As a side question, are there other free DNS providers besides Cloudflare? Ones that don't require you to register your domain there.
this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2025
105 points (94.9% liked)
Selfhosted
43887 readers
337 users here now
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:
- selfh.st Newsletter and index of selfhosted software and apps
- awesome-selfhosted software
- awesome-sysadmin resources
- Self-Hosted Podcast from Jupiter Broadcasting
Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.
Questions? DM the mods!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Namecheap. Avoid Dynadot.
Just curious. Why should dynadot be avoid?
I can only speak from personal experience but for me they jacked up the price significantly after year one and then sent my domain straight to auction after I decided not to pay. I respect that there are reseller-focused providers out there but they aren't for me.
On the other hand, I've had nothing but quality service from namecheap for the best part of a decade.
Top answers from the last 39580202 times this was asked:
- Namecheap
- Porkbun
- Gandi
- Cloudflare
I was with Namecheap for years, and they're totally fine. I am now with Cloudflare because they're a bit cheaper and their API is well supported in various tools, and they also seem fine.
I use porkbun and you get cloudflare through them, not sure to what extent, porkbuns just cheaper, I like their ui, straightforward, everything you need on one screen.
Exactly this. Also it annoys me that Namecheap tries to automatically "top up funds" over a month before renewals are due. I think they've always done it but it wound me up enough this year to move to Cloudflare.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I wouldn't buy domains from Cloudflare from a risk mitigation perspective. At work I direct six figures of budget their way annually, but as a free-tier customer in my personal life I don't trust them not to fuck up at some point and lock my account. If I register my domain elsewhere I can bring myself back online by moving the nameservers. If it's registered at Cloudflare I'm fucked.
This is the way. Never use the NS of your registrar.
load more comments
(15 replies)
Another +1 for name cheap, been using em for a decade now. Their deals are stellar and renewal prices are on par with any other competitors usually
Transferred all my domains from nanecheap to CloudFlare and I'm saving like 1/3 of price on renewals.
Moved to Porkbun, saving about the same. The price creep pisses me off.
I'll throw in for namecheap. Been with them for a while with no complaints.
load more comments
(3 replies)
Porkbun has been great
Seconded. I switched from namecheap when they raised the price of my domain. I never had a problem with name cheap but porkbin is cheaper.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I've always used NameCheap. Can't speak to their ethics, but customer support has been excellent the few times I've needed it.
Been using Namecheap for a decade or more now. Great company, no muss, no fuss, just works. The greatest thing is that they're boring as fuck. That's one of the best qualities to have in a domain registrar.
Also been using namecheap for years with no complaints. Boring and dependable.
Boring and dependable.
Just like I wish politics were.
In case anyone was wondering:
- namecheap: US
- porkbun: US
- INWX: Germany
- OVH: French
- onlydomains: NZ
I personally have been with onlydomains for a decade or so. No complaints.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Namecheap
This. NameCheap actually responds to abuse reports, as well. Turns out they actually think it's bad for business to allow grifters and con artists to use their services, unlike other major registrars.
I switched to Porkbun from Namecheap recently because Porkbun is somewhat local.
Porkbun is decent but cheaper if you have a dozen domains too
I'm using Cloudflare, because it's quite convenient since I always end up using them as DNS server.
They're also slightly cheaper since they don't take any profit from their registrar side, hoping to make it back with other services.
load more comments
(2 replies)
I have had a lot good experience with Porkbun.
I've been with 1984.is for a couple of years now. I think my domains cost around 12 Euros a year each. Their web GUI works fine and I've never needed to contact their customer service, so I cannot comment on that.
I've been with 1984.is for some time as well. They're international domain is 1984.hosting. I've also had contact with their support and they're friendly, knowledgeable and straight on point.
I had to transfer my domain and they wanted the domain key. Not wanting to send that over insecure email asked if they have a GPG key and told me they do, sent me a link to their site to get it and a specific mail to send it to which I then was able to send over. The process of contacting them and getting everything set was very speedy and I felt in good hands.
I’ve been happy with Hover for several years. They don’t bug me and they’re owned by Tucows so they’ve got decades-old staying power.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Namesilo is quite good - cheap & been using it for 5 years now (coming from namecheap)
load more comments
(1 replies)
I moved all my domains from Google to OVH, OVH have an API so you can get certs with certbot. You could also use the API to update records for a dynamic home broadband
load more comments
(2 replies)
I use namesilo for everything but my .au domains.
view more: next ›