Namecheap vs GoDaddy 2024: Which Is Better for Domain Purchase?

Are you looking for the RIGHT domain registrar to buy your domain among Namecheap vs GoDaddy? Want to know which is the best registrar among GoDaddy and Namecheap? You’re in the right place.

In this honest comparison, you’ll find out all the pros, cons, pricing, etc of both these popular domain registrars.

Buying a domain is the first step in launching a professional website. When it comes to picking a great domain name, there are way too many options out there.

Few of them give you cheap prices and most of the other sites charge hefty prices. Here’s where two of the domain name registrars are preferred by most people Namecheap and GoDaddy.

Let’s talk about it in this detailed comparison of Namecheap and GoDaddy without much ado.

Namecheap Vs GoDaddy: Which One Is Good for Purchasing Domains?

Namecheap: Is it the best domain name registrar?

Namecheap is considered as world’s leading domain name registrar and millions of domains are hosted on Namecheap accounts. But as most people think Namecheap is not only limited to domain name registration but also offers web hosting services to host your WordPress sites or create eCommerce stores at affordable prices.

Recommended Reading: Namecheap Review: It is the cheapest & Best Shared Hosting?

Let’s first talk about domain name registration along with the prices and other features that are offered by Namecheap.

Features of Namecheap Domain Registration

Here’s a list of all the features that you get when you register a domain name with Namecheap.

• Free domain privacy with all the domains (forever)
• You’ll get access to a special $1.99 Comodo PositiveSSL Certificate which is valid for the first year with every new product purchase except domain renewals, WhoisGuard renewals, purchases, or renewals of any other SSL certificates
• The ability to host your domain on Namecheap nameservers and to create all necessary DNS records for it in your Namecheap account
• Free email forwarding with the option to create up to 100 personalized email aliases associated with the domain (such as [email protected])
• Free URL forwarding
• Free dynamic DNS service
• A customizable parking page and much more

So what are you waiting for?

Grab a Domain from Namecheap

Two BIG reasons to buy domains from Namecheap

If you are thinking about why most people buy and register their domain names from Namecheap, here’s what you should know.

1. Free DNS, WhoisGuard, URL forwarding and many more

Namecheap provides you DNS (Domain Name Servers) for free when you register a domain from them. In simple words, if you have a domain registered somewhere else but have no DNS with it, you can use Namecheap’s DNS completely free.

You can also use their DNS as a backup if your current registrar already provided you with DNS or when the domain is being transferred in order to avoid downtime with your website (DNS transfers usually take up anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, so to avoid downtime, you can use DNS from Namecheap as backup).

Not only that, but you also get access to WhoisGuard for free when you buy a domain from Namecheap. Did you know that all of the domain owner’s information can be tracked by spammers from publicly available whois to send spam?

Yes, that’s true. That’s why you need WhoisGuard which keeps your account information (such as email, phone, etc) private from other people, especially spammers. Although you’ve to pay a few bucks to get WhoisGuard protection but Namecheap gives you it for free.

Another great feature provided by Namecheap is URL forwarding which is also known as URL redirection which allows you to make a web page available under more than one URL address.

That means when your web browser tries to attempt to open a URL that has been redirected (using 301 redirects), a page with a different URL is opened and that’s possible only when your domain name registrar offers you URL forwarding which fortunately Namecheap offers. It also offers a ton of other useful features that are necessary to keep your domain privacy safe and spam-free.

2. A huge domain name marketplace to buy and sell domains

Most people are not aware of the fact that they can use the Namecheap platform as a marketplace to buy and sell domain names.

Namecheap offers an exclusive page where you can find featured, premium, and closing today domains to make your domain purchase smoother and it also saves you a ton of time.

If you’re wondering about what categories you can find domains that are premium or expired from Namecheap, here’s a list of them.

• Acronyms, Advertising, Auto
• Business, Education
• Entertainment Health, Internet, Real Estate
• Science, Sports and Technology
• Travel, Fashion/ Apparel
• Brand/ Name Identity, Careers
• Computers, Financial, Home and Family Life
• Reference, Region
• Society, Special Events and Shopping
• Photography

There you go! That means you can find a domain almost in any category. Not only that you can filter out all the results based on the pricing ranging from $10 to $200 or even more so you can pick those domains which fit your budget.

