What is a domain registrar?
A registrar is the company you rent your domain name from, a year at a time. It records you as the holder, lets you point the domain at your host with DNS records, and usually sells email, hosting and privacy protection alongside. The domain is yours for as long as you keep renewing it — which is why the renewal price matters more than the first-year price.
Where Wolfix raises it. The Technology department checks your domain's email DNS records — SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX — and flags each one that is missing. When Wolfix looks up your product name, it also checks whether the matching domains are available, next to the trademark and business-registry lookups.
When you need your own domain — and when you don't
You need one now if you are charging money, sending email to customers, or listing an app in a store: a platform subdomain (yourapp.some-host.app) looks temporary, cannot carry your own email authentication, and moves if you change hosts.
You don't need one yet if you are still testing an idea with a handful of people. A platform subdomain is fine for a prototype — but register the name early if you like it, because good names go.
The options, one by one
Namecheap is a service Wolfix refers customers to. Cloudflare Registrar, Porkbun, Squarespace Domains and GoDaddy are not Wolfix partners and are included because a fair comparison needs them. Registrars compete on the first-year price; what you pay for years afterwards is the renewal price, so that is the column to read.
Namecheap
What it is. A domain registrar that also sells hosting, email and SSL certificates [S1].
Pricing (as of 2026-10-04). A .com is $11.28 for the first year on a 25% sale, or $6.79 for a new customer's first domain with a promo code [S1]. Renewal is $18.48 a year [S1]. Domain privacy — keeping your personal details out of the public WHOIS record — is free for life [S1].
Pros
- Free lifetime WHOIS privacy (as of 2026-10-04, [S1]), which some registrars still charge for.
- One account for the domain, DNS and email if you want them together, with free BasicDNS and DNSSEC included (as of 2026-10-04, [S1]).
Cons
- The renewal at $18.48 a year (as of 2026-10-04, [S1]) is above Porkbun's flat $11.08 (as of 2026-10-04, [S5]), so the $6.79 promotion is recovered from the second year onwards.
- The .com page cross-sells shared hosting, professional email and SSL certificates (as of 2026-10-04, [S1]); a product that already has a host needs none of them, and they renew too.
Who it suits. A founder who wants free lifetime privacy and does not mind declining upsells.
Cloudflare Registrar
Not a Wolfix partner. Named for comparison; Wolfix earns nothing from it.
What it is. Cloudflare's registrar, which sells domains at the price the registry and ICANN charge it, with no markup, as part of its DNS and security platform.
Pricing (as of 2026-10-04). Registration and renewal are at cost, with no markup and no inflated renewal [S2]. Cloudflare's product page does not publish the .com price itself [S2]. WHOIS redaction is free [S2].
Pros
- No markup on registration or renewal (as of 2026-10-04, [S2]), so the renewal tracks the registry's own price.
- Free WHOIS redaction and built-in DNSSEC (as of 2026-10-04, [S2]).
Cons
- Every domain must use Cloudflare's nameservers (as of 2026-10-04, [S4]); if you want your DNS elsewhere, you have to move the domain to another registrar.
- The price is not published on Cloudflare's product page (as of 2026-10-04, [S2]), so the actual .com price cannot be compared with the others in this guide.
Who it suits. A founder already using, or happy to use, Cloudflare for DNS who wants renewals at cost.
Porkbun
Not a Wolfix partner. Named for comparison; Wolfix earns nothing from it.
What it is. A domain registrar that states one .com price for registration and renewal, with free WHOIS privacy and SSL [S5].
Pricing (as of 2026-10-04). A .com is $11.08 at its everyday price, and Porkbun says the renewal is the same price you see, year after year [S5]. WHOIS privacy and a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate are free [S5].
Pros
- The same price at registration and renewal, per its .com page (as of 2026-10-04, [S5]), so there is no second-year surprise.
- Free WHOIS privacy and free auto-renewed SSL (as of 2026-10-04, [S5]).
Cons
- Email is forwarding only, up to 20 forwards (as of 2026-10-04, [S5]); a real mailbox is a separate email-hosting purchase.
Who it suits. A founder who wants a cheap, predictable renewal without committing DNS to Cloudflare.
Squarespace Domains
Not a Wolfix partner. Named for comparison; Wolfix earns nothing from it.
What it is. Squarespace's registrar, selling domains with WHOIS privacy, SSL and email forwarding included [S7].
Pricing (as of 2026-10-04). The page headline offers a domain for $10, but the offer's terms, behind its information button, limit that price to select TLDs such as .bio, .studio and .info, for the first year only, until 2026-12-15, and say standard renewal rates apply [S7]. No .com price and no renewal figure are given [S7]. The page says taxes and fees are included in the price you see, and includes WHOIS privacy on eligible domains [S7].
