Comparison Research

Where to Buy a Domain in 2026: 7 Registrars Compared on Renewal Price

Anna · Designer & web developerUpdated 2026-11-06 · How we test

Namecheap, Cloudflare, Porkbun, Spaceship, Hostinger, GoDaddy and Squarespace compared on .com first-year and renewal prices, privacy and transfers.

The cheapest places to buy a .com domain in 2026 are Cloudflare Registrar, Spaceship and Porkbun. All three renew a .com for roughly $10 to $12 a year and include free WHOIS privacy. Namecheap is a solid middle option with an easy panel and frequent first-year deals. GoDaddy and Squarespace cost about twice as much at renewal, so buy there only if convenience is worth $10 a year to you.

The trick in this market is the renewal. A $2.99 first year means nothing if year two costs $22.99. You'll own a good domain for ten years or more, so compare the renewal price, not the banner.

I'm Anna, a web designer and developer. I buy my own domains on Spaceship; the other registrars here I haven't used, so this is a research piece based on official pricing pages, help docs and independent price trackers. Figures are as of November 2026. Verisign raised the wholesale .com price from $10.26 to $10.97 on November 1, 2026, and registrars are passing it on, so check the checkout. Some links here are affiliate links.

Quick comparison for .com

Sources: Porkbun's .com page and Hostinger's domain page (November 2026), Cloudflare Registrar's product page, Spaceship's domain search (November 6, 2026), and independent price trackers for Namecheap, GoDaddy and Squarespace, checked in late October 2026 before the wholesale increase. Expect most figures to sit about $0.71 higher after November 1. ICANN adds $0.20 a year at most registrars.

What to compare before you buy

Renewal price. This is the number that repeats. Over ten years, a $10 difference per year is $100 for one domain, and more if you hold several.

Free WHOIS privacy. Without it, your name, email and sometimes address can show in public records. Every registrar in this list includes privacy or redaction for free on common extensions. Some older registrars still charge for it, so look for the word "free" in the cart.

Transfers. A transfer to another registrar usually costs one year of renewal and adds that year to your domain, so you lose nothing. ICANN rules lock a domain for 60 days after registration or a previous transfer. Plan around that if you want to move.

Upsells. Watch for pre-ticked boxes: email, SSL, "domain protection", site builders. You don't need most of them. Your host or Cloudflare gives you SSL for free.

DNS and email. If you'll host the site elsewhere, you need to edit DNS records. All seven let you do that.

Cloudflare Registrar: cheapest over the long run

Cloudflare sells domains at cost. Its product page says registration, transfer and renewal are priced at or below what the registry and ICANN charge, with no markup and no required add-ons. For a .com after November 1, that works out to about $10.97 plus the $0.20 ICANN fee. You also get free WHOIS redaction, DNSSEC in one click and a transfer lock that's on by default.

Catch: domains at Cloudflare must use Cloudflare's own nameservers. That's fine for most sites, and Cloudflare's DNS is fast and free, but it's a problem if your host or builder insists on its own nameservers. Website: cloudflare.com/products/registrar.

Porkbun: flat pricing, no first-year games

Porkbun's .com page lists $11.81 and says it doesn't inflate first-year prices or raise renewals by surprise. Free WHOIS privacy, Let's Encrypt SSL, up to 20 email forwards and URL forwarding come with every domain. Support includes phone hours every day from 9 to 5 Pacific time, plus 24/7 email. Website: porkbun.com.

Catch: the panel is functional rather than pretty. A domain that lapses into redemption costs extra to restore, as at most registrars.

Spaceship: cheap renewals and a clean panel

Spaceship is a newer registrar from the team behind Namecheap. When I checked on November 6, 2026, a new .com cost $9.48 for the first year on sale and $10.68 a year at renewal. Privacy is free on eligible registrations and transfers. This is where I buy my own domains. Website: spaceship.com.

Catch: fewer extras and a shorter track record than the older registrars. If you want hosting and email in the same place, you'll add them separately.

Namecheap: the easy middle option

Namecheap is the registrar many people start with. First-year .com promos regularly drop to $6 to $12, and privacy is free for life. Price trackers put the renewal around $18.48 in October 2026. That's higher than Porkbun or Spaceship, but the panel is easy and the support is well reviewed. Our Hostinger vs Namecheap comparison covers its hosting side too.