You can use the featured domains page for buying those domains which are already established and have some backlink profile. You should go for these featured domains even if they are expensive because you don’t have to stress too much about building a ton of links to start getting good rankings on Google.

You just need to take care of the quality of the backlink profile those feature domains have. You can use tools like Semrush for finding the quality of any website backlink profile.

You can also use the “closing today” option to buy and look for those domains which are ready to purchase and closing for today.

Recommended: Namecheap promo codes to save more on Hosting & Domain purchase

Pros of using Namecheap for domain name registration

• One of the most trusted domain name registrars
• No price bumps even after a year (unlike GoDaddy)
• Lots of features are included for domain name registration
• Free WhoisGuard protection
• Free email forwarding
• Park any number of domains for free
• Free SSL certificates and so on

Cons of using Namecheap for domain name registration

• Lack of phone support (although this is not a big deal as Namecheap has incredible live chat support whenever you need assistance, but it lacks phone support!)

Namecheap domain registration pricing

First things first: the price of your domain name depends on a couple of things;

• What type of TLD do you want (.com, .net, or something else?)
• Whether you’re buying a premium listed domain
• Are you buying an expired domain (they usually cost you more)

So you need to take care of all the above things before registering a domain. But for pricing purposes, we’ll just talk about buying a normal domain name that is already available (and not an expired domain or premium listed domain).

Here’s the pricing breakdown of Namecheap domain registration;

• .com $11.28/yr
• .net $12.98/yr
• .org $7.48/yr

Click here to purchase a domain from Namecheap

Renewal price after 1 year from Namecheap is;

• .com $16.88
• .net $15.98
• .org $14.98

So basically it costs you around $10 per every single year to buy a domain name from Namecheap and the best part is, you can keep on paying just $11.28 a year until you hold the same domain name (no hidden charges unless you need extra packages like premium DNS, WhoisGuard, etc).

GoDaddy: Is it better to buy domains from GoDaddy?

GoDaddy can be considered the father of all domain name registrars as it is one of the oldest and most popular choices for buying a domain. GoDaddy is currently used by over 17 million people worldwide which says how popular it is when it comes to domain or hosting purchases.

Features of GoDaddy Domain Registration

Here’s a list of the features that you get with GoDaddy when you register a domain name from them.

• Parked Page
• Total DNS control
• Status alerts
• Domain forwarding & masking
• Change of registration
• Domain locking

So what else are you waiting for?

Grab a Domain from GoDaddy

If you’re wondering about what features you get if you purchase hosting from GoDaddy, we’ve got you covered. Just in case you’re also interested in buying hosting from GoDaddy, here’s a list of a few of the major features that you get with GoDaddy hosting accounts;

• Unlimited storage
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• eCommerce apps specially designed for better conversions
• Host unlimited sites
• 24/7 customer support
• 24/7 security monitoring and DDoS protection
• 1-click install of 125+ free applications including WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.
• 1-click purchase of additional resources

Two Benefits to Buy Domains from GoDaddy

In case you’re wondering why should you use GoDaddy to register a domain name, here are a few strong reasons most people (over 21 million customers) prefer it for domain and hosting from GoDaddy.

1. Extremely cheap domains for the 1st year

GoDaddy is famous because it offers domains for extremely cheap prices. Did you know that you can get a domain name just for around $10 for the 1st year? That’s true because there will be flash sales going on GoDaddy almost every single week and that’s why GoDaddy is so popular among the people who are interested in buying domains.

Have a look at the domain pricing for the first year (this is the standard price for most .com domains on GoDaddy);

As you can see, it only costs around $11.99 per year along with free domain privacy!

You need to remember one thing the domain you purchase for the first year will be far cheaper when compared to the 2nd year, 3rd year and so on from GoDaddy. So if you’re willing to pay a few extra bucks in the long run and want to get a domain for an extremely cheap cost, GoDaddy can be a great choice.

If you’re someone who is looking to buy your domain name and hosting from the same company at cheap prices, GoDaddy can be a great choice for you since it offers extremely cheap hosting and domain registration plans for new customers for the 1st year.

Recommended Reading: Still confused about choosing between Namecheap and GoDaddy? Find the best web hosting solutions with my comprehensive best web hosting post.

2. Wide range of customers, referrals and promos

Since it has more than 17 million customers, it has a huge referral base where people refer GoDaddy services to their friends, family, and so on helping GoDaddy to acquire more and more customers.

