Namecheap vs Porkbun: Which Registrar Is Better?
Namecheap and Porkbun are the two registrars people most often weigh up when they want to leave GoDaddy or simply pay less for domains. Both are ICANN-accredited, both include WHOIS privacy for free, and both are known for honest pricing. The difference is in how they price. Namecheap often discounts the first year and then renews at a higher standard rate. Porkbun charges the same for registration and renewal on several major extensions, including .com and .net, and runs first-year discounts on others. Every price below is live from our tracker.
.com and the usual suspects
| Extension | Namecheap: first year / renewal | Porkbun: first year / renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | $11.28 / $18.48 | $11.08 / $11.08 |
| .net | $12.48 / $18.58 | $12.52 / $12.52 |
| .org | $8.48 / $18.98 | $7.98 / $11.84 |
| .io | $34.98 / $75.98 | $28.12 / $51.80 |
| .co | $19.98 / $45.48 | $15.76 / $31.20 |
| .dev | $10.98 / $20.98 | $8.75 / $12.87 |
The pattern is visible straight away. On .com, Porkbun's first-year price and renewal are the same figure, $11.08. Namecheap's first year costs $11.28 and the renewal $18.48. For a domain you intend to keep, add up the years rather than looking at the first one.
Transfers
A transfer normally includes a year of renewal. Namecheap charges $11.48 to transfer a .com in; Porkbun charges $11.08, which is its renewal price, and sets transfer prices per extension in the same way.
Privacy and DNS
Both include WHOIS privacy on registrations at no extra cost. Namecheap offers free DNS, DNSSEC and a PremiumDNS upgrade with anycast, plus custom nameservers. Porkbun offers free DNS management, which it says is powered by Cloudflare, and custom nameservers. If you want a paid premium DNS tier from your registrar, Namecheap has one; if you just want solid free DNS, both deliver.
Range of extensions
We track 636 extensions at Porkbun and 569 at Namecheap. Both cover every mainstream gTLD and many country codes; Porkbun's catalog is the larger of the two in our data, and it runs deep first-year discounts on many newer extensions.
Beyond domains
Namecheap is also a full hosting company, with cPanel shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, managed WordPress, SSL certificates and email, which is convenient if you want everything in one account. Porkbun is focused on domains and the essentials around them.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Porkbun if you want renewals that match the first-year price on .com and .net, a large catalog of extensions and simple, domain-first tooling.
- Choose Namecheap if you want hosting, email and SSL in the same account as your domains, a premium DNS option, or its first-year promotions.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Namecheap | Porkbun |
|---|---|---|
| .com register | $11.28 | $11.08 win |
| .com renewal | $18.48 | $11.08 win |
| ICANN accredited | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| WHOIS privacy | Free | Free |
| DNS features | 5 win | 2 |
| Transfer fee | $11.48 | — |
| TLDs offered | 569 | 636 win |
The Verdict
For people who just want to register and keep domains, Porkbun is the easier recommendation: on .com and .net its renewal price is the same as the first year, privacy is free, and its extension catalog is the larger of the two in our data. Namecheap remains a strong registrar with free privacy and more DNS options, and it wins when you want hosting and email alongside your domains, but its standard renewals sit higher than its first-year prices. Check the live table above for the extensions you actually need.
FAQ
For keeping a .com over several years, usually yes. Porkbun charges $11.08 to register and $11.08 to renew a .com; Namecheap charges $11.28 for the first year and $18.48 to renew. Prices vary by extension, so compare the ones you need.
Yes. Both include WHOIS privacy on registrations at no extra charge.
Transferring a .com to Namecheap costs $11.48 and to Porkbun $11.08. A transfer usually adds a year to the registration.
Both include free DNS. Namecheap adds DNSSEC and a paid PremiumDNS tier with anycast. Porkbun's free DNS management is, in its own words, powered by Cloudflare.
Namecheap sells a full hosting range: shared, VPS, dedicated and managed WordPress. Porkbun focuses on domains, so most Porkbun customers point their domains at a separate host.