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GoDaddy vs Namecheap, in this post we will check out who is the best domain name registrar.

GoDaddy and Namecheap are two big names when it comes to domain name registrar. In terms of popularity, GoDaddy is one of the biggest names in the industry.

While on the other hand is known for its best service at affordable pricing. We will do a detailed comparison and will come up with a conclusion that who is the best domain name registrar between GoDaddy and Namecheap.

So let’s have a quick look at both companies and which is going to be better if you want to register a domain name.

It’s very important for an entry-level and experienced website developer to look for a reliable domain registrar for the best service. Every domain registrar lures the customer with attractive pricing and features.

But sometimes things gonna change when it comes to renewal. Sometimes the registrar with the best pricing will end up costing more because of high renewal and hidden charges.

In this post, I’m going to compare two of the biggest juggernaut in the domain registrar industry that will help you to make decisions. GoDaddy and Namecheap have both been reputable companies and selling domains for more than a decade now.

We will gonna outline which company is best in terms of user experience, domain extensions, important features, pricing, and support.

This will give you great insight and help you choose the best domain registrar. So without a further delay let’s go ahead and have a detailed comparison, it’s GoDaddy vs Namecheap.

GoDaddy Vs Namecheap

Important things to look out for when selecting a domain registrar:–

• Hidden fees associated when transferring your domain name
• The popularity of the company and their services
• Affordable pricing
• Easy domain transfer and forwarding services
• Great customer support

When you are planning to choose the domain registrar you must opt for a popular company with affordable pricing with no high renewal charges. Don’t focus too much on the first-time offer.

Other than that you can also look out for the features and support provided while selecting a domain registrar.

One thing that I must recommend is not to have the domain registered with your web hosting company. Because when you change the hosting it will hamper your service with the domain.

General Info On Namecheap And GoDaddy

GoDaddy & Namecheap are both renowned companies. They are very popular when it comes to domain registration and it’s usually as they both originated their service as domain name registrars.

Both offer great startup prices with great features and service. However, we will gonna check in more detail their core pros and cons ahead in this post.

Which Is More Reputable Company?

For this, we have to dig into the data. We have to check the stats about how many domains have registered under their company.

According to the estimates, Namecheap is a provider with 11 million registered users and 10 million domains. While on the other hand, GoDaddy is the world’s biggest in terms of market share, with over 62 million registered domains.

So if you go with popularity GoDaddy will gonna win this battle. So with the stats we have, it’s clear that GoDaddy leads the domain market. GoDaddy’s market share is around 15.34% while on the other hand Namecheap’s is only around 2.75%.

Right now we are just dealing with the numbers however as I said we gonna outline the best after comparing different criteria.

Moreover, we can say now that they both are on par with the other competitors because of intellectual frameworks. They are the most reliable company when it comes to domain name registration.

Winner:- GoDaddy

Ease of Use

GoDaddy and Namecheap both have dashboards that are easy to use and understandable. The approach of both companies is to have a minimalistic user interface.

The promotions of GoDaddy are aggressive however on the other side Namecheap made its own name with affordable pricing and service.

Let’s have a look at the GoDaddy Dashboard:-

The thing you gonna like is the interface, just go to any particular section with a minimalist approach by GoDaddy. The first section is for the domains and the other sections are clearly mentioned.

You can manage everything which includes DNS settings, the buy & sell option, and the other general settings.

Now let’s have a look at Namecheap Dashboard:-

Namecheap’s user interface is also top-notch. Navigating to the different sections is easier in Namecheap if you compared it with GoDaddy.

You can quickly select the domain list in the side section to have a look at your list of domains and also check out expiring and expired ones.

You can make changes to your domains like increasing the validity of the domains, transferring domains, and the other important things from the domain list section in the sidebar.

If you go with the ease of use I mostly prefer to go with Namecheap. However, both have an intuitive dashboard.

Winner:- Namecheap

Top-Level Domains (TLDs) You Can Register With GoDaddy And Namecheap

When it comes to registering the top-level domains I think both GoDaddy and Namecheap are equal.

Some of the top-level domains available on both GoDaddy and Namecheap are .com, .net, .co, .org, .io. Let’s have a quick look at the types of TLDs available:-

TYPES OF TLDS:-

There are four types of TLDs approved by IANA:-

• gTLD – Generic Top-Level Domain
• sTLD – Sponsored Top-Level Domain
• ccTLD – Country Code Top-Level Domain
• Infrastructure Top-Level Domain

1 gTLD – Generic Top-level Domain

The gTLD is usually common and recognizable of all TLDs. Some of the common gTLDs are:- 

• .com 
• .net  
• .org  
• .xyz
• .club
• .biz 
• .top

Other than that there are TLDs, particularly for certain geographical locations, which are recognized as GeoTLDs. Some of the GeoTLDs available are:

• .nyc (New York City, USA)
• .tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)

2 sTLD – Sponsored Top-level Domain

sTLD is also of the top-level domain which is sponsored or exerted care by individual organizations, businesses, or the government. Some popular sTLDs are:-

• .edu – for educational institutions 
• .gov – primarily for US government agencies 
• .mil – for US military  

3 ccTLD – Country Code Top-level Domain

A ccTLD is a top-level domain that is distinct to countries. Some of the examples of ccTLDs are:- 

• .in – India
• .uk – United Kingdom 
• .us – The United States of America 
• .cn – China
• .eg – Egypt

4 Infrastructure Top-level Domain

Infrastructure top-level domain has only one domain name in this section:-

.arpa – Address and Routing Parameter Area

This domain name is used for Internet infrastructure purposes, particularly reverse DNS lookup (i.e., find the domain name for a given IP address)

The domain is managed by IANA under the supervision of IAB.

