones:
[https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/services/domains](https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/services/domains)

~~~
Stratoscope
I love NearlyFreeSpeech! I've been using them for hosting for many years. I
used to use WebFaction as well back in their glory days, but since they were
bought by GoDaddy (ugh!) I've been migrating the few sites I had there over to
NFS. The only straggler is one WordPress site I maintain for a friend, and I
will move that one over shortly.

I had no idea that NFS also handled domain registration. I use Gandi for all
my domains, especially since they have so many TLDs available and like NFS
have a clean and simple business model. The only exception is a .to domain
that seems to be available only through tonic.to. Ah well.

But thanks for mentioning that NFS also offers domain registration - I will
have to check this out.

------
jrnkntl
I've been using Cloudflare Registrar[1] for a year now for all .com domains.
No nonsense or extra fees. Gandhi[2] for exotic TLDs (best price). For EU
domain TLDs I stick to Vimexx[3] (in Dutch).

[1]
[https://www.cloudflare.com/products/registrar/](https://www.cloudflare.com/products/registrar/)

[2] [https://www.gandi.net/](https://www.gandi.net/)

[2] [https://vimexx.eu/](https://vimexx.eu/)

~~~
captn3m0
They don't support buying new domains right? You need to buy elsewhere and
transfer to CloudFlare.

Plus, their TLD coverage isn't great.

~~~
radoomi
They actually do now. Not great TLD coverage is true though

------
JustARandomGuy
Very happy with Porkbun ( [https://porkbun.com/](https://porkbun.com/) ).
Newer registrar, but their console is clean, nice looking, and it's easy to
update settings.

~~~
markdown
It's haram.

~~~
pinpanpuchi
didnt expect to see the word 'haram' in HN forum with an international
audience :)

------
stephenr
As it hasn't been mentioned yet, I use namesilo.com.

What originally drew me to their service was 2FA, no additional services
bullshit (i.e. I'm never going to buy "web hosting" from a domain registrar, I
don't want the current-customer-spam they all use to cross-sell) and decent
prices.

They've recently started selling "web hosting" but so far it hasn't really
been pushed, and their focus seems to be very much on domains still.

------
cbhl
A lot of the .se registrars are in Sweden, but if you're just using it as a
name hack then your options may be more limited (eNom/Tucows, Name.com, and
Dyn (which was acquired by Oracle and then subsequently by name.com)).

Maybe try Hover? Based out of Canada, provided by Tucows.

You might have to use more than one registrar to get coverage on all your
regional domains, depending on how many you have.

------
Snowbirth
[https://domcomp.com](https://domcomp.com)
[https://domainr.com](https://domainr.com) [https://tld-list.com](https://tld-
list.com) [https://domains.google/](https://domains.google/)
[https://instantdomainsearch.com/](https://instantdomainsearch.com/)
[https://porkbun.com/products/domains](https://porkbun.com/products/domains)
[https://www.cloudflare.com/products/registrar/](https://www.cloudflare.com/products/registrar/)

------
frisovv
In The Netherlands, I use openprovider
([https://openprovider.com/](https://openprovider.com/)). They are actually a
reseller solution for agencies and such, but it works equally well for
personal domain registration needs. Pricing is competitive, service is
excellent, and they are small enough to pick up the phone if necessary.

I also like to think that a registrar with a support desk that operates in my
local language (Dutch) reduces the attack vector for social engineering.

~~~
dddw
Been using them for 5+ years now. Both as reseller and private. I can attest
to them being very good. Pricing is real good, but does depend on your volume.
At some point it becomes interesting to get a subscription for which you get
most domains at cost-price. Their service is indeed outstanding, often sameday
reply on mail with actual solutions.

I wouldn't call them small though, they are in the top 50 domain registrars in
the world, and I guess the biggest in NL.

------
leptons
I've migrated a few dozen domains from Godaddy to Namecheap, for various
reasons, mostly because Godaddy absolutely sucks.

Namecheap tech support is great. Loving their dynamic DNS application too
since I'm taking advantage of my 500mbit up/down running a server at home.
I've had no problems with Namecheap since I started using them a few years ago
and finally migrated everything over to them a few months ago.

Goodbye Godaddy!! Good riddance!

------
sideproject
A little tangent, but I have ~ 50 domains I've bought from... many different
places over the years. I've been meaning to develop my ideas with them, but
they've been ending up just.. idle. I recently created a small tool to manage
my un-used domains better

[https://www.newsy.co](https://www.newsy.co)

Hopefully, those who are in a similar situtation can also find it useful.