It also regularly offers promo codes, special discounts etc to attract new customers to get more purchases to their domains and hosting services. GoDaddy gives you access to its customer support 24/7 so if you have any issues with your domain or hosting for that matter, you can get in touch with them anytime you want to resolve your problems instantly.

GoDaddy also offers you a domain auction place where you can bid your price to grab the best featured domains that are currently available on their platform. You can find a ton of unused or expired domains across all popular industries that are ready for sale. All you have to do is to go to their domain auction section, pick the ones you like and bid a price to avail them.

Pros of buying domains from GoDaddy

• Extremely popular (over 17 million customers worldwide)
• Extremely cheap prices for the 1st year
• Lots of useful features included
• Customer support is provided
• Email forwarding is enabled
• You can park domains for free

Cons of buying domains from GoDaddy

• It gets expensive in the consequent years
• Lots of mixed reviews about their security

GoDaddy domain registration pricing

Here’s the pricing breakdown of GoDaddy domain registration;

• .com $11.99
• .net $9.99
• .org $9.99

For the first year, you can get flash sales and huge discounts that are currently going on GoDaddy, you can visit the below link for it.

Renewal price is;

• .com $19.99
• .net $21.99
• .org $20.99

As you can see above, the renewal rates on domains are almost double for GoDaddy. But if you still feel that GoDaddy is a better choice, use the following link to grab a domain.

Click here to buy a domain from GoDaddy

How to get started with domain name registration?

Here are a few things you need to know before getting started with domain name registration.

Pick the right domain name registrar

First things first: you need to pick the right platform to host your domain name. If a domain name registrar doesn’t offer you common features like email forwarding, or spam protection features such as WhoisGuard, you should better avoid them.

Luckily both Namecheap and GoDaddy offer awesome features and a great platform to register a domain for your business or website. While choosing a domain name registrar, look for the following things;

• Popularity (how big or reputed their brand is)
• Pricing (how affordable to buy a domain for 1 year)
• Domain features (such as spam protection, SSL certificates, email forwarding etc)

Although GoDaddy is great, Namecheap is much cheaper (and better) for domain registration.

So if you want to pick between GoDaddy and Namecheap, go with Namecheap.

Purchase a Domain from Namecheap

Come up with a memorable domain name

While it’s really not so easy to come up with memorable names for your website, here are 2 quick tips that can you help you save your time.

Use a domain name generator tool

There are a ton of blog name generators you can use (most of them are free to use) to come up with memorable domain names for your website really quickly. They also give you relevant and available domain name ideas based on your keywords. So using them can be a great time saver.

Seek help from your friends

It’s always a better idea to ask your friends for suggestions to come up with great domain name ideas as coming up with memorable names for your business or website really takes some creative work along with a lot of time.

You should seek help from your colleagues, friends, or family who are keen on business and marketing in general so they will also brainstorm a few incredible ideas for you.

Is it a good idea to purchase both domain and hosting from the same company?

One of the most frustrating questions is should you buy a domain and hosting from the same company? Well, yes and no. Yes because you can forget about creating multiple accounts (both on the domain registrar and hosting platform) and quickly get started with creating your website.

No, because you might have to face downtime issues if your hosting site goes down even for a while (which is common and occurs at least once a month even on reliable hosting sites).

So if you really care about your business, you should get your domain registered at one place and hosting from a different site. That way even if your hosting goes down for a while, your domain thing works (email forwards, WhoisGuard, etc). But for beginner or not-so-tech savvies, it’s okay to have both of them in one place.

How to point your domain name to another hosting?

In case you’ve bought your domain name from say Namecheap and hosting from another say GoDaddy, can you still create a WordPress site? Yes, you can. You can point your domain name to another hosting using your DNS (Domain Name Servers).

If you’re wondering about how to do it, you can use this article. If you still need help, mail us at [email protected] and we’d be glad to help you launch a new blog on WordPress.

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Final Thoughts on GoDaddy Vs Namecheap

Your website creation starts with picking a domain name and there are way too many sites available for domain name registration. Definitely, both Namecheap and GoDaddy top the domain registration space.

We hope by now you’ve decided on the right platform to register your domain name among Namecheap vs GoDaddy.

So did you find our Namecheap vs Godaddy comparison useful? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments below.

FAQs | Namecheap vs GoDaddy

Here are a few FAQs you should know about before giving a try to either one of them for domain purchase and hosting.