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Comment by bob1029 | Hacker News Reader

What registrars has HN been using lately?

I've been super lazy and use Route53 for everything right now.

I generally open up https://tld-list.com/ (which lists most registrars for any given TLD, along with the prices). I then choose the cheapest non-shady looking one. Porkbun, NameSilo, and Epik are fine options usually.

https://tldes.com/ is an alternative site for those look for pricing comparison for the different TLDs/gTLDs.

Personally I'm currently using Sav and Porkbun, with good experiences with Namesilo in the recent past.

Recently went with Porkbun. Their interface is simple and functional, and they have good support for most 2FA interfaces (including passkeys).

> What registrars has HN been using lately?

ycombinator.com itself is on 81 "Gandi SAS", although they use AWS DNS, so chances are it's through Route53 (since AWS isn't an ICANN registrar, they have other registrars actually handle the registry ops)

Sorry but AWS is an ICANN registrar see https://www.iana.org/assignments/registrar-ids/registrar-ids... ID 468.

Also note that Gandi also handle registry ops for AWS see https://aws.amazon.com/route53/domain-registration-agreement...

Over time, I've been migrating from Gandi to Porkbun. I've been happy so far.

Might have to do the same. Been ok with paying slightly higher prices for reliability but I wouln't bet on the latter if they start pulling shit like this even if it doesn't affect me directly.

Route53 is Gandi under the covers

No way, source? Kind of amazing if true.

https://aws.amazon.com/route53/domain-registration-agreement...

> AWS currently provides Domain Name Registration Services through Gandi SAS , Mesh Digital Limited, Amazon Registrar, Inc., and other ICANN-accredited registrars

I expect they use the in-house one for the largest fraction of revenue and the rest for obscure ones they can't be bothered with.

That's surprising. It seems like it's only partially true:

> AWS provides the Domain Name Registration Services through ICANN-accredited registrars. AWS currently provides Domain Name Registration Services through Gandi SAS , Mesh Digital Limited, Amazon Registrar, Inc., and other ICANN-accredited registrars (the “Registrar”), and your use of the Domain Name Registration Services is subject to their terms. You can identify the Registrar of record for any Registered Name by performing a WHOIS query here . AWS reserves the right to use any ICANN-accredited registrar as the Registrar.

https://aws.amazon.com/route53/domain-registration-agreement...

Yes, only for domain registration. AWS handles DNS.

This is like saying my car is Venezuelan because it can accept gas from a Valero gas station.

Route53 registration doesn't seem to get a lot of resources at AWS.

They can take years to add new TLDs (I've been waiting for 5+ years for them to do .nz properly). Checkout the support forum. Lots of:

   * Someone asks for a new TLD
   * Quick reply saying request forwarded to team
   * a year passes
   * Another person asks when that TLD will become available.

Probably okay for the basic stuff though.

Hetzner. Their functionality for this is clunky as heck, but I have more trust in the company than other registrars.

Cloudflare Registrar, no markup and a reliable company.

Recently switched from Namecheap to Cloudflare. Cloudflare was significantly cheaper for my sole .io domain.

The catch is that you must use Cloudflare's nameservers [0]:

  6.1 Nameservers. Registrant agrees to use Cloudflare’s nameservers. REGISTRANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT IT MAY NOT CHANGE THE NAMESERVERS ON THE REGISTRAR SERVICES, AND THAT IT MUST TRANSFER TO A THIRD PARTY REGISTRAR IF IT WISHES TO CHANGE NAMESERVERS.

[0] https://www.cloudflare.com/domain-registration-agreement/

This usually isn't a problem, you can point the DNS to any hosting service you want. Its a pain to setup every single record of-course.

That's extremely weird. Is there a publicly stated reason for it?

People generally use 3rd party Nameservers when their Registrar is unreliable or "old school".

Most dot-com era web companies used Network Solutions back in the day - and many still use them. However, DNS updates sometimes take hours, their interface is cumbersome, etc.

It's become quite common to use someone like Cloudflare for Nameserver/DNS duties (among other things) and keep your registrar where you like.

Gandi actually. So far so good. Need to check if what OP says is true, though.

I've been using namecheap.com for 10 or so years quite happily and haven't felt the urge to move that whole time.

DNSimple is excellent. I don't recommend using Route53, while their GUI and features are good they charge per DNS query. I had someone trying exploit that and ended up with a 100x higher bill than normal in one month. It is impossible to do anything about it except purchase AWS Shield Advanced which costs $3000 per month.

I've been with joker.com for more than 20 years. Not a single problem ever.

I love EasyDNS - not the cheapest, but the service is EXCELLENT. Over 10 years or so, I've had to call support a couple of times to setup new features, and not only do they answer the phone - but you get a real engineer!

It costs me about $40/year for domain (.org), dns, backup MX/mail spool, and a couple of other bits and pieces. It's been well worth it for the piece of mind.

I use hover, they are a tucows reseller, sort of.

Another +1 for Hover.

Oh hell no. Hover used to be good, but have turned into a shit show over the last 12+ months.

Definitely avoid them, and if your domains are important then migrate them elsewhere.

Several reports of problems, including from me:

* https://twitter.com/densone/status/1625378937047027719

* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34786465

* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34788210 <-- mine

Sorry for your luck, but based on your posts and your twitter, you already had other security issues. That's not hovers fault.

Sure mate. Care to explain?

(Btw, I don't have a Twitter, so good luck with that. :))

Let me guess, you work for Hover or used to?

Or maybe you just needed more coffee/sleep/something before replying? ;)

Sorry I misread the thread, I thought you were densone

No worries. ;)

porkbun is awesome and pretty much the cheapest for all tlds, and name.com has a nice simple interface. happy with both of them.

Personally been a happy hover.com customer. Definitely not the cheapest but I like that they don't try to upsell me crap.

Pair. More or less forever. Nothing particularly special, but never so busted there’s been a reason to bother changing.

Also pair for ~20 years. Not one single service issue in this time. Very quick response from queries raised, technical or otherwise.

That's pairdomains.com, correct?

I've only got just one, but I'm pretty happy with Google. I mean, I know it's Google so there's always the worry they'll get bored with the product, but it works fine and has integration with my Asus router so I can dynDNS my home for my kids' minecraft server.

Isn't the biggest issue with Google that your account could get banned for whatever reason, and then your chances of recover it are under 0.001%? That's the biggest fear imho.

I’ve been using https://hover.com (domains only) for over a decade and have had zero issues. They never bother me and only email for things I’d want to be notified (e.g. domain expiring).

Dynadot

They are just as cheap as the often-mentioned NameCheap, but a much better UI.

Dynadot also lets you "domain taste" that is get a refund in credit if you change your mind after buying a domain within I think 72 hours.

They also are one of the largest domain registrars.

Do they have better invoices? Namecheap (~20 domains there) is a pain when it comes to invoices (they don't send them to you, it's not clear where to find them in the UI, they mix it with transaction receipts, the name of the PDF is off etc.)

I don't know, I only have a few personal domains and don't use invoices.

I use infomaniak.com. Prices are reasonable and their API is somewhat ok

I have a few domains on gandi (they support .ie unlike a lot of big registrars), but my primary registrar is still namecheap.

Namecheap/porkpun

I like name.com, I also often hear namecheap recommended

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