NameCheap Vs Google Domains

Your online presence begins with a superb website, great content, and an impressive domain name!

A domain defines your website and therefore, it has to be easy to remember. Through a domain name, users can find you easily on the internet.

Considering the importance of domains for a website, it would make sense to have a good one that distinguishes your website from the others. However, selecting the right domain name can be a difficult task at times, with so many companies offering domain name registering services. But particularly there are two domain registration companies that have earned a good reputation and they are worth considering – NameCheap vs Google Domains.

Not sure which is the right option for you to register a domain name?

In this review, we will compare both Google Domains vs NameCheap, exploring the key features, pros & cons, support, and pricing. This will help you make the best choice.

NameCheap

NameCheap is an accredited domain name registrar, which provides reliable and cheap domain name registration. Widely popular for its affordable pricing and great support, NameCheap has 11 million registered users and over 10 million domains. The best thing about NameCheap is that it’s not just limited to domain names. They also provide a comprehensive suite of services that enable you to build a powerful website.

It has a vast marketplace of domains, giving you plenty of options to find a custom domain name that is unique to your website needs.

Pros of NameCheap

Discussed here are the pros of choosing NameCheap as your domain registrar:

• Affordable Pricing: NameCheap is surprisingly affordable. The most widely used and highly competitive “.com” domain is available at just $8.88/year. Unlike many other domain registrars, they do not play the trick of charging remarkably cheaper prices in the first year to sign you up and then hiking the renewal price. Their renewal price for .com domain is just $12.98/year.
• Easy To Use Interface: Another advantage of NameCheap is the easy navigation provided in comparison to other popular competitors in the market. Most importantly, they do not upsell or clutter the account page with unnecessary offers. Additionally, their domain management interface is highly intuitive, where all the options are listed on the sidebar to make things easier for the people.
• High-Security Standards: An interesting aspect of NameCheap is that its domain manager has never been hacked to this date. With every domain, you get WhoisGuard Privacy Protection free for the first year. After that, you will be charged a negligible amount per year to continue with the service. You also get attractive discounts on the Comodo PositiveSSL certificate for the first year. Furthermore, all security notifications are directly sent to your email service.
• Domain Search Made Easy: NameCheap has a search bar on its home page that allows you to find the availability of a domain you’d like to register. When you search for a domain, they will provide a broad list of alternative domain names using Top Level Domains (TLDs).
• Domain Migration: If you already have a website hosted elsewhere with a domain name, you can easily migrate it to NameCheap at a regular price.
• Excellent Customer Service: NameCheap is one of the few companies renowned for its customer service. From fast and reliable live chat support to information-rich YouTube videos, they guide you through the common issues you might face during domain hosting.

Cons Of NameCheap

Now let’s review the limitations of NameCheap domain registration:

• Lack Of Phone Support: NameCheap has fantastic live chat support online, but lacks customer support through phone. It may not be feasible for those who would want to talk to a person directly on the phone.
• Few Fancy Extras: If you are looking for bells and whistles in your domain registrar, then NameCheap would disappoint you. NameCheap offers have more practical and technical features but lag behind in fancy additions that you would want to have.

Features: Namecheap vs Google domains

Pricing

NameCheap is probably one of the cheapest domain registrars you’d find in the market today. Unbelievable, but a domain name on NameCheap may cost you as low as $1.88/year! Popular generic TLDs like .com and .net would cost only $8.88/year and $10.98/year respectively.

Even their renewal prices are pretty decent, as low as $12.98/year for the most commonly used domain “.com”.

NameCheap’s pricing for domain names is very competitive in the industry.

Customer Support

NameCheap provides excellent customer service for all types of issues you might face during domain name registration. They are accessible through a live chat and ticket system, and they promise to provide 24/7 customer support. However, they do not provide support by phone.

Domain Migration/Transfer

If you already have a domain registered with some other company, then you can easily transfer it to NameCheap, the pricing starts at $8.58/year for .com domain. By migrating your website to NameCheap, you get better support, service, and greater savings. The process is quite simple and it might take around 30 minutes to 6 days for the domain transfer process to get completed.

For any issues in domain migration, you can contact 24/7 support through live chat or ticket system.

Google Domains

Launched in 2015, Google Domains is a popular domain registrar service that allows you to register your preferred domain name for use with your WordPress website. Unlike NameCheap, it does not offer hosting services. That means you can only register your domain with Google and you will have to get the web hosting separately.

However, the primary advantage is that you have the power, reliability, security and support of Google behind your domains. Every domain name registered with Google is entitled to key features like Google 2-step verification & DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extension), privacy protection, email forwarding, reliable & secure Google cloud DNS, domain & subdomain forwarding, and customer support.

Let’s get a clear insight into Google Domains.

