Porkbun is easy to like at checkout, because the first-year prices are low and privacy comes free. The reasons to look elsewhere are the gap between that first year and the regular price, a dollar price list for buyers who pay in euros, a US legal entity, and a support model with set hours. Replacements range from French and Luxembourg registrars to hosting companies that sell domains beside their servers.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: The first three places are kept for challengers when the category has enough of them; the best-known brands come after that, in ranked order. For Porkbun users, the top three picks from our domain registrars ranking are Netim, Gandi and EuroDNS. Pick Netim if you want a founder-owned French registrar with an API. Each of the 11 alternatives sits in Best Domain Registrars in 2026 and is described against Porkbun.
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Porkbun lists .xyz at USD 2.04 for the first year against USD 14.21 regular, .app at USD 8.75 against 14.93, and .io at USD 28.12 against 51.80. Registration, renewal and transfer sit in separate columns, so a portfolio is budgeted from the renewal column, not from the headline.
Prices are quoted in USD with ICANN fees included, and the footer names Porkbun LLC at an address in Tigard, Oregon. A European company that wants euro invoices, VAT shown up front or a supplier under EU law has to look at other registrars. The domains page names no euro price list.
A domain in the Redemption Grace Period costs USD 200 to restore on top of renewal. Bulk search stops at 100 domains and a cart holds 100. Our earlier check noted staffed chat from 9am to 5pm Pacific and email replies averaging six hours, which matters when a domain expires on a Sunday.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing model | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netim | France | No free tier | Published | you want a founder-owned French registrar with an API | #1 |
| Gandi | France | No free tier | Published | DNSSEC and DNS from an EU-registered company matter to you | #4 |
| EuroDNS | Luxembourg | No free tier | Published | you prefer a Luxembourg registrar and accept paying extra for privacy | #5 |
| Hostpoint | Switzerland | No free tier | Published | you invoice in francs and want a Swiss registrar | #6 |
| Loopia | Sweden | No free tier | Published | your audience is Nordic and a krona price list suits you | #7 |
| Combell | Belgium | No free tier | Published | you want euro prices and round-the-clock phone support | #8 |
| Hover | Canada | No free tier | See profile | you hold a portfolio and want volume renewal discounts | #10 |
| Dynadot | United States | No free tier | Published | you buy and trade names and like an aftermarket on the same account | #3 |
| Name.com | United States | No free tier | Published | you want phone and chat support at any hour from a US registrar | #9 |
| one.com | Sweden | No free tier | See profile | you want a Swedish company and a domain bundled with hosting | #11 |
| Cloudflare Registrar | United States | No free tier | Published | at-cost pricing outweighs choosing your own DNS host | #12 |
France · Published
Netim, a French registrar founded in 2004 and owned by its founders, sells nothing but domain services. Transfers are offered at cost and extensions number over 1,300, reachable through REST and SOAP APIs. The tooling points at resellers and portfolios, and prices default to excluding VAT, so read the tax line before comparing with Porkbun.
Switch from Porkbun if you want a founder-owned French registrar with an API.
France · Published
Gandi SAS is registered in Paris with an independent management team, and Montefiore Investments became a major shareholder in 2019. A .com carries LiveDNS nameservers with DNSSEC plus a TLS certificate free for the first year. The same shop also rents hosting and cloud servers, so the domain is one product among several.
Switch from Porkbun if DNSSEC and DNS from an EU-registered company matter to you.
Full verdict on Gandi, which sits at number 4 of 12 for domain registrars →
Luxembourg · Published
EuroDNS has been registering names since 2002 from Luxembourg and sits in the Namespace group. Anycast DNS, an SSL certificate and a branded mailbox come with each domain. WHOIS privacy is a separate yearly add-on, which reverses Porkbun's arrangement, and the first-year .com price is about half of renewal.
Switch from Porkbun if you prefer a Luxembourg registrar and accept paying extra for privacy.
Full verdict on EuroDNS, which sits at number 5 of 12 for domain registrars →
Switzerland · Published
Hostpoint calls itself the largest web hosting provider in Switzerland and quotes domains in Swiss francs including VAT. Its portfolio discount begins at 75 domains in the worked example. Privacy comes through the Domain Shield add-on, and .swiss has its own page, so the offer suits Swiss addresses best.
Switch from Porkbun if you invoice in francs and want a Swiss registrar.
Hostpoint comes 6 of 12 when domain registrars products are ranked here →
Sweden · Published
Loopia began in 1999 as NetConnect and now describes itself as Sweden's largest web host. Domain offers are quoted in kronor, with a .se deal valid to the end of 2026. Hosting, email and a site builder sit in the same shop, which helps if the domain will live next to a Swedish website.
Switch from Porkbun if your audience is Nordic and a krona price list suits you.
