Renewal traps flagged daily · the $0.18 ICANN fee included · See today’s ledger
How We Rate Registrars
Most comparison sites push cheap $0.99 teaser promos with brutal renewal fees because they get paid high affiliate commissions. We evaluate every registrar using plain math across five objective pillars: 3-year total costs, renewal honesty, free WHOIS privacy, verified customer reviews, and price stability.
The Rating Formula
Every registrar receives an overall score from 0 to 100, converted into a 0.5 to 5.0 star rating in half-star steps. Scores are recomputed automatically every day during catalog sync:
The 5-Pillar Formula
Overall Score = (3-Year Price × 40%) + (Renewal Trap Avoidance × 25%) + (Free WHOIS Privacy × 15%) + (Customer Reviews × 10%) + (Price Stability × 10%)
Converted to stars: stars = round((score / 20) * 2) / 2. For newly tracked extensions with under 30 days of price history, the 10% stability weight rolls into Price Competitiveness (making price 50%).
The 5 Things We Measure
0140% Weight
1. 3-Year Total Cost
Evaluation RuleCompared against the market median across all 10 registrars for that specific domain extension.
First-year pricing is marketing bait. The real cost of a domain is what you pay over three years: Year 1 registration plus two renewals, with mandatory ICANN fees included. If a registrar prices at or below 70% of the market median, they get a full 100 points. Average median pricing earns 78 points. Prices reaching 165% or above receive 0 points.
- Target <= 0.70x median: 100 / 100 pts (Best price)
- Target == 1.00x median: 78 / 100 pts (Average)
- Target >= 1.65x median: 0 / 100 pts (Overpriced)
0225% Weight
2. Renewal Trap Avoidance
Evaluation RuleTriggered when renewal is 2.25x or higher than registration AND the dollar jump is at least $15.00.
Exposes bait-and-switch pricing where a registrar lures you with a $0.99 promo and quietly charges $25 to $35 every year after. Flat, predictable renewals within 1.15x of registration receive 100 points. Severe traps scale sharply down to 0 points at 4.0x markup.
- Renewal <= 1.15x first year: 100 / 100 pts (Honest)
- Moderate markup (1.15x–2.25x): 100 to 65 pts
- Trap active (>= 2.25x & jump >= $15): 40 to 0 pts (Heavy Penalty)
0315% Weight
3. Free WHOIS Privacy
Evaluation RulePermanent free WHOIS privacy vs recurring yearly fees.
Your personal phone number, home address, and email should never be held for ransom. Registrars that include permanent free WHOIS privacy (like Cloudflare, Porkbun, Spaceship, and NameSilo) receive 100 points. Registrars charging $10/year or more for basic privacy get 0.
- Free permanent privacy: 100 / 100 pts
- Paid privacy ($5/yr fee): 50 / 100 pts
- Paid privacy ($10+/yr fee): 0 / 100 pts (Penalized)
0410% Weight
4. Customer Trust & Support
Evaluation RuleVerified Trustpilot score (1.0–5.0) with a 250-review minimum floor.
Real customer reviews reflect checkout honesty, support response times, and domain transfer policies. To stop disreputable registrars from faking 5.0 ratings with 5 reviews, any provider with fewer than 250 verified reviews is capped at 3.5 stars (62.5 score max).
- 5.0 / 5.0 Trustpilot rating: 100 / 100 pts
- 3.0 / 5.0 Trustpilot rating: 50 / 100 pts
- < 250 verified reviews: Capped at 3.5 stars (Anti-gaming floor)
0510% Weight
5. Long-Term Price Stability
Evaluation Rule30-day historical tracking of renewal price fluctuations.
Monitors whether a registrar quietly raises renewal rates on existing customers over time. Providers with zero unexpected renewal price hikes receive 100 points. Registrars that inflate existing renewal rates by 50% or more receive 0 points.
- 0% renewal price swing: 100 / 100 pts (Stable)
- 25% price swing: 50 / 100 pts
- >= 50% price swing: 0 / 100 pts (Volatile)
Interactive Rating Calculator
Try different registrar presets or adjust sliders to see how individual metrics affect the overall score and star rating:
1.3-Year Price vs Market Median
40% WeightSub-score: 91.2/100 (Competitive: 78 to 100 pts)
2.Renewal Trap Penalty
25% Weight✓ Honest Renewal: Renewal is within 1.15x of first year. Full 100/100 points awarded.
