poll Favorite Domain Registrar Poll

[JB Lions]

Another thread asking about this, I figure let's finally poll it. I remember looking for something like this years ago here and was surprised one didn't exist, since it's a topic that gets brought up from time to time. I picked 20 (19)* domain registrars, all the ones mentioned in the recent thread plus a few others. If your favorite isn't listed, post it in the thread and I'll see if I can add it to the poll. You can pick up to 3 of your favorite, just 1 if you want. I still think Namepros should have a Best Of The Year series

*there is currently a 20 choice limit with polls, but NP can add more if needed. In case I missed some obvious ones.

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All registrar polls: https://www.namepros.com/threads/namepros-community-polls.1345017/

 

[JB Lions]

Checked out Namebright:

.coms

Namebright - $8.53, $8.03 if you prefund account
GoDaddy - $8.29 - $8.47 with fee (using their Discount Club) $11.99 without club
NameSilo - $8.99 icann fee included
Uniregistry - $10.88, renewal same - you can get it cheaper but you have to email apparently, no public numbers, it's a secret
Dynadot - $10.99, $8.75 if you prepay $500 or spend $500 a year, $8.50 if you prepay $5,000 or spend $5,000 a year

As for Uniregistry it's just a personalized discount plan, no club fees and fooling around with coupons. I won't disclose my price plan out open.

So secret. Doesn't help at all if you're trying to compare. They should have some base number people can look at, and I understand giving special discounts to those who ask or those with bigger portfolios, but nobody is apparently allowed to say. Why? Are you allowed to say if it's cheaper than Namebright or GoDaddy price using the club?

Anybody know about Dynadot? How to get cheaper than the public $10.99? I found it:

https://www.dynadot.com/company/prices_bulk.html

If anybody sees any errors or ways to get cheaper pricing on the 5 I picked above, let me know.

 

[DOMAIN ILLUMINATI]

I give a vote for ALPNAMES Ltd. although it's still not in the poll list (?).

+1

 

[Haris]

@JB Lions I would like to mention that the minimum pre-fund at NameBright is only $15, unlike other registrars where you have to pre-fund $xxx to $xxxx to get a small discount! So whenever you need to register a domain, first pre-fund and then reg the domain, a 3% fee is charged from the pre-funded amount which makes the end price around $8.20/com. A lot cheaper than any of the registrars.

 

[NamesMax]

Missing my personal favorite, Epik.com

 

[Fancy.domains]

I am actually using the 5 ones with most votes. I like all of these.

I have accounts with other players as well, but tend to transfer domains out from them to one of the five mentioned.

 

[carob]

What I have found over the last ten years is stuff changes and sooner or later you will have a problem anywhere, though a good registrar will fix it quickly.

Domainers loved Moniker and it went down the toilet. Uniregistry came on the scene. Godaddy cut out email support and coupons. Internet.bs started charging VAT. Namesilo created their own market, and are my current top choice, with excellent support. But never put all your eggs in one basket.

I'd suggest the poll should be annual. And maybe ask how many registrars you actually use.

I agree bulk editing at Godaddy is hell, and at Dynadot is very smooth.

 

[Domain Wildcatter]

Google Domains.

 

[Bean]

I've only used a few out of that list but Namecheap is hands down my favorite registrar
Seriously, I can't think of a single thing about their service that I would want to complain about.
Coming from Godaddy, I really like how they let me withdraw my earnings from the Namecheap marketplace directly to my Namecheap account balance. Something that annoyingly is not possible with GD unless you buy into their 'inhouse currency' or whatever. This is not that big of a deal but Namecheap plenty little things like that that make for an outstanding experience.
5 out of 5 stars from me!

 

[golan]

I can't imagine anyone would pick GoDaddy if they ever used Dynadot or Uniregistry or any other domain registrar that is designed sensibly.

So true. I couldn't say it better.

 

[JB Lions]

I can't imagine anyone would pick GoDaddy if they ever used Dynadot or Uniregistry or any other domain registrar that is designed sensibly.

As far as that, just a few things.

I don't think I could ever use Uniregistry simply because it's the only one I'm aware of where the owner is literally bidding against me in auctions. So when I'm geting outbid, outbid, outbid, in my head I would be thinking I could be getting outbid with my own money, which doesn't make sense to me. For me to send money off to a competitor, they need to go above and beyond and it would take more than a Pretty (Inter)Face, to do that. Let's say the have the best interface in the world, I myself gave GD a C, but other things more than make up for it.

Staying with them. All registrars look like they have basic pricing available but for bulk or domainer pricing, it's the only one that's not transparent. The other registrars I can find the info, this one, I need to email. If you have competitive pricing, why wouldn't you put it out there? Get out there and compete.

I think people like that Joe Styler from GD is here participating, answering questions, doing a good job with it. I think Uniregistry and the other registrars should as well. If I go back to some Uni threads here, sometimes I see a rep but it's usually, email me. Why not stick around and handle the questions, any issues that come up. Usually if one person has them, other people have them as well.