Check Loopia in the ranked list (7 out of 12, domain registrars) →
Belgium · Published
Combell, a Belgian company, says 71 percent of Belgian websites are hosted with it. First-year promotions in euros cover .be, .eu, .com and .nl, and a mailbox and basic site builder come with a purchase. The promotions are labelled temporary, so the renewal price is the second number to find. Support runs by phone and email around the clock.
Switch from Porkbun if you want euro prices and round-the-clock phone support.
#8 out of 12 domain registrars products: read the Combell review →
Canada · See profile
Hover belongs to Tucows, headquartered in Toronto, and prices in US dollars like Porkbun. WHOIS privacy is included on supported domains. Renewal discounts start at ten domains and reach five dollars a domain at 400, and a transfer adds a year with no fee. It is a plain registrar with no hosting push.
Switch from Porkbun if you hold a portfolio and want volume renewal discounts.
United States · Published
Dynadot Inc, a Californian company founded in 2002, includes a website builder, a custom email address and domain privacy with every name. Register prices on extensions such as .xyz and .shop sit far below renew prices. Account perks begin at 500 dollars of spending, and an auction marketplace runs alongside the registrar.
Switch from Porkbun if you buy and trade names and like an aftermarket on the same account.
Read our review of Dynadot (position 3 of 12 on the domain registrars list) →
United States · Published
Name.com operates from Denver, dates from 2003 and belongs to Identity Digital, which also runs registry extensions. Registration and renewal prices appear side by side, and a featured .com shows a lower first price than renewal. Support is advertised as 24/7. Email, hosting and SSL are sold as extras.
Switch from Porkbun if you want phone and chat support at any hour from a US registrar.
Full verdict on Name.com, which sits at number 9 of 12 for domain registrars →
Sweden · See profile
One.com Group AB, in Malmo, sells domains as an intermediary that registers through partner registrars, per its terms. The domain is waived on hosting plans, and a 14-day trial covers its AI website builder. The registrar relationship is indirect, which is worth knowing before a transfer or a dispute.
Switch from Porkbun if you want a Swedish company and a domain bundled with hosting.
one.com holds rank 11 among 12 entries in our domain registrars guide →
United States · Published
Cloudflare charges what registries and ICANN charge it, with no markup, redacts WHOIS by default and locks domains. Its FAQ requires Cloudflare nameservers on every domain, so another DNS provider means moving the domain away. The company is a large San Francisco business, which is why it ranks last here.
Switch from Porkbun if at-cost pricing outweighs choosing your own DNS host.
Cloudflare Registrar holds rank 12 among 12 entries in our domain registrars guide →
Netim: It is founder-owned, sells only domain services and lists over 1,300 extensions, with REST and SOAP APIs.
Gandi: A .com includes LiveDNS with DNSSEC and a TLS certificate free for the first year.
Hover: Renewal discounts start at ten domains and reach five dollars per domain at 400, with privacy on supported domains.
Combell: Euro first-year promotions cover .be, .eu, .com and .nl, with phone and email support at all hours.
Cloudflare Registrar: Registry and ICANN fees are passed on at cost, but every domain must use Cloudflare nameservers.
Porkbun publishes its prices per extension with ICANN fees included, names WHOIS privacy as free, and bundles Let's Encrypt certificates, Cloudflare-powered DNS, URL forwarding and up to 20 email forwards at no charge. For a single hobby or side-project name where you read the renewal column first, that is a clear and cheap package, and moving gains nothing.
Check the transfer column for each extension, since transfer prices differ from registration. Unlock the domain, collect the authorisation code and confirm the registrant email works, because the code travels there.
Export the zone before you move. Porkbun's DNS is powered by Cloudflare, so a new registrar's nameservers mean recreating records or pointing the domain back at the DNS host you want to keep.
Transfer well ahead of the expiry date. A name in the Redemption Grace Period costs USD 200 to restore at Porkbun, and a new registrar will not help once the registry has deleted it.
The domains page lists Free WHOIS Privacy among services with no extra charge. EuroDNS and Hostpoint sell privacy as a yearly add-on instead, while Dynadot and Hover include it.
Combell and EuroDNS publish in euros (EuroDNS excluding VAT). Hostpoint quotes francs with VAT, Loopia kronor, and Hover, Dynadot and Porkbun dollars.
Not alone. Porkbun, Combell, EuroDNS and Name.com all show a lower first price than renewal on at least one extension, so compare renewal and transfer columns for the extensions you will keep.
Netim and Gandi are French, and EuroDNS is headquartered in Luxembourg. Hostpoint is Swiss, Combell Belgian, and Loopia and one.com Swedish.
Not as a package. Gandi gives a TLS certificate and DNSSEC nameservers with a .com for the first year, EuroDNS bundles anycast DNS and SSL, and Cloudflare Registrar supplies its own DNS but requires it.
Porkbun lists USD 200 on top of the renewal price for a domain in the Redemption Grace Period. Other registrars set their own restoration fees, so read the policy page before you rely on it.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 7 November 2026. How we review.