Catch: the renewal is noticeably above the first year. Some prices show without the $0.20 ICANN fee.

Hostinger: free domain with hosting

If you're buying hosting anyway, Hostinger includes a domain free for the first year on plans of 12 months or longer. Its domain page lists a .com renewal at $19.99 and transfers at $9.99. Privacy is included for supported extensions. One account for domain, site, SSL and email is convenient for a first website. See our Hostinger review for the hosting plans.

Catch: after year one the domain renews at about double the cheapest registrars. You can transfer it out later.

GoDaddy: biggest name, highest renewal

GoDaddy often runs a $2.99 first-year promo for new customers on a one-year term. The standard .com price is $22.99 a year, which is what you'll pay from year two. Privacy is now included. GoDaddy has phone support and every product under one login.

Catch: it's the most expensive renewal on this list, and the checkout leans on upsells.

Squarespace Domains: fine for Squarespace sites

Squarespace took over Google Domains customers in 2023. Its help docs put a .com at around $20 a year, and you get a free domain for the first year with an annual website plan. Privacy is included. If your site runs on Squarespace, keeping the domain there saves DNS setup.

Catch: you pay about $9 a year more than at Porkbun or Cloudflare for the same .com.

Which registrar should you pick

• Lowest cost for years: Cloudflare, if you're fine with its nameservers. Otherwise Porkbun or Spaceship.
• First site, want it simple: Namecheap, or Hostinger if you're buying hosting there.
• Squarespace site: Squarespace Domains, or buy elsewhere and connect it.
• Many client domains: Porkbun or Spaceship for flat, low renewals.

Once you have the domain, point it at your site. Our guide on how to host a website walks through it. The hosting page collects the rest.

FAQ

What is the cheapest place to buy a .com domain?

Cloudflare Registrar is usually cheapest over time because it sells at cost, about $11.17 a year for a .com after Verisign's November 2026 increase. Porkbun lists $11.81 with the same price at renewal. Spaceship renews at $10.68 (checked November 6, 2026). First-year promos elsewhere can be lower, but renewals at GoDaddy reach $22.99.

Why does my domain cost more to renew than to buy?

Many registrars sell the first year below cost to win customers, then charge full price at renewal. GoDaddy offers $2.99 first years but renews a .com at $22.99. Porkbun and Cloudflare avoid this: Porkbun charges $11.81 for both, and Cloudflare charges the registry's wholesale price plus the ICANN fee, with no markup.

Do I need to pay for WHOIS privacy?

No, not at the registrars in this guide. Cloudflare, Porkbun, Spaceship, Namecheap, Hostinger, GoDaddy and Squarespace all include WHOIS privacy or redaction free on common extensions like .com, as of November 2026. It hides your name, email and address from public domain records. Check the cart for a paid privacy add-on anyway.

How do I transfer a domain to another registrar?

Unlock the domain at your current registrar, request the authorization code, then start the transfer at the new registrar and pay one year of renewal. That year is added to your registration, so you lose nothing. ICANN rules block transfers for 60 days after a registration or a previous transfer.

Is it better to buy a domain from my hosting company?

It's convenient but usually costs more over time. Hostinger includes a free first-year domain with hosting plans of 12 months or longer, then lists the .com renewal at $19.99. Keeping the domain at a separate registrar like Porkbun or Cloudflare costs about $12 a year and makes changing hosts easier later.

Did .com domain prices go up in 2026?

Yes. Verisign raised the wholesale .com price from $10.26 to $10.97 a year on November 1, 2026, an increase of about 6.9%. Registrars pass this on, so most .com prices rose by about $0.71. Verisign's contract allows further increases in the next few years, so long renewals at today's price can save money.

Bottom line

Buy your domain where the renewal is low and privacy is free: Cloudflare, Porkbun or Spaceship for the lowest yearly cost, Namecheap for an easy first registrar. Take a free first-year domain from your host or builder if it's on offer, and transfer it out later if the renewal bothers you. Turn on auto-renew either way, because losing a domain costs far more than any price difference here.