I need new domains for my future projects thus I tried to find the best domain registrars out there. Currently, all of my domains are hosted at Mercumaya which is quite for me. For me, Mercumaya is the best domain registrar in Malaysia (RM30 for com tld).

However, Mercumaya still can not beat famous registrar like Godaddy and Namecheap because those companies always release coupon code so that blogger or domainer can register new domain with discounts.

Domain registration and payment

At first I tried Godaddy to register new domains. By using ‘BOWL99′ coupon code, I should able to get a domain for USD1.15. That means RM4. This is really cheap. However I am not able pay for it since need us to Credit Card, Debit Card, or VCC for paying. Paypal is not allowed for buying domain by using coupon code.

Then I tried to look for Namecheap. Using coupon code, I am able to get a domain for USD8.81. Although this is a lot pricey compare to Godaddy, Namecheap supports Paypal for coupon code. It’s true I can save a lot by using Godaddy, but for me time is more important than money. Why bother a few dollar if I need to wait to get debit card or credit card. VCC maybe a good choice since it is faster. However I am still lack information about VCC.

For payment option, Namecheap is the winner to me while Godaddy is the winner for cheapest domain registration. Oh, you will also get free whois privacy for new domain registration in Namecheap.

Domain names transfer

Namecheap transfer pricing

Godaddy transfer pricing

If you want to transfer domain, Namecheap always release coupon code that enable you to transfer domain for USD6.99. Meanwhile, you do not nedd any coupon code to transfer to Godaddy since Godaddy already giving USD6.99 for domain transfer. Really cheap.

However, Namecheap USD6.99 prices is only for the first year. If you transfer for 2 years, you need to pay USD6.99 + USD9.69. For Godaddy, the prices is still USD6.99 no matter how many year you choose for transferring.

Thus, Godaddy is the clear winner.

Domain names renewal

Although Godaddy is cheper than Namecheap in term of new domain registration, Godaddy domain renewal cost extra 1 dollar (Namecheap domain renewal is USD9.69 while Godaddy is USD10.69). If you’re lucky, you could find coupon code for domain renewal. You may have luck with Godaddy since there is a lot of domain renewal coupon but it’s rare for Namecheap to give domain renewal coupon.

In terms of coupon for domain renewal, Godaddy is the winner but Namecheap is still the clear winner in terms of the real price.

Marketplace

I have tried the marketplace in Namecheap. I really like it since I can put my domain into sell listing easily. However the highest price that you can put for a domain is only USD250. That’s why namecheap has always been the marketplace to get cheap domain name. If you think the domain that you decided to sell worth more than USD250, I suggest you to use Sedo or Dnscoop. For Godaddy, I can’t comment anything since I never try their marketplace yet.