Winner:- Tie

Email Forwarding

Email forwarding is a technique used to generate personalized emails with the domain name and then forward them to the email address of your preference.

For this particular service, GoDaddy charges an extra fee of $3 a year for five custom email addresses. While on the other hand, Namecheap provides email forwarding free to all customers too for hundred custom email addresses.

So in terms of generating personalized emails and forwarding, I always go with Namecheap.

Winner:- Namecheap

Service and Support

First, let’s start with the support of both GoDaddy and Namecheap. I have interacted with both the support and I think the support team for both companies is good.

There is not a significant difference in their response. Let’s have quick look at their support structure:-

GoDaddy	Namecheap
24/7 phone support, chat support, knowledge base, tutorial videos community forum	Live chat, support ticket, knowledge base

However, if we talk about service I will go with Namecheap. It might be that you are getting a handsome first-time deal for domain registration with GoDaddy. But if you want to go with the service go with Namecheap.

I have used Godaddy for domain registration when I was just starting, however, because of the high renewal charges I have left the company. So my personal experience with GoDaddy is not great.

Winner:- Namecheap

Domain Privacy

Domain privacy is something that every owner of the website takes it seriously. WHOIS database holds information about who holds the registered domain name.

You must have filled in information like name, phone number, and email address while registering a domain. This information is by default is publicly available and anyone can access it.

To hide that information GoDaddy charges around $9.99 per year, per domain. However, Namecheap’s WhoisGuard Privacy Protection is 100% free for its customers.

Winner:- Namecheap

GoDaddy vs Namecheap Pricing (Which Is Cheaper?)

Pricing is something that is not constant through the season because of seasonal offers and other promotional discounts. However, when you are just starting out GoDaddy is surely the one to pick because of its promotional offers.

Domain name providers always provide you with the best introductory offer to register your domain. However, they raise the price for expected renewals. So renewal charges always play a vital role in choosing the domain name registrar.

In terms of my experience renewal charges of Namecheap is less compared to GoDaddy. As domain registrars have varying pricing it’s very complicated to judge the actual cost.

Normally GoDaddy charges $8.99 to transfer a .com domain, $12.99 to register a new .com domain, and $17.99 to renew the domain. However, the other discounted offers are just for the first year of registration.

While on the other side Namecheap’s pricing is more affordable. For a .com domain, it costs $8.58 to transfer it, $8.88 for new registration, and $12.98 at renewal. All come with free features like WHOIS privacy and email forwarding.

Winner:- Namecheap

GoDaddy vs Namecheap – Pros and Cons

Now we gonna outline the Pros and Cons of both GoDaddy and Namecheap:-

Namecheap Pros & Cons

Pros – Namecheap

• Great Service
• ICANN Accreditation
• Fewer Renewal Charges
• Affordable Pricing
• 24/7 customer support

Cons – Namecheap

• No phone support is available

GoDaddy Pros & Cons

Pros – GoDaddy

• Reputed company with good service
• Great introductory offer
• 24/7 customer support
• Accredited ICANN

Cons – GoDaddy

• The domain transfer process is a bit tedious
• Too many upselling
• Renewal charges are high

Final Thoughts

I have outlined all the features and also mentioned the pros and cons of both companies. It’s just to help our users to make a decision. Both GoDaddy and Namecheap are two of the most popular domain registrars.

However, if I have to choose one I’ll go with Namecheap because of its affordable domain registration costs and added features, like WHOIS Privacy, and email forwarding.

FAQs

What is a reasonable price to pay for a domain name?

Anywhere around $7 to $15 is a reasonable price to pay for a domain name. However, the premium domain name may go to even a hundred to a thousand dollars.

Can you get everything you need to start a website from one company?

You can get everything you require to get your website online from both GoDaddy and Namecheap.

Why is Namecheap less expensive than GoDaddy?

Namecheap is less expensive than GoDaddy because the company’s goal is to provide the best quality domain at as reasonable a price as possible.

Can someone help me set up my website?

Both GoDaddy and Namecheap have great customer support to help you out with any query, just raise the support ticket they will help you as soon as possible.

GoDaddy vs Namecheap – Which Is Best?

If you’re looking for a domain name provider, you probably have GoDaddy and Namecheap on your shortlist. Both companies have been around for a long time, so you can trust them. They both offer domain registration and hosting services, which means they’ll take care of everything you need to get up and running on the internet.

But which one is right for you?

We have outlined the pros and cons of both domain name registrars to make you an informed decision. If your motive is to just go with the brand then you can go with both Godaddy and Namecheap, however, if you want a domain registrar on a budget then go with NameCheap.