Registrars are not free, so we rank them by what a .com costs to renew, not by the first-year promo. Free WHOIS privacy, free DNS and no upsell on checkout matter more than a one-dollar first year.
11 options · limits checked 1 Nov 2026 · ranked by .com renewal price
11 registrars
At-cost registrar
Sells domains at the registry's wholesale price with no markup, so renewals never spike.
The catch: Your domain must use Cloudflare's DNS, and .com wholesale rose to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, so the at-cost price rose with it.
Domain registrar
A low-markup registrar that charges the same for a .com in year one and every year after.
The catch: Cheap banner prices on .site, .xyz and similar are first-year sales; .site renews at $28.84.
Domain registrar
The biggest registrar, with a near-free first year that comes with a long commitment.
The catch: The 1-cent year one only applies to a 3-year purchase, and each extra year is $22.99.
Domain registrar
A long-standing registrar known for fair prices and free privacy on eligible TLDs.
The catch: The price page would not load for us, so check the .com renewal yourself before buying.
Domain registrar
A long-running European registrar whose .com renewals now cost far more than year one.
The catch: The .com renewal is almost three times the first-year price.
Domain registrar
A simple, upsell-free registrar that costs more than the bargain options.
The catch: Calm and simple, but you pay more per year than at Porkbun or Cloudflare.
Domain registrar
A US registrar with a good API, also part of the GitHub Student Pack.
The catch: The pricing page does not say which of its two .com figures is the renewal, so check the cart.
Domain registrar
A popular, beginner-friendly registrar with a good DNS panel and frequent first-year deals.
The catch: The .com renewal is clearly higher than the first-year price, so check the cart before you pay.
Domain registrar
A no-frills registrar known for low, steady prices and free WHOIS privacy.
The catch: The dashboard is dated and the site would not load for us, so confirm the current .com price yourself.
Domain registrar
A newer low-cost registrar with free domain privacy on eligible domains.
The catch: The ICANN fee is added on top of the shown price, and promo prices don't apply to renewals.
Domain registrar
The registrar that took over Google Domains, with privacy and email forwarding included.
The catch: The landing page shows a $10 offer but not the normal .com renewal price, so check it in the cart.
Still in old tutorials. Do not plan around them.
Sold to Squarespace; deal closed 7 Sep 2023 and all domains had moved to Squarespace by 10 Jul 2024.
At-cost registrars such as Cloudflare Registrar charge close to the wholesale price every year. Others discount the first year and renew higher. The renewal column on this page is the number to compare.
Check a name, set up DNS and test the site once it is live. All free, in the browser.
Where to list a new site so search engines and people find it.