For some recent posts about registrars that aren't in the poll, you would have to message Eric to get them in, since I can't edit it.

End of day as far as this topic, if you're happy with your registrar, that's all that matters. If somebody is happy with Dynadot or Namesilo, I believe them. Believe me, I'm happy with the one I'm using. I do have some credit from back in the day when I prefunded at Dynadot, so next time I hand reg (which is rare) might as well use up that credit I have. And I might try 1 with Namesilo, just to see.

 

[Doyosi]

Dynadot gains a big star for its api support, if you didn't try api yet, start trying today. They are the best registrar in this mean (for personal, not commercial).
Godaddy for daily usage / auctions / closeouts.

I think that name.com is trying to do great things (api support, expired domains also) but they need to do some extras to be favorited.

 

[Euforia]

Dynadot is the number one for me. Their prices are great, support is outstanding and interface is easy to navigate and work with. On the other hand their backorder service is useless, but nothing is perfect, right?

 

[carob]

About Uniregistry

All registrars look like they have basic pricing available but for bulk or domainer pricing, it's the only one that's not transparent. The other registrars I can find the info, this one, I need to email. If you have competitive pricing, why wouldn't you put it out there? Get out there and compete.

That is why I do not use Uniregistry. If I can only get the true price by asking privately, how do I know it will be the same price come renewal time. No thanks.

About Dynadot support - they respond but sometimes in a very mediocre way.

 

[BostonDomainer]

Uniregistry is the superior registry by a mile when you have a sizable portfolio to manage imo. It's interface is very clean, intuitive, and uncluttered. I like things simple... when I see things simplified, I'm a happy camper They have an easy Filtering feature that is great! Filter by nameserver, email, length of domain, keyword, with number, without number, TLD etc is a big time saver.

Also the site is very fast. Searching 5000 names at a time is a cinch. I hate the lag of some larger registrars that slow down checking just 200 names. The 1 click access to turning privacy on and off is nice and FREE.
Their Tracker feature is nice too. You can add your names from other registries and Uniregistry scans their information, email, expiration date etc. So you can easily manage your whole portfolio as though it were local in one centralized place.

Recently they integrated Domain Name Sales (DNS) with the Unireg platform. Great move! Whether handling negotiations yourself or letting one of their brokers handle it this integration freaken rocks. And it just makes sense.

While other registries have some of the same features as Uniregistry, there is an attention to detail in their interface that cleanly caters to small portfolio holders and large domain holders alike. They get it! Their motto should be...."We thought of you...." :D I've moved about 300 names already with 700+ to go!

 

[GoKaizen]

I don't think I could ever use Uniregistry simply because it's the only one I'm aware of where the owner is literally bidding against me in auctions. So when I'm geting outbid, outbid, outbid, in my head I would be thinking I could be getting outbid with my own money, which doesn't make sense to me. For me to send money off to a competitor, they need to go above and beyond and it would take more than a Pretty (Inter)Face, to do that. Let's say the have the best interface in the world, I myself gave GD a C, but other things more than make up for it.

Good point.

 

[JayT]

Dynadot is the only clear choice for me. They have bulk pricing discounts when you $500/yr and 5k/yr. The .com are 8.75/8.5 then (ICANN fees included). Most other ext are competitively priced too. They offer way more extensions that I like vs most other places. They give free whois protection.

 

[vivaldi]

Funny you who argue that using Uniregistry is like feeding competitors and use Godaddy instead. Like Godaddy isn't your competitor already if you deal with .com's.

 

[JB Lions]

Funny you who argue that using Uniregistry is like feeding competitors and use Godaddy instead. Like Godaddy isn't your competitor already if you deal with .com's.

When I first started getting in the auctions, I kept a spreadsheet of nicknames I was bidding against. When they won, I waited a couple of weeks for the whois to change over to find out who they were. I like to know who I'm bidding against. Bill Parson's name never came up. I'm talking about being a direct competitor in the auctions, fighting for names. You're happy with them, like I said, great. They're getting a lot of votes, so I imagine other people are as well. Even tho you can't tell me how much you're paying. The only place I guess that requires that.

 

[vivaldi]

When I first started getting in the auctions, I kept a spreadsheet of nicknames I was bidding against. When they won, I waited a couple of weeks for the whois to change over to find out who they were. I like to know who I'm bidding against. Bill Parson's name never came up. I'm talking about being a direct competitor in the auctions, fighting for names. You're happy with them, like I said, great. They're getting a lot of votes, so I imagine other people are as well. Even tho you can't tell me how much you're paying. The only place I guess that requires that.

They never ever told me what I can tell or not tell others.

Fine, but they are still a big big player with their portfolio and feed the very bloggers who drive traffic to the auctions you and others are participating in.

 

[JB Lions]

They never ever told me what I can tell or not tell others.

Ok great, so how much are you paying so we can compare to the other ones that have their bulk/domainer pricing public.