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A domain name is basically an address for a website or another resource that can be accessed via the internet. You can get a domain name from companies that are authorized to sell them to the public, which are called domain registrars.
The cost of registering a domain name varies depending on the extension (or TLD) and the company that provides the service. For example, a dot-com domain name usually costs $10 to $20 per year.
That’s just the registration fee you’ll have to pay each year to maintain ownership of the domain. Additional services like email and web hosting can be purchased separately either from the same company or from another one.
There are thousands of domain registrars competing in a global market, which is a good thing for consumers as it keeps prices fairly competitive. Below we’re going to look at some of the most affordable domain registrars to check out this year.
Where to Buy a Domain Name?
A reasonable price is one of the main criteria you should consider when looking to buy a domain name, but it shouldn’t be the only requirement on your checklist. You also want a secure account, Whois privacy protection and good customer support.
The following are three of the best places that offer domain name registration at a low price coupled with free Whois privacy protection:
1. NameCheap
NameCheap is one of the oldest domain registrars that has been in business for more than two decades. The company started out as a reseller of another giant registrar called Enom, but later became a full-fledged ICANN accredited registrar.
Today, NameCheap is one of the top destinations for individuals and small businesses searching for affordable domains, SSL certificates, email and web hosting services.
One of the primary reasons that make NameCheap a great place to buy domains from is the generous discounts they offer for new registrations of certain TLDs, including many of the recently released generic TLDs.
The renewal prices at this registrar are also on the lower end of the scale, which sets them apart from other popular companies that dramatically jacked up their renewal prices in recent years.
Each domain you get from NameCheap includes free Whois privacy and free basic DNS service. You can also set up custom email forwarding addresses for your domain, but these can only be used to receive email. If you need full mailboxes that can send and receive email, you should consider subscribing to one of their business email plans.
2. Dynadot
This company has a long history as a trustworthy domain registrar with very competitive prices. You can get a cheap domain name at Dynadot with free Whois privacy and free DNS service.
Their website is well organized and the interface is very easy to use. They don’t complicate the checkout process with unnecessary confirmations and upsell offers.
As an additional security setting, Dynadot has an account locking feature that is enabled by default. This prevents the transfer of any of your domain names to a third party until the account is unlocked first, which is done by entering your birthday.
3. NameSilo
NameSilo is a highly respected domain registrar within tech-related online communities. They are commonly praised for their fair prices and prompt support service.
In case you are interested in registering or transferring a large number of domains, you can take advantage of the discounted bulk pricing offered by this provider.
Basic features like Whois privacy, DNS and email forwarding are included for free with each domain name. The control panel may seem a little messy at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll find that it’s rather easy to manage your domains and apply any necessary changes.
Many people choose NameSilo because of the wide selection of payment methods they offer. These include credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Skrill, Bitcoin and other options.
As an extra useful feature, you can keep prepaid funds in your account for later payments. This makes it faster to check out future orders and also ensures that automatic renewals will be processed timely and smoothly, so you don’t accidentally lose your domains due to an unexpected payment failure.