7 Lowest Domain Costs (Feb. 2024)

Let’s be honest: Everybody wants the best of both worlds. So when you find a hosting provider that seems great on the surface, it’s only natural to weigh the other factors that play into the price to see what it’s really all about — such as security, storage, and, of course, whether a domain is included.

You may be thinking, “Domains are standard, so why should they cost more than a few dollars a year?” The cost ultimately depends on the hosting provider and the additional features it offers. If domains aren’t a primary focus, it’s understandable to see a slight price increase. But offering more appealing and competitive prices makes sense if it prioritizes selling domains.

It’s not always easy to know which providers offer the lowest domain hosting options, which is why we’ve compiled a list of the seven lowest domain costs with hosting. So if you’re looking for cheap domain registration, look no further: You, too, can get the best bang for your buck with our top-ranked list of providers.

For Your Information: These prices are estimated based on the .com domain extension or top-level domain (TLD) for consistency. Note that other TLDs may vary in price.

Hostinger rates are incredibly competitive, so there’s no question why it’s come out on top: With a free domain name for the first year, renewal costs are less than $10.00/year! The best part is you can also choose premium hosting plans without paying more for your domain, which allows you to access more features and added benefits without a change in domain price.

With the base plan, you get up to 100 websites, unlimited bandwidth, and a good amount of storage. No matter which plan you choose, Hostinger has something for everyone and is perfect for personal websites and SMBs craving an affordable yet feature-rich hosting and domain solution. (And if you want other TLDs, there’s plenty to choose from — like .online, which is less than $1 a year.)

IONOS offers a free domain for the first year and a decent renewal cost of less than $20.00/year. With IONOS, you can also benefit from the features of its Start plan, which includes decent storage, a free SSL certificate, and malware protection. You can easily upgrade to the Grow and Boost plans for features that expand on its storage and backup options.

We like IONOS because it has plans that cater to different budgets and needs. From portfolios and eCommerce stores to SMBs and enterprises, IONOS is ideal for just about every website out there. And with WordPress compatibility, you can easily buy your domain and hosting plan and transfer to WordPress or any website that needs WordPress compatibility.

InMotion Hosting appearing on our list comes as no surprise. With InMotion, you can own your website without worrying about price hikes. But InMotion is much more than a domain registrar: If you decide to host with them, you’ll get a bunch of benefits — even from its most basic plan, including a massive amount of storage, unlimited bandwidth, access to the in-house Security Suite, and Marketing Tools, and your choice of the datacenter location.

InMotion is perfect for startups, eCommerce stores, and developers thanks to its support of eCommerce tools, WordPress, and support for multiple programming languages. InMotion is also expanding. Right now, it has datacenters on the West and East Coasts of the US and, most recently, Amsterdam. The best part about InMotion is its NVMe speeds (10x faster than traditional SSDs), all at less than $50.00/year.

HostGator is a known name in the industry thanks to its unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth — and of course, its free domain for the first year across all of its plans. Even with its most basic plan, you get a decent amount of storage, one-click WordPress installs, with email included (plus all of the goodies mentioned above). And easily upgrade to its other plans for a few dollars more a month without a change in your domain renewal cost.

HostGator is also well-favored for its WordPress compatibility, making it a perfect choice for those who want managed WordPress hosting solutions. But even if you don’t work out of WordPress, no worries: HostGator has web hosting services that are specifically designed for SMBs, web developers, personal websites, enterprise websites, and reseller hosting for those who are interested in starting their own hosting business.

Bluehost has several plans, all with a free domain for the first year and a low-priced renewal cost of just under $20.00/year. Its basic plan gives plenty of storage for personal websites and startups, a free SSL certificate for the first year, access to custom WordPress themes, and a complimentary CDN. And, if you’d like, get add-ons, including CodeGuard and SiteLock for just a few extra bucks a month.

Bluehost is a great host and domain registrar for small businesses, content creators, startups, eCommerce stores, nonprofits, and charities. (In fact, it offers a discounted hosting rate for nonprofits!) Bluehost has been a leader in the web hosting and domain industry for 20 years and is WordPress’s official hosting recommendation. Now that’s a hard accreditation to beat.