------
vixit
I've been very happy with PorkBun.

[1]: [https://porkbun.com/](https://porkbun.com/)

------
Romain_Winler
I always use the French company OVH
([https://www.ovh.com/fr/domaines/](https://www.ovh.com/fr/domaines/)). It's
very reliable. They have a lot of extensions, including the ".SE" that you
want, and they offer 10 Mo to host your own mini site and an e-mail account of
5 Go with every domain.

------
riffnote
Dynadot, because it allows domain tasting. If you impulsively buy a domain you
later regret, they'll buy it back.

Reminds me of a blog post I wrote on why we buy bad domain names:
[https://medium.com/@jasoncomely/why-i-buy-bad-domain-
names-e...](https://medium.com/@jasoncomely/why-i-buy-bad-domain-
names-e28a6172ac8f)

~~~
capableweb
Correction: Why _you_ buy bad domain names. It's even in the URL and title on
medium.com ;)

I got a ton of domains as well, but it's largely having a positive effect on
me. Once I have the domain for a project I'm working on, I always end up at
least shipping a MVP, as otherwise I feel like I'm spending money on something
I'm not using. If I didn't get the domain, I'd probably end up releasing
nothing, instead of something. Some projects survives longer than that.

------
nullpilot
Gandi has been working well for me. It just chugs along. Good UI. Doesn't try
to upsell me anything or be my friend. All the mails I received in 5+ years
were purely transactional: payments and notifications for expiring domains
where I don't have auto-renewal enabled.

Surely that is true for other registrars as well, but I've had no reason to
look further.

------
cpach
I prefer Dynadot
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24507331](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24507331)

But I don’t know if they support .SE though.

For .SE domains, Frobbit seems reliable, but I haven’t tested them myself
[https://frobbit.se/](https://frobbit.se/)

~~~
devvet
Dynadot are crooks - big warning to people, see my reply above.

------
r007c0n7r0l
InternetWorx - inwx.net

~~~
AegirLeet
+1

------
ggm
I moved mine to google because it's pretty much zero stupid. I do sometimes
feel captured by the borg.

------
sidcool
I am using Google domains. Haven't had any complaints, neither from friends
nor from here at HN.

------
michaelsitver
Ranking the domain providers I've used: 1\. Google Domains (Simple and easy)
2\. Namecheap (Pretty decent) 3\. Gandi.net. Perfectly fine. 4\. Godaddy
(cheap/ubiqutous, a bit of a hassle) 5\. Oneandone. Spammed me constantly.

------
swiley
I've been using easydns. They have _very_ good support and have lots of nice
features (including lots of experimental new DNS stuff.) The owners of the
company have principles I agree with and the site is easy to use.

------
gtf21
I use iwantmyname both for myself and my company and they have always been
excellent. Loads of domains (I've never had a problem with something not being
supported), good support, system works really well for me too.

------
saaaaaam
I’ve used iwantmyname.com for years and am very happy with them. I’ve got
around 50 domains in there but have managed as many as 150 through them
before. Good support when I’ve needed it and simple but powerful interface.

------
devmab
Honorable mention: [https://njal.la/](https://njal.la/)

It's great if you don't like giving away your personal data. They accept
payments with cryptocurrencies as well.

------
shem73
We have been using [https://www.domaininfo.com/](https://www.domaininfo.com/)
for a long time and have been satisfied with them. They are based in Sweden.

------
faichai
gandi.net has been ok for me.

~~~
elliottinvent
I agree, I've experimented with maybe 15 over the last 20 years and Gandi is
the best in my experience.

------
jitl
Most of the large cloud services companies have registrar arms: AWS, Google
Cloud, etc. I currently use Gandi.net but am considering a transfer to my AWS
account to simplify my security posture.

------
plessthanpt05
I asked this exact question about a week ago:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24414921](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24414921)

------
mrsaint
Porkbun & Namesilo is what I ended up with over many years.

