this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2025
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I want to get some domains for selfhosted stuff, but I'd like to use a registrar that I won't regret doing business with later, both in terms of ethics and potential customer service stuff. Who do y'all like most?

top 49 comments
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[–] lemonuri@lemmy.ml 1 points 32 minutes ago

I've been with 1984.is for a couple of years now. I think my domains cost around 12 Euros a year each. Their web GUI works fine and I've never needed to contact their customer service, so I cannot comment on that.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 39 points 8 hours ago (5 children)

Top answers from the last 39580202 times this was asked:

  • Namecheap
  • Porkbun
  • Gandi
  • Cloudflare
[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 13 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I was with Namecheap for years, and they're totally fine. I am now with Cloudflare because they're a bit cheaper and their API is well supported in various tools, and they also seem fine.

[–] 3dmvr@lemm.ee 3 points 3 hours ago

I use porkbun and you get cloudflare through them, not sure to what extent, porkbuns just cheaper, I like their ui, straightforward, everything you need on one screen.

[–] vfsh@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 7 hours ago

Another +1 for name cheap, been using em for a decade now. Their deals are stellar and renewal prices are on par with any other competitors usually

[–] jonathan@lemmy.zip 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I wouldn't buy domains from Cloudflare from a risk mitigation perspective. At work I direct six figures of budget their way annually, but as a free-tier customer in my personal life I don't trust them not to fuck up at some point and lock my account. If I register my domain elsewhere I can bring myself back online by moving the nameservers. If it's registered at Cloudflare I'm fucked.

[–] folekaule@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I have one of my domains on Cloudflare and was thinking of moving the rest of them there. What makes it harder to move name servers away from Cloudflare than other places?

[–] jonathan@lemmy.zip 1 points 55 minutes ago

Your registrar (the place you buy your domains) are where you update your nameservers. If Cloudflare have locked you out then you won't be able to change them. Other standard registrars will have far less cause, legitimate or not, to lock or disable your account, since they don't host/proxy your content.

I'll throw in for namecheap. Been with them for a while with no complaints.

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

I like pair domains.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

In case anyone was wondering:

  • namecheap: US
  • porkbun: US
  • INWX: Germany
  • OVH: French
  • onlydomains: NZ

I personally have been with onlydomains for a decade or so. No complaints.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 3 points 8 hours ago

I've domains from both DomainMonger and NameCheap. If it were trivial, I'd probably move my domains to NameCheap. The web UX is a little better; aside from that, I've never had issues with either, not heard anything particularly bad about either.

But, yeah: +1 on the NameCheap suggestion.

[–] circuitloss@lemmy.world 36 points 11 hours ago (2 children)
[–] TurtleTourParty@midwest.social 4 points 8 hours ago

Seconded. I switched from namecheap when they raised the price of my domain. I never had a problem with name cheap but porkbin is cheaper.

[–] Xanza@lemm.ee 3 points 10 hours ago
[–] StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I've always used NameCheap. Can't speak to their ethics, but customer support has been excellent the few times I've needed it.

[–] kitnaht@lemmy.world 23 points 10 hours ago

Been using Namecheap for a decade or more now. Great company, no muss, no fuss, just works. The greatest thing is that they're boring as fuck. That's one of the best qualities to have in a domain registrar.

[–] harsh3466@lemmy.ml 10 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Also been using namecheap for years with no complaints. Boring and dependable.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Boring and dependable.

Just like I wish politics were.

[–] 42yeah@lemm.ee 4 points 7 hours ago

Namesilo is quite good - cheap & been using it for 5 years now (coming from namecheap)

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 16 points 10 hours ago (1 children)
[–] madame_gaymes@programming.dev 9 points 10 hours ago

This. NameCheap actually responds to abuse reports, as well. Turns out they actually think it's bad for business to allow grifters and con artists to use their services, unlike other major registrars.

[–] Wrongdoer4094@lemmy.world 9 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

I'm using Cloudflare, because it's quite convenient since I always end up using them as DNS server.

They're also slightly cheaper since they don't take any profit from their registrar side, hoping to make it back with other services.

[–] bigDottee@geekroom.tech 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Also use Cloudflare as new domain registrar because I use them as DNS as well. I can’t say that I’ve had any problems with them at all.

[–] cantankerous_cashew@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

Same, I also use Cloudflare dns, tunnels, and pages. Having these all in the same place makes it easy to deploy/keep track of everything

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 13 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I've been with Porkbun since Gandi got acquired. No complaints.

[–] Lemmchen@feddit.org 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Zak@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Total Webhosting Solutions

[–] puppinstuff@lemmy.ca 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I’ve been happy with Hover for several years. They don’t bug me and they’re owned by Tucows so they’ve got decades-old staying power.

[–] perishthethought@lemm.ee 2 points 3 hours ago

I can't believe they're still around

[–] YaksDC@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 hours ago

I have had a lot good experience with Porkbun.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Have you tried......GoDaddy???

giggles as the downvotes pour in

[–] Lemmchen@feddit.org 1 points 6 hours ago

Unfortunately yes, and I hate then with everything I've got.

[–] azalty@jlai.lu 2 points 8 hours ago

Tested porkbun and namecheap. Namecheap has a nice and reactive support from my experience. Porkbun also helped me quickly.

[–] Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 hours ago

I've used two, NameCheap, and PorkBun.

Hated Namecheap, would never use them again. Janky pricing, tons of email spam, terrible UI.

Porkbun has been pretty great. Simple, solid prices, easy to use, no issues for about a year and a half.

[–] 2xsaiko@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

INWX has been great so far, have been with them for about 6 years at this point. Also had good experiences with their customer support.

[–] Mora@pawb.social 1 points 7 hours ago

-1 for INWX. Still waiting on a domain transfer, domain is stuck for about a month, chat support was useless

[–] mbirth@lemmy.ml 2 points 10 hours ago

+1 for INWX

[–] mhzawadi@lemmy.horwood.cloud 5 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I moved all my domains from Google to OVH, OVH have an API so you can get certs with certbot. You could also use the API to update records for a dynamic home broadband

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I have a server with OVH. I hadn't realised they're a registrar also.

[–] mhzawadi@lemmy.horwood.cloud 1 points 59 minutes ago

Yeah, OVH do website hosting as well

[–] brighteast@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I’ve been a happy customer of Metategistrar for over a decade. No complaints, fair prices. Just moved a .be from Gandi there because they wanted to charge me €30 excl. VAT for 1 year. Retail price of .be by DNS.be is about €5 and Metaregistrar only charges me €7,5 excl. VAT for a .be for a year. Was at Gandi with that domain because they used to offer free mailboxes with domain name registrations but have since stopped that. Shop around people!

[–] myrmidex@slrpnk.net 1 points 9 hours ago

Thanks for the tip, I'm getting pissed off at the Gandi .be prices as well, just ludicrous.

[–] konalt@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I've been using Namecheap for almost a year now with no complaints

[–] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 hours ago

I’ve been with namecheap for years too. No complaints

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 hours ago

I have two domains through Porkbun. Never had an issue with them. No-nonsense, simple UI, good prices.

[–] eksb@programming.dev 0 points 10 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Kuinox@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Gor acquired and rised price.