You’ve likely heard of these two massive registrars, no matter where abouts you live in the world. Of course, I’m talking about GoDaddy and Namecheap.
But between these two companies, which of them is better to register a domain with? And what about the other products that each company off? Well, we’re going to take a look at both of these brands and figure out which one would be better for you.
GoDaddy vs Namecheap
For most people, Namecheap is going to be the better choice of the two. The reason? Namecheap’s renewal costs are far lower than GoDaddy. So whilst the initial deal with GoDaddy might look great, it’s their renewal costs that really sting you for cash.
Although I’m not the biggest fan of GoDaddy, their 24/7 customer support is definitely a good feature that they offer, and an area where they’re better than most other registrars. You’d expect this, as they’re actually the biggest domain registrars out there, with close to 100 million domains registered with them.
In truth, there are pros and cons to both of them. Both Namecheap and GoDaddy also offer hosting packages, but they’re probably not the best option on the market either when it comes to web hosting. I’d rather look at brands that specialise in hosting for this, with companies like WPX and WP Engine being pretty reputable.
So, there is more to look at than just the pricing structure that these two brands use. We also have to look at things like whether they offer a free SSL certificate with the service, and how easy the domain transfer process is if you’re looking to move elsewhere. Let’s look at little deeper at both of these companies to see which one you should opt for out of the two.
GoDaddy
Now, that’s not to say that everything about GoDaddy is bad. They do have a very good user interface, and their website is very easy to navigate. Plus, they have their GoDaddy auctions membership which can be quite useful if you want a domain name that somebody else already has.
As mentioned, the live chat support is a good feature that GoDaddy do offer, and it’s definitely pretty good. They usually respond to you quickly, and it’s one of the main benefits of being one of the bigger companies within the domain industry.
However, for the most part I’d have to say that I would avoid GoDaddy if you’re going to register a new domain name. Whilst you might get a cracking deal initially, this isn’t really where GoDaddy make their money. They make it in upselling you – charging £50 for an SSL certificate is an example – and their really high renewal costs.
Not only SSLs, but their limited hosting packages and other features are quite overpriced too. You can end up paying more for hosting with GoDaddy than you would with premium hosting companies, even though there isn’t the same amount of storage or bandwidth available.
So overall, they’re not the best option to go for. Aside from the support and low initial costs, there isn’t too much that GoDaddy has that other registrars like Namecheap can offer you.
Namecheap
Namecheap is better than most other registrars out there, and it’s a much better choice than opting for GoDaddy in my opinion. Although you might pay a tiny bit more initially for a Namecheap domain (it really depends on the TLD that you’re going to opt for), in the long run a Namecheap registered domain is going to be the better choice.
The reason for this comes in the renewals costs. I have quite a few registered domains with Namecheap, and I’ve never had any issue with any of them being overpriced come renewal times. In fact, I’ve actually be surprised at how cheap they are!
If we compare this to GoDaddy, then this is what makes the biggest difference between the two. This is the case for .com domains, but it’s also pretty cheap for other extensions too, like co.uk domains or alternative ones.
It is also pretty easy to use Namecheap, as they have a good management interface. You have easy access to all of the services you need within their platform, and it’s very easy to adjust your DNS settings.
As well as this, Namecheap also has a great support team who can help you with any issues you have down the road. I also like the minimalist design of the website too. So overall, I’d always look to go with Namecheap over opting to go with GoDaddy.
Common Questions about Namecheap and GoDaddy
Is GoDaddy good?
All domain registrars are going to do the same thing – give you a place to register a domain. And for this, GoDaddy is absolutely fine. However, in my opinion they let themselves down with their renewal costs, and the add-ons they offer are designed to get newbies to use them without really knowing what they’re doing. The only time I’d use GoDaddy is if I wanted to register a domain for 1 year only, and not renew it later down the line, as their initial costs can be quite good.
Why is GoDaddy so cheap?
There’s no denying that GoDaddy offer some really cheap initial prices on some of their domains. However, they make their money up in other ways via extras (like SSL certificates or privacy protection) and of course, their hosting too. So they are cheap for initial domain registration, but that’s not really where the bulk of their revenue comes from.
Is Namecheap good?
Like I just mentioned, all domain registrars are intended to do the same thing, so you need to look at the additional stuff the company offers. Namecheap’s domains are cheap both initially and at renewal time, and their support is helpful. You can’t ask for much more than this from a budget domain registrar.
Where is Namecheap based?
The HQ of Namecheap is based in America, but like many tech companies their support team is based in Eastern Europe (Ukraine, to be exact). Ukrainians have a good reputation for their tech support, and many big companies have a support team there.
Is Namecheap owned by GoDaddy?
No, Namecheap isn’t owned by GoDaddy – they’re both completely independent from one another. Some of the big companies within the industry are owned by the same parent company, though.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to register a new domain name, then these two names come up more than anyone else. All in all, I think that Namecheap is the best options out of these two brands for most people. They’re better value for money across the vast majority of TLDs (domain extensions), and as domain name registrars go, they’re pretty reliable.
The only time where I would potentially opt for GoDaddy is if I only wanted a domain registered for a year to run some tests to. In this case, GoDaddy can be a fine option, as they have excellent rates for the first year – it’s the years after that where they get a little expensive.
There are other domain registrars out there you can use too, which you can check out in my list of the best domain registrars. But overall, out of these two domain registrars, Namecheap is the better option; it’s cheaper for renewals, better support and has a better design too.
