# Cheapest place to register a domain name **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120 "2005-05-02T20:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/1 "2005-05-02T20:06:08Z")
Does anybody have a rec for the cheapest place to register a domain name? I don’t need web-space as I already know the company I’m going with, but as memory serves there is some “official” site where you can register a name cheaper than elsewhere. Thanks, J ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/2 "2005-05-02T20:32:21Z")
as far as i know, it’s [godaddy.com](http://godaddy.com) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/3 "2005-05-02T20:54:31Z")
> [@Cagey Drifter](#): > > as far as i know, it’s [godaddy.com](http://godaddy.com) Thanks- they’re $10 cheaper than the other place I looked. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/4 "2005-05-02T20:59:12Z")
[Easily](http://easily.co.uk/) are the cheapest ones I have heard of. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/5 "2005-05-02T21:10:19Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Does anybody have a rec for the cheapest place to register a domain name? I don’t need web-space as I already know the company I’m going with, but as memory serves there is some “official” site where you can register a name cheaper than elsewhere. > > Thanks, > J Actually, I think that the ‘official’ place (since that’s network solutions, IIRC,) charges a lot more than many other registrars, simply because they’re official and they know that a lot of people won’t check other places or compare prices. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/6 "2005-05-03T04:09:23Z")
[www.godaddy.com](http://www.godaddy.com) - hands down. I have about 80 domains with them (i register them for my clients). Not only do they have the best prices, but great service and a great management interface. Please go with them. Other registrars makes the baby jesus cry. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/7 "2005-05-03T04:23:41Z")
Godaddy, all the way! But check to make sure that the web host you want to use doesn’t already include free domain registration as part of their hosting package (if this even applies to you). ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/8 "2005-05-03T05:27:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Domain name registrar [GoDaddy.com](http://GoDaddy.com) is tops in the world, officials announced Tuesday. > > The new ranking comes from a recent report by analyst firm Name Intelligence and topples Network Solutions (NetSol) from the No. 1 spot it has held for years. > > “From 2002 to 2004, [GoDaddy.com](http://GoDaddy.com) led the domain name industry in terms of net growth and new domain names registered,” Bob Parsons, the company’s president and founder, said in a statement. “Now that we are number one in terms of domain names under management, we are truly the world’s No. 1 registrar in every category.” > > According to officials at Name Intelligence, the shift to [GoDaddy.com](http://GoDaddy.com) represents the first time a registrar has been able to knock NetSol down a notch since the company started selling domain names in January 1993, after striking a five-year deal with the U.S. government. Source: [http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3500651](http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3500651) ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/9 "2005-05-03T13:22:16Z")
I would strongly suggest you not choose a registrar based solely on price. Some of them are incredibly hard to deal with and will delay and prevent any changes you want to make simply because they have horrible customer service. This is not to say that cheap means bad. I’ve heard very good things about GoDaddy. In contrast, NSI/Verisign which is one of the more expensive has extraordinarily bad customer service and will do everything they can (or, more accurately not do anything they can avoid) to prevent you from administering your domain. Personally, I use BulkRegister for the several hundred domains I own or administer. I can’t compare them to godaddy (since I don’t use godaddy), but they have great admin tools and I’ve been very happy with the service. I’d also recommend against using your ISP/host as a registrar. That can make it very hard to change hosts if their service is lacking. You really want your domain to be portable if you have to shop around for better hosting service, and having the domain registry tied to the host just increases the downtime if you have to move. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/10 "2005-05-03T20:32:43Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Actually, I think that the ‘official’ place (since that’s network solutions, IIRC,) Network Solutions is no more official than any other ICANN-accredited registrar. There are some businesses out there that will partner with a registrar and do a package deal, but there are [lots of accredited registrars](http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html). > [@micco](#): > > In contrast, NSI/Verisign which is one of the more expensive . . . VeriSign sold the Network Solutions registrar in Oct 2003. They retain the Registry, which does business with the Registrars but not consumers. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/11 "2005-05-03T22:55:02Z")
Thanks for all info. Another question: I don’t want people to have access to my name and address by going to [whois.com](http://whois.com) as I’ve known too many people who picked up stalkers on the Internet. What’s the best way around this? ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/12 "2005-05-04T00:05:44Z")
[$5.99/year](http://order.1and1.com/xml/order/Instant;jsessionid=7DD58276B9CD286C47DF45FB229ED3A7.TC60a? __frame=_top&__ lf=Static) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/13 "2005-05-04T00:33:55Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Thanks for all info. > > Another question: I don’t want people to have access to my name and address by going to [whois.com](http://whois.com) as I’ve known too many people who picked up stalkers on the Internet. What’s the best way around this? Make sure it’s legal to do so where you are. I know that the US was considering a law that would make it illegal to fake whois info. [This site](http://www.americansdeserveprivacy.com/) suggests that it’s only for .us names, so it may just be a case of who the hell cares. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/14 "2005-05-04T03:07:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Thanks for all info. > > Another question: I don’t want people to have access to my name and address by going to [whois.com](http://whois.com) as I’ve known too many people who picked up stalkers on the Internet. What’s the best way around this? This “ananomyzer” service is available from GoDaddy (it’s a couple of bucks more) the Whois just shows “registered through GoDaddy”. GoDaddy rocks! Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapest-place-to-register-a-domain-name/302120/15 "2005-05-04T18:26:33Z")
I use the anonymous features at GoDaddy, too. The US law (which _already_ existed for a good, long time) only applies to _.us_ domains.