Seeing the news with Google domains, I’m looking to move registrars, and was wondering who everyone uses.
A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don’t control.
Rules:
Be civil: we’re here to support and learn from one another. Insults won’t be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
No spam posting.
Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it’s not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.
Don’t duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.
Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).
No trolling.
Resources:
Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.
Questions? DM the mods!
Whatever you do, just don’t ever use GoDaddy.
Please everyone, whatever you do, listen to this comment.
I have been using cloudflare. It works nicely, and integrates well with their tools.
I moved all of my data from google domains to it.
I have also previously used amazon, which wasn’t horrible… and previously used quite a few other registrators.
The only BAD one I have used, was godaddy. Don’t use them. They… are evil.
What problems did you have with GoDaddy? Just wondering what to watch out for, or if there’s a reason to move.
I emailed their support to complain that their transfer out ui was broken so I couldn’t get the transfer code, they sent me the code without me proving who I was. I was communicating with them using a different email and even different email domain than anything they had on file.
Oof, OK, good to know!
I use Namecheap personally. I really like it.
I use Cloudflare for TLDs they support, and Namecheap for everything else. Though, I use Cloudflare’s DNS services for all domains.
Honestly, I just go through Dreamhost since I have my hosting there anyway or Route 53, since they have full DNS customisation options.
I know it’s not the most popular option here, but Namecheao served me well for several years now. No real complaints that I can think of.
Porkbun usually has the best pricing. TLD List is a good resource to consult too.
I’ve been using Gandi for years. Love them.
I use Hover… it’s weird no one else does. Should I be moving off?
Never heard of them, but just looking at a registrar comparison chart, their renewal costs are pretty high. eg. $20 for
.wiki
renewal at Porkbun and $30 at Hover. Maybe they bundle in a lot of services along with it that make the price worth it? but unless you’re taking full advantage of those (if they’re offered) then you could def get a better deal elsewhere.I use hover too, but reconsidering after this topic. Hover does provide anonymity, so I’m not sure if some of the other registrars listed do that too.
Porkbun if you’re cheap and Njalla if you’re paranoid. Cloudflare if you do things that other registrars can’t do.
Have you used Njalla? I was considering them recently, but these reviews gave me serious pause:
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/njal.la
I don’t really think Trustpilot is a good place to get info, a la Yelp.
I can vouch for Njalla as one of the more privacy respecting providers(they require zero personal info and allow you to pay in crypto). Other providers said a .gg domain requires WHOIS data to be published, Njalla didn’t give a shit and gave me WHOIS privacy anyway. Even their name servers spell out “you can get no info”. Also, Pirate Bay uses them lmao
Downsides would be being billed in euro, higher cost, and they require you to pay into your account then they use your account “credit” to pay for your domains, but remember, they operate in “cash”. They don’t know you and they don’t know your card info, so they can’t just bill your card when your renewal comes up.
For privacy and overall service they get a 10/10 from me. Porkbun is cheaper if you’re not paranoid.
Hard disagree on that, I’ve found it invaluable as a tool for assessing the safety of a company. Sure you’re going to get some idiots who simply don’t know how to use the tool and go online to bitch about it, but if you’re seeing a significant number of people making the same complaints about support or having domains withdrawn from them, it certainly makes me suspicious.
Thank you for your reply though, it’s good to hear that some people are having success. My understanding from the reading I’ve done online is that they used to be a lot better but have fallen in quality over the last 2 years.
I’m using INWX
Yeah, INWX is nice, it even has a nice API… Well, okay, an API. Also, no automatic credit card charges, it’s kind of an “prepaid” account.
What did I miss regarding Google Domains?
EDIT: Just saw, squarespace buying it… goddamn it…
It got added to the Graveyard.
netcup.de
I’m using porkbun for my instance and it’s been great
my domain renewal was half google domain’s offering price
Porkbun. I’ve been using since 4 years. Cheap and without errors