A2 Hosting has a massive list of TLDs available to purchase alone or with one of its impressive hosting plans. A2 offers storage, memory, security features, speed boosts, redundancy guarantees, and more. Even if you choose not to host with A2, you can benefit from its domain add-ons: custom nameservers, DNS management, ID protection, domain theft protection, and access to A2’s 24/7/365 “Guru Crew.”

We love A2 Hosting because of its wide variety of features and tools that can satisfy any website owner, from developers to eCommerce shops and everyone in between. A2 supports multiple programming languages and provides staging environments for devs and platforms like Magento, OpenCart, and WooCommerce for online stores. But A2 is also great for personal websites, SMBs, and enterprises — no matter what you’re looking for, chances are A2 has it.

Weebly is one of the most popular web builders in the industry today. Although Weebly is primarily a web hosting service, its easy-to-use website builder is drag-and-drop based, so you don’t have to worry about coding knowledge. But note that while Weebly has a free plan, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to buy a domain, which costs $10.00/mo (billed annually).

Weebly is perfect for those who want the most managed, seamless web-building experience, which is why it’s ideal for small businesses, portfolios, and personal websites. Starting at the basic paid plan, you get a free SSL certificate, third-party embedded code, and the ability to buy or connect to a domain. If you run an eCommerce site, you get even more features, including shopping carts, inventory management, and in-store pickup options.

Your domain, a web address or URL, is like your home address. Just as the mailman delivers your mail to your physical address, your domain is how people find and access your website online.

Let’s take HostingAdvice.com as an example. Instead of using a complex string of numbers known as an IP address, users can type in easy-to-remember words, phrases, or names to reach a website.

But your domain is just one part of the entire URL. A URL consists of different components: a scheme (https://), a second-level domain (HostingAdvice), a top-level domain (.com), and optionally, a subdomain (like /blog).

When choosing your domain, you also have the option to select the top-level domain or TLD. The TLD is the “suffix” of your web address, such as .com, .net, .org, or .edu. There are also newer TLDs that can give your website a more unique and personalized touch, like .mom, .prof, .ai, or .site.

A domain registrar plays a crucial role in managing the reservation and registration of domain names. They are responsible for maintaining the domain name records in the domain name system (DNS), allowing you to gain ownership and control over your chosen domain name and domain transfer capabilities.

When you purchase a domain name from a registrar, you enter into a partnership with them. They’re supposed to assist you with essential tasks such as domain renewal, transfers, or termination. For example, if you initially bought your domain name from Namecheap but decided to transfer it to Hostinger, Namecheap would make the transfer process smooth and seamless.

Not just any website can sell you a domain, though. Registrars must be accredited by a generic top-level domain (gTLD) registry or a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registry, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Accredited domain registrars also list you on WHOIS. WHOIS is a record listing that identifies who owns the domain and how to get in contact with them. Also called domain privacy, WHOIS privacy protects your personal information by replacing it with a forwarding service so your actual contact information isn’t public. Many registrars include free WHOIS privacy as part of their domain registration.

See the best domain registrars with hosting >>

There are four main types of top-level domains or domain extensions:

• Generic TLDs (gTLDs): Most commonly recognized TLDs, such as .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz
• Sponsored TLDs (sTLDs): Sponsored TLDs that are governed by specific organizations or government entities, such as .gov, .edu, .mil, and .int
• Country-Code TLDs (ccTLDs): Every country has its two-letter ccTLD that aims to target people in those areas, such as .us, .uk, .de, and .ca
• New Generic TLDs (new gTLDs): New gTLDs are rising in popularity and can offer a more descriptive, customized, or industry-specific domain, such as .ai, .app, .xyz, and .shop

When choosing your domain extension, consider your audience, location, and branding preferences. For example, the new gTLD .me is gaining popularity for freelancers’ websites, portfolios, résumés, and blogs.