Pros
- Privacy, SSL, email forwarding and two-factor sign-in included, and taxes and fees built into the shown price (as of 2026-10-04, [S7]).
- Connects to a Squarespace website, or forwards free to another page (as of 2026-10-04, [S7]).
Cons
- The $10 headline is a first-year promotion on select TLDs such as .bio, .studio and .info, not a .com price, and its terms say only that standard renewal rates apply (as of 2026-10-04, [S7]), so both the .com price and the second-year cost are unknown until you search.
Who it suits. A founder whose marketing site is on Squarespace.
GoDaddy
Not a Wolfix partner. Named for comparison; Wolfix earns nothing from it.
What it is. A domain registrar selling domains alongside websites, hosting and email, with 24/7 support [S8].
Pricing (as of 2026-10-04). A .com was offered at $0.01 for the first year with a 3-year purchase required; additional years are $22.99 each [S8].
Pros
- 24/7 support (as of 2026-10-04, [S8]).
- A first year at $0.01 when you buy 3 years (as of 2026-10-04, [S8]).
Cons
- The $0.01 offer requires a 3-year purchase and later years cost $22.99 each (as of 2026-10-04, [S8]), above the stated renewals of Namecheap ($18.48) and Porkbun ($11.08) (as of 2026-10-04, [S1], [S5]).
- The .com page does not state whether WHOIS privacy is included (as of 2026-10-04, [S8]), so check at checkout whether privacy is a paid add-on before you buy.
Who it suits. A founder who wants round-the-clock support and accepts a higher renewal for it.
Still undecided
Any major registrar works. Keep the domain in an account you — not a contractor — control, and turn on auto-renew; an expired domain takes your site and your email down with it.
Side-by-side comparison
| Service | First-year .com | Renewal .com | Privacy included | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Namecheap | $11.28; $6.79 for new customers with a promo code [S1] | $18.48/year [S1] | Yes, free for life [S1] | 2026-10-04 |
| Cloudflare Registrar | At cost; price not published by Cloudflare [S2] | At cost; price not published by Cloudflare [S2] | Yes, WHOIS redaction [S2] | 2026-10-04 |
| Porkbun | $11.08 [S5] | Same as registration, per Porkbun [S5] | Yes [S5] | 2026-10-04 |
| Squarespace Domains | Not shown; the $10 offer covers select TLDs such as .bio and .info, first year only [S7] | "Standard renewal rates"; figure not shown [S7] | Yes, on eligible domains [S7] | 2026-10-04 |
| GoDaddy | $0.01 with a 3-year purchase [S8] | $22.99/year [S8] | Not stated on the .com page | 2026-10-04 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest place to buy a .com domain?
Over several years, look at the renewal: Cloudflare charges the registry price with no markup (as of 2026-10-04, [S2]), and Porkbun keeps its renewal the same as registration (as of 2026-10-04, [S5]). Compare renewal prices, not first-year promotions.
Where should I buy a domain for my startup?
Any major registrar works. Compare the renewal price rather than the first-year promotion, make sure WHOIS privacy is free, and keep the domain in an account you — not a contractor — control.
How much does a .com domain cost?
Among the renewals stated here, from Porkbun's $11.08 to GoDaddy's $22.99 a year (as of 2026-10-04, [S5], [S8]); Cloudflare renews at cost but does not publish the figure on its product page (as of 2026-10-04, [S2]).
Do I need WHOIS privacy?
If you register as an individual, yes — otherwise your name, address and email can appear in public records. Every registrar here except GoDaddy states it is included (as of 2026-10-04, [S1], [S2], [S5], [S7]).
What happens if my domain expires?
Your site and email stop working. Most registrars give a short grace period to renew at the normal price; after that, recovering the domain costs more or may not be possible. Turn on auto-renew.
Sources
Prices were read from each registrar's public pages on the date shown. Cloudflare publishes no .com price on its product page, so none is quoted here; its page states the at-cost rule.
- [S1] Namecheap .com registration page — namecheap.com, checked 2026-10-04.
- [S2] Cloudflare Registrar — cloudflare.com/domains, checked 2026-10-04.
- [S4] Cloudflare Registrar FAQ, nameservers — developers.cloudflare.com/registrar/faq, checked 2026-10-04.
- [S5] Porkbun .com page — porkbun.com/tld/com, checked 2026-10-04.
- [S7] Squarespace Domains homepage — domains.squarespace.com, checked 2026-10-04.
- [S8] GoDaddy .com domain page — godaddy.com/tlds/com-domain, checked 2026-10-04.
Last reviewed
Last reviewed on 2026-10-04. Domain prices change often, and promotions change faster; confirm the renewal price on the sources above before you buy.