Sub-score: 100/100
3.WHOIS Privacy Policy
15% WeightSub-score: 100/100 (100 pts: zero upsells)
4.Trustpilot Sentiment & Review Count
10% WeightSub-score: 85/100
5.30-Day Price Stability
10% WeightSub-score: 100/100 (100 pts: zero unexpected price hikes)
Live Score Calculation
5.0 / 5.0
95/ 100
Transparent Tier
Exceptional long-term value, flat predictable renewals, zero privacy fees, and trusted checkout terms.
Formula Pillar BreakdownWeighted Points
+36.5
+25.0
+15.0
+8.5
+10.0
Composite Overall Rating95 / 100
Pure math. Zero sponsored placement or manual score overrides.
How the 10 Major Registrars Rank
Live scores computed from today's price sync across 898+ domain extensions. Notice how registrars with severe renewal traps drop in overall ranking:
| Rank | Registrar | Overall Score | Stars | 3-Year Price (40%) | Renewal Honesty (25%) | WHOIS Privacy (15%) | Customer Trust (10%) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Cloudflare | 88/100 | ★★★★½(4.5) | 78.1/100 | 100.0/100 | Free (100) | 4.5 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #2 | Spaceship | 84/100 | ★★★★☆(4.0) | 87.5/100 | 65.2/100 | Free (100) | 4.6 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #3 | Dynadot | 83/100 | ★★★★☆(4.0) | 83.1/100 | 66.9/100 | Free (100) | 4.7 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #4 | Porkbun | 82/100 | ★★★★☆(4.0) | 80.9/100 | 68.3/100 | Free (100) | 4.8 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #5 | Sav | 82/100 | ★★★★☆(4.0) | 85.3/100 | 65.8/100 | Free (100) | 4.1 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #6 | Netim | 82/100 | ★★★★☆(4.0) | 81.5/100 | 68.3/100 | Free (100) | 4.6 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #7 | NameSilo | 80/100 | ★★★★☆(4.0) | 77.6/100 | 68.2/100 | Free (100) | 4.6 / 5.0 | Transparent |
| #8 | Namecheap | 66/100 | ★★★½☆(3.5) | 57.1/100 | 55.8/100 | Free (100) | 4.5 / 5.0 | Moderate |
| #9 | Hover | 58/100 | ★★★☆☆(3.0) | 30.3/100 | 77.3/100 | Free (100) | 4.4 / 5.0 | Trap Risk |
| #10 | Name.com | 38/100 | ★★☆☆☆(2.0) | 16.7/100 | 56.9/100 | Paid (0) | 4.0 / 5.0 | Trap Risk |
| #11 | GoDaddy | 21/100 | ★☆☆☆☆(1.0) | 2.5/100 | 46.4/100 | Paid (0) | 4.1 / 5.0 | Trap Risk |
Last synchronized 2026-11-02T04:18:10.816Z. Real scores computed across 898+ top-level extensions.
The $0.18 ICANN Fee Trick
ICANN charges a mandatory $0.18 annual fee on all generic top-level domains (.com, .org, .net, .xyz, etc.). How registrars display this fee shows their transparency:
The Industry Trick
The Checkout Surprise
A registrar advertises a domain at $9.99 on price comparison sites. But at Step 4 of checkout, they quietly tack on the mandatory +$0.18 ICANN fee. Your actual charge is $10.17.
Result: Misleading headline pricing that looks 18 cents cheaper than it really is.
Our Standard
Upfront Price Normalization
BeforeYouRegister normalizes all prices upfront. If a registrar includes the fee in their rate (like Cloudflare or Porkbun), we keep it intact. If a registrar bills it separately (like Namecheap or GoDaddy), we automatically add $0.18 to their displayed price.
Result: What you see on BeforeYouRegister is the exact number that appears on your credit card statement.
Our Independence Guarantee
01
Pure Math
Scores are calculated by code, not editorial opinions. The formula runs automatically during daily sync at 03:00 UTC.
02
No Paid Placement
Registrars cannot buy a higher score, pay for top placement, or sponsor badges. Table ranks are strictly determined by math.
03
Equal Non-Affiliate Inclusion
Cloudflare has no affiliate program. We still rank them #1 for value because their at-cost wholesale pricing is genuinely lowest.
04
Open & Verifiable
Our formulas, pricing data, and APIs are public. Anyone can inspect and verify our calculations at any time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Never. The rating formula is 100% mathematical and runs automatically during daily catalog synchronization at 03:00 UTC. Registrars cannot buy higher ratings, sponsor table placement, or pay to conceal renewal trap flags.