Writer: Joe Warnimont
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Christina Lewis
Domain names aren’t free—at least not the desirable ones. I’ve looked into many services that promote “free domain names,” but most come with strings attached. They might offer a limited selection of unusual domain extensions (.ml or .cf instead of the familiar .com or .org), have privacy issues due to ad-heavy sites, or raise doubts about your actual ownership of the domain.
We suggest you completely avoid these sketchy sites and instead get a free domain name from a reputable web hosting company. This way, you can choose a custom domain name and pay nothing for an entire year. This method also ensures access to useful domain extensions, complete domain ownership, and extra privacy protection tools. Not to mention, the domain you get free from a hosting company can plug right into the site you’re already hosting on its servers. Everything remains in one place.
Best of all, countless web hosting companies offer free domain names for one year. Check out our favorites below.
1. IONOS
Every web hosting plan from IONOS comes with a free domain for one year. That includes access to a domain search tool, empowering you to find recognizable domain names — such as .com, .org, and .us — or industry and location-specific domain names, including .dev, .nyc, and .app.
On top of that, IONOS features fast and scalable web hosting that works with a wide range of external tools such as WordPress, PrestaShop, and Drupal. You can even use the free domain name with the professional email account that comes with your hosting.
IONOS.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.00
- Web hosting from $1/mo with a free domain & SSL included
- Free domain privacy protection included with every domain
- 500+ domain extensions with an AI domain name generator
- 99.9% uptime, daily backups, and free website migration
- Personal consultant assigned after every order
- Get started on IONOS now.
Christina Lewis
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
More about IONOS:
- Daily backup and recovery features
- Support for multiple MariaDB and MySQL databases
- Free professional email addresses to go along with your free domain name
- A free wildcard SSL certificate to protect up to 10,000 subdomains
- A web host manager app for mobile control
- Advanced web hosting options such as VPS (virtual private servers), WordPress hosting, and ASP.NET hosting
The free domain name gets your business started. After that, IONOS offers features to grow your website continually, with ever-increasing storage, PHP (hypertext preprocessor) memory, and RAM (random access memory).
2. Bluehost
Bluehost boasts a long list of features for those just getting started building a website, and is often recommended for startups and small businesses using WordPress. One of those features: a free domain for the first year of hosting. Some Bluehost hosting plans even provide free domain privacy and website backups for a year.
Bluehost.com
Monthly Starting Price $1.99
- Web hosting with a free domain and free SSL included
- AI domain name generator plus domain lock and auto-renewal
- WordPress.org recommended host with 1-click WordPress setup and install
- Domain privacy protection and free website migration
- 24/7 expert support via phone, chat, and knowledge base
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Sead Fadilpasic
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB NVMe SSD | FREE (1 year) | 5 minutes |
More about Bluehost:
- Simple website scaling with plans designed to support small websites or blogs, and high-traffic websites or online stores
- Free CDNs (content delivery networks) for each web hosting plan
- Options to create professional email addresses with your new domain name
- A collection of WordPress themes
- Online store functionality on some plans, with tools for secure payments, bookings, and unlimited products
- 24/7 customer support
The host also offers SSL certificates, automatic malware scans, and additional plans for dedicated servers and VPS hosting. Bluehost helps make online business accessible and affordable, and it all starts with the free domain name.
3. Hostinger
The free domain name from Hostinger is part of every hosting plan it offers. That makes creating a website significantly easier, particularly when paired with Hostinger’s automated website migration. You receive the free domain for one year, which is plenty of time to figure out if it’s the right fit.
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.69
- Best overall value: The most complete domain + hosting bundle at this price
- .com domains from $0.01 for the first year
- 300+ domain extensions with an AI domain name generator
- Free WHOIS privacy protection included with every domain
- ICANN-accredited registrar with 7 million domains registered
- Free domain included with most hosting plans
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Sead Fadilpasic
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 20 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 3 minutes |
More about Hostinger:
- Managed WordPress web hosting with options for WordPress multisite, staging, and on-demand backups
- A drag-and-drop site builder with AI heatmaps, eCommerce options, and hundreds of templates
- Industry-leading security with malware scans, protected nameservers, and firewalls
- A 30-day money-back guarantee
- Advanced technology for caching, SSH (secure shell) access, GIT access, and DNS (domain name system) management
- Weekly automated site backups
- Unlimited free SSL
Hostinger helps you launch your website with a free domain name, business email addresses, and managed WordPress tools. After that, you can grow into more advanced hosting and even consider one of Hostinger’s dedicated hosting packages.