With nearly 2,500 ICANN-accredited domain registrars, there’s a lot of variety when choosing a registry — especially if you’re looking for the lowest domain costs. Here’s what you should look for when choosing a domain registrar:

• Renewal fee: Many registrars offer introductory rates but significantly increase the domain name cost upon renewal. Look for a registrar that provides transparent pricing for domain renewals. You shouldn’t have to dig far to find the renewal fee — if you do, they may be hiding something.
• Hosting services: If you need somewhere to host your website, ensure the domain registrar offers hosting services. Google Domains, for example, is only a domain name registrar, which means you can register your Google domain there, but you’ll still need to transfer it to a hosting provider.
• Transfer processes: Look for a registrar that provides clear instructions and support for seamless domain transfers. Some registrars charge for transferring, so you’ll want to ask how much that might be should you wish to switch.
• Data privacy: Domain registrars may offer several privacy options, including free WHOIS privacy protection and compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union.
• Security measures: Domains should also offer SSL/TLS encryption. SSL/TLS encryption is the little locked icon in your web address bar, meaning your site is secure. Without it, users might get warned against proceeding to your site.
• Customer support: A reputable registrar should offer various support channels at no extra cost with multiple options, from live chat and email to phone calls. The support team should respond within one business day and be knowledgeable about your questions without pushing for another sale.
• ICANN accreditation: ICANN accreditation ensures that the registrar has met specific standards and follows industry best practices. You can find ICANN-accredited registrars here.
• The “fine print”: Also called “gotchas” in the industry, the fine print usually shares information that may not appeal to a domain buyer. For example, the fine print may indicate that the registrar charges for domain transfers or mention other restrictions that could hinder your experience.

So next time you find a great price, do your due diligence and research the registrar using this handy checklist.

If you’ve ever considered buying a domain name, you probably noticed that the .com TLDs are much cheaper than other less-popular TLDs, like .biz, .shop, or .ai. At first glance, this doesn’t make much sense: If .com is the most popular TLD in the world, then why is it the cheapest?

Some registries want to make a specific TLD a luxury to own, and increasing the cost can help. Experts predict that new TLDs will continue to rise in popularity, especially crypto-based TLDs, ccTLDs, and others that support customizing a domain name, like .me, .shop, and .ai.

Any of the domain registrars on our list are keepers in our books, but you can also look into registrars that specialize in domains. Some popular domain registrars include:

• Google Domains
• Namecheap
• Domain.com
• GoDaddy
• Name.com
• Network Solutions

Some of these providers also offer a hosting package, so take your pick if you’re looking for a hosting service specializing in domain name registration, domain privacy, and other premium domain add-ons!

You can do a few things to find and buy a cheap domain name. First, you’ll want to do some research on domain registrars. Any of the seven on our list above are great places to start!

The second step is to look for current promotions and discounts. First-time buyers often receive introductory discounts, with even better price cuts if they register for two or three years instead of one.

A domain registrar may also lure you in with appealing add-ons, like email services or domain parking. Unless you’re an SMB, you likely don’t need email services — and unless you’re a reseller, you probably don’t need domain parking, either.

Cheaper domain registries often offer lower prices because they might not give you the complete package of features the pricier registrars do. Most domain registrars are familiar with domain privacy protection (WHOIS privacy protection), DNS management, email hosting, and website builders. Still, they may not be included in the cheaper options.

But some bargain websites may still prioritize security tools to make their services more appealing. It all depends on the specific registrar you go with. They each have unique offerings, so you’ll need to do some digging to see what’s included.

Remember that while the upfront cost may look tempting, you have to consider the bigger picture. Look beyond the price tag and consider factors like customer service, reliability, and scalability. In essence, you want a registrar that’s got your back in the long run.

The bottom line is always to take the time to do proper research and compare the features offered by different domain registrars. Find that sweet spot where you get the best bang for your buck without compromising on what’s really important.

Check out the best website builders with email services >>

Finding the lowest domain costs when launching your website is no easy task, but it is possible. With our list of the lowest domain costs with hosting options, you can launch your website without breaking the bank. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to find the right domain, unleash your creativity, and make your online presence shine.