------
nunorbatista
Dynadot has been my preference for some time. I migrated everything from
Godaddy a few years ago. It offers Who Is privacy as standard and don't spam
me every day.

~~~
devvet
I have used Dynadot 3x over past few years. Right now I have dispute for a
domain I transferred to them this week.

#1 Needed to edit the email on account. There form on account info is crippled
preventing users from changing account email! Never thought there was problem
with them until discovering them. And it turns out from searching online this
problem has existed for years and part of a scam. I have an actual email reply
from a Rep stating that the 'site was unstable' and that form was fixed. Well,
it is isn't I have captured video demo and screens on it, logged in right now
and nope. Lies.

They do this as part a scam long story short and you can search 'dynadot scam'
and see same story dating back years. In 9/2020 I attempted their phone
support -> no answer, voicemail. Website contact form > broken. Chat - rep ip
banned me!. Again I took screenshot.

Attempted immediate transfer to Namecheap. Transfer would not go through.
Finally got a direct email address, threatened them. Rep straight out lied and
said their was the 60-day lock. Dynadot violates ICANN regulation where all
domain providers must offer opt-in/opt-out or by default it's obviously opt
out and they cannot simply implement the restriction to prevent transfer-out.
Dynadot said it was locked and they cannot change it. After citing regulation
and threat within hour it was released. Next since immediately cancelling and
transferring out, requested refund - nightmare of lies, denying the transfer
purchase from 4 days ago!

Gave them paypal transaction # and their own invoice and order #. Of course I
have the invoice pdf and receipt. 3 agents lied. I retained email of total
deceit and lies.

Again you can search online and fine a laundry of incidents. Also on my web
account, which I am logged in right now, saw this, signed up on this site for
a first post to warn people, they have zero records on the account of the
purchase or any previous invoices! However there is a section clearly showing
3 former domains (a record legally required for ICANN) including the transfer
out for a couple days ago. LIES. And of course there are paypal records.

Nightmare dispute - search for dynadot scam - it is shocking how long this is
going on. Dynadot needs to lose the ICANN accreditation for several violation
of the regulation and any consciousable developer need to boycott them and
push this. This has gone for years. Even I never caught on due the fact I
never needed to change the email on account, or perform a quick transfer
in/out for a client.

Dynadot operates criminally, deceptively and in violation of ICANN rules, yet
they are still accredited and nothing is changing. We need grassroots support
to have ICANN discredit them.

\-----

The other domain name providers I still have on my list are Namecheap (who are
not perfect, but do have rapid customer support - hit or miss with first-line
support people, but there ARE adept supervisors over there). The other
Name.com, which I have not used in a while.

But DYNADOT = SCAM ARTISTS. Crippled design, forms and tactics to force
unopted locks, with worse scenario steal domain names and various internet and
actual US law violations. Again, research the last decade of complaints for my
exact issue, extortion attempts and domain name theft.

Boycott. Hope this saves people a nightmare. I have lost many hours over this,
still dealing with it to-date - no refund, no account deletion. And I had to
transfer to Namecheap and deal with an attempt by the on top of all the other
issues to block my transfer out. Out of 20 years of dealing with domains
regularly for personal and clients - Dynadot = crooks, officially worst
registrar ever.

ALSO Dynadot does NOT offer the good privacy third-party like namecheap. They
offer and route the email through their OWN!!

PROOF
[https://www.whois.com/whois/superprivacyservice.com](https://www.whois.com/whois/superprivacyservice.com)

superprivacyservice - their own.. On my attempt to immediately cancel and
transfer out, the domain was not being released because there own
"superprivacyservice" shady criminal middleman did not route the contact email
to namecheap.

Please someone with push at ICANN cancel them. any lawyers?? if you can
contact me here, please do.

------
sidyapa
Porkbun

1\. No questions asked 48 hour cancellation 2\. Free WHOIS 3\. Cheapest in
most TLDs 4\. Most user friendly Dashboard and processes 5\. Plethora of
payment options (crypto included)

------
devvet
Namecheap.com And maybe still.. Name.com although not cheap.

Dynadot = crooks. Research. Search and see my extended reply/post below.
Nightmare scenario.

------
askthrowaway
NameSilo is very good and been using it for years

------
dangus
Well, you basically started with the worst one, so things are looking up for
you!

~~~
xlii
For my defense it was probably more than 20 years ago. Lazyness is always a
good excuse.

~~~
dangus
It’s hard to convey over text, but I definitely intended to be lighthearted
about it!

I know I was once a GoDaddy customer, too. For the time, they were _fine_.

------
cnorthwood
For personal projects I use Gandi, for work I use AWS Route53 Domains.

------
jdmoreira
I've always used Gandi and have no complains

------
goku99
how about domain.google?

~~~
swiley
They've automatically deleted domains based on user generated content without
any real support to contact. They might be the worst.

------
scandox
I use joker.com.

------
ilmiont
iwantmyname

~~~
dddw
I have my domains somewhere else, but iwantmyname their domain buy page is
definitely one of my favourites, all those TLDs!