4. GoDaddy
GoDaddy became famous for its simple domain name purchasing service, but it now offers far more. Users with a GoDaddy hosting plan can access a free domain name for one year, a drag-and-drop website builder, and a control panel made for clutter-free site management. Through the dashboard, you can handle website backups, SSL certificates, and website security. The entire DNS management area sits on the dashboard, as well, allowing you to complete domain transfers and create subdomains.
GoDaddy.com
Monthly Starting Price $5.99
- World’s largest domain registrar, trusted by 20M+ customers around the world
- Web hosting with a free domain, SSL, and email included
- NVMe storage, unmetered bandwidth, and 99.9% uptime
- Automatic daily backups and free website migration included
- Award-winning 24/7 support via phone and chat
- Get started on GoDaddy now.
Lynn Cadet
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 25 GB – 100 GB | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
More about GoDaddy:
- Free domain privacy to keep your WHOIS information confidential
- “Payable” domains for accepting payments from clients through a link on your domain
- Access to thousands of domain extensions such as .today and .live — and traditional options, including .co and .com
- Free SSL certificates with all hosting plans
- Speedy servers, optimized for a 99.9% uptime
- Healthy storage and multiple databases for web hosting
- Free email mailboxes for the first year of hosting
- Network security that handles malware and DDoS protection
- Automated daily backup and restore options
- A one-click WordPress installation button
GoDaddy takes privacy and affordability seriously. Very few domain name registrars and web hosts provide domain privacy for free, and you get an array of other free tools to complement your domain name and overall brand.
5. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting sells affordable domain names and web hosting separately, but when you opt for a hosting account, it adds the domain name for free. Choose from thousands of domain extensions ranging from .com and .biz to .org and .info. Link that new domain name to the website hosted with InMotion, and use it along with one of the several business email addresses you receive.
InMotionHosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.79
- Web hosting with free domain, free SSL, and unmetered bandwidth included
- NVMe SSD storage with up to 20x faster load times on all plans
- 1-click installs for WordPress and 400+ apps, free migration
- Independently owned since 2001
- 90-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 human support
- Get started on InMotion Hosting now.
Dave McQuilling
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 100 GB SSD – Unlimited SSD/NVMe | Select Plans | 5 minutes |
More about InMotion:
- Choose the location of your datacenter
- A security suite filled with protection essentials such as automated backups, a free SSL, malware detection, and DDoS protection
- A complete website builder with pre-built themes and a no-code interface
- GIT version control
- Support for programming languages such as Python, Ruby, and Node.JS
- Comprehensive guides on domain name transfers and management
- WordPress hosting optimization
InMotion offers a wide range of web hosting solutions (dedicated, cloud VPS, OpenMetal Cloud IaaS, Minecraft server hosting), but we suggest starting with shared hosting to see if you enjoy the experience. If not, take advantage of InMotion’s 90-day money-back guarantee.
6. HostGator
HostGator offers a free domain name to all new customers, and you can receive a free site transfer. In addition, HostGator provides one-click installations for various apps and builders, including WordPress. You can register a domain name through the HostGator website as long as you sign up for its web hosting services. Consider sticking with an old reliable domain (.us and .org) or consider a unique top-level domain, such as .tech, .website, or .space.
HostGator.com
Monthly Starting Price $3.75
- Web hosting with a free domain, free SSL, and Cloudflare CDN
- Free domain locking and auto-renewals on all plans
- Unmetered bandwidth with WAF and DDoS protection
- One-click installs for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and more
- 24/7/365 support via phone, chat, and knowledge base
- Get started on HostGator now.
Lynn Cadet
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD – 100 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
More about HostGator:
- Intuitive DNS management with dedicated IPs and custom routing
- Domain name features include domain locking, auto-renewal, and email forwarding
- Unlimited email addresses with every hosting plan
- SSD storage for all websites
- Free domain transfers and one-click WordPress installations
- Advanced options to use a CDN and transfer MySQL databases
HostGator brings you flexibility and convenience by offering all the tools you need to kickstart your online presence right from their dashboard. Your journey begins with the free domain name, and from there, you can explore the visual website builder, complete with advanced tools, to create a professional site.