Pros Of Google Domains

Discussed here are the advantages of Google Domains that are worth considering:

• Easy Setup & Simple To Use: The best thing about Google Domains is that it requires a single sign-in to get started. That means all you need is your existing Google user account to register for the service. This helps reduce the hassles and time required to sign up. Furthermore, the interface is quite similar to that of other Google services, allowing you to get started right away.
• Free Privacy Protection: To ensure your private information such as phone number and address is masked from being available in the Whois registry, Google Domains provides a free domain privacy with all its domains.
• Protect Your Account With Two-Step Authentication: Prevent malicious attacks and prevent hackers from hacking your account with the Google 2-step authentication process.
• DNS Servers Powered By Google: The Domain Name System (DNS) you use has an impact on your website’s page loading time. Thankfully, Google Domains is powered by Google Cloud DNS and it is operated through Google’s proprietary infrastructure. So, you can experience high levels of speed at no additional cost.
• Email Forwarding: Want to use a custom email address? You can generate up to 100 email aliases and link them to your existing email account.
• Share Domain Administration With Other Users: A unique feature of Google Domains is that it allows you to share the administration of your domains with multiple users.
• Transparent And Competitive Pricing: Google Domains is not the cheapest domain registrar, but it certainly has transparent pricing. It is more affordable than many of its competitors for several popular domain names. Additionally, you’d know what exactly registering a domain will cost you with Google, including the renewal pricing.

Cons Of Google Domains

These are the limitations of choosing Google Domains as your domain registrar:

• There Are Cheaper Alternatives: Google Domains offers competitive pricing, but if you are looking for a cheaper option, NameCheap is the best option.
• Not Many Domain Extensions: Google Domains supports only up to 100 domain extensions, whereas NameCheap has 400+ extensions available.
• Lack Of Reliability: Google has a history of discontinuing many of its services after few years, and that is why we cannot rely upon it completely for the long term.
• No Worldwide Support: A limitation of Google Domains is that it is not supported worldwide. That means if you want to purchase a domain, the billing address must be included in their list of supported countries.

Features

Pricing

Google Domains pricing is competitive, starting at $12/year for .com and .org domains. The renewal price does not change; it is constant at $12/Year. However, it is not the most affordable option you’d get and NameCheap is clearly a winner here.

Customer Support

Google Domains offers customer service mostly through a knowledge base, through an online form and then you have the option of specifying your issue further. You will have to select the options based on the issue you are facing and then you will be directed to the relevant information. Their support team is not directly approachable. So you cannot expect to get a quick solution from them in case you have an urgent issue to be sorted out.

Domain Transfer/Migration

You can transfer your existing domain to Google Domains, which may take up to 5 days to migrate automatically. Migration is free, but you need to pay the basic pricing to register your preferred domain name. You will also get quality support for any problem that you might face while transferring your domain to Google.

Conclusion

Based on this review, our recommendation is NameCheap. It is not just one of the cheapest domain registrars, but NameCheap also offers a broad range of domain extensions to choose from. Additionally, you get exceptional features like privacy protection, great customer support, easy-to-use interface, seamless domain finder, and much more.

Most importantly, NameCheap offers a website hosting service so that you can get your website online effortlessly. Together, the experience with NameCheap will be worth the price you pay.

However, if you want to host your website too, it is recommended to opt for another professional web hosting company. It is always a good practice to keep domain registration separate from hosting to ensure more reliability and superior performance.

If you wish to add up to this review or if you have any suggestions, you can mention them in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the registration of domains:

Does Google Domains include hosting?

No. Google Domains does not provide website hosting directly. However, it provides various options to build and get your website online. At the same time, you can choose one of Google’s trusted web hosting partners or use their web tools such as Google Sites.

Should I use Google Domains or GoDaddy?

We recommend NameCheap as a better alternative for your domains. However, if you are considering only Google Domains and GoDaddy, then preferably you can opt for Google as it is cheaper and more reliable.

Is NameCheap good for domains?

NameCheap is one of the best choices to find top-level domains at competitive prices. It has over 10 million domains registered to this date, offering 400+ popular domain extensions to choose from. Additionally, you’d get a wide range of products and services with your domain, including lifetime privacy protection, free DNSSEC security, free email address, easy domain management, simple set-up, and excellent customer support.

So, at affordable pricing starting at just $8.88/year for .com domain, NameCheap is certainly one of the best choices for domains.

Is Google Domains any good?

Google Domains is also a reliable domain registrar – most importantly because it is backed by Google’s power. It has a competitive and transparent pricing system and offers a host of value-added features like Whois privacy protection, easy set-up, simple & an intuitive interface, email forwarding, domain administration sharing, and much more.

Additionally, Google offers round-the-clock customer support for helping you solve issues. Google Domains also allows you to migrate your domain from another service provider. However, the only drawback is that they do not provide hosting and only have a handful of domain extensions. Otherwise, Google Domains is a good alternative to NameCheap.