7. DreamHost
DreamHost strives to provide fast and secure web hosting so users and search engines trust you. Besides the speed and security of its hosting, you also receive a free domain name for a year.
DreamHost.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.89
- Web hosting with a free domain and handcrafted website
- Free domain privacy protection for life included
- 350+ domain extensions with flexible auto-renewal and locking options
- NVMe SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, and 100% uptime
- ICANN accredited with 24/7 award-winning support
- Get started on DreamHost now.
Christina Lewis
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | 4 minutes |
More about DreamHost:
- Built-in visual website builder with pre-made templates
- WordPress included – with no need to install it yourself
- Option to pay for an email inbox with addresses or to get it for free in some hosting plans
- Free SSL certificate for security
- Speedy SSD storage on all plans
- Automated WordPress migrations
- Unmetered bandwidth and visits per month
- Free domain privacy
- Advanced access to portals for WP-CLI, shell, and SFTP
You may want to give DreamHost a try because of its easy-on-the-wallet pricing and bonuses, such as the free SSL and site builder. If you decide you’d prefer another hosting experience, DreamHost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
8. Hostwinds
Hostwinds offers a simplified pricing structure, and most of its hosting plans have the same features. The only change: how many domain names you receive for free. Other than that, users have unlimited bandwidth and disk space on a solid state drive to ensure speedy storage. Although Hostwinds starts off more expensive than others on this list, its plans include enough features to make up for it.
Hostwinds.com
Monthly Starting Price $4.54
- Unlimited SSD storage, databases, and email
- FREE site migration with cPanel and Softaculous
- Instant upgrades without downtime
- FREE around-the-clock monitoring
- Automatic nightly backups available
- Get started on Hostwinds now.
Jack Wallen
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days | Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | 6 minutes |
More about Hostwinds:
- Multiple free domain names with higher-tiered hosting plans
- Drag-and-drop website builder powered by Weebly
- Unlimited FTP (file transfer protocol) accounts
- Free SSL certificates
- An instant website setup with Softaculous auto-installation
- Nightly website and database backups
- Website monitoring for uptime issues and security threats
- 24/7 customer support
Hostwinds offers more than just a free domain name; they also provide unlimited sub-domains and email accounts for your custom domain. This is just one of the many ways Hostwinds can support your business, and we highly suggest you take a look.
What Is a Domain Name?
A domain name serves as the internet address for a website. Site owners can purchase domain names from domain name registrars and hosting companies. A domain name includes what’s called a domain extension, or top-level domain, which consists of the “dot” and everything after it, such as .com, .org, or .gov.
Once purchased, the owner can use a domain name as their website address and within their business email addresses.
How Do I Get a Free Domain?
You can get a free domain name in many ways, but not without a trade-off. The best way to obtain a free domain name is by signing up for web hosting that includes a free domain for one year. Some website builders, including Wix and Squarespace, offer free domains as well.
Some web hosts and domain registrars also provide free domain names when you subscribe to their email services. The least favorable option for obtaining a free domain name is through services like Freenom or Freedomain.one. These services offer only less desirable domain extensions, and typically, the companies retain ownership of the domain name, not you.
Can I Get a Free Domain for Life?
Not without paying for another service. Some domain providers, including Freenom, give out free domains, but Freenom technically owns the domain name — and it only offers a limited selection of domain name extensions.
Most hosting companies provide free domains for up to one year. IONOS has a “domain for life” deal when you pay for one of its email plans.
Does Google Sites Give You a Free Domain?
No. You can complete a free transfer of any domain name to a website built on Google Sites, but you must purchase it elsewhere, outside of Google Workspace.
Google Sites doesn’t let you search or buy domain names, but it does offer tools for verifying and transferring domain ownership. While it’s a fair choice for building a basic website, it lacks many features that other platforms provide. If you’re looking for more options, WordPress and Wix are better choices.
My Final Take on Free Domain Names and How to Get Them
Skip the free domain names from sites with questionable motives; instead, opt for a reputable hosting service that provides free domain registration with hosting. After all, you’ll eventually need a web host to make that domain name useful.
There’s no shortage of quality, affordable web hosting companies that offer a free domain name for your first year of service. You can’t go wrong with IONOS, Hostinger, GoDaddy, or Bluehost. Sign up for a hosting package today to get a free domain name and all the website building essentials.
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