Nowadays online security is important because it protects all categories of data from theft. Especially for personal information from the public database to ensure you’re safe from an unwanted situation.
But, as per ICANN requirements, when a domain is registered, registrants must provide registrars with up-to-date contact information. This information is displayed publicly in the WHOIS database.
It is annoying to view your data from someone else. And there is a solution to hide your domain contact information which is called WHOIS privacy protection.
Are you looking for which domain registrar is best for privacy?
Remember, most domain registrars offer Whois protection, but some for free and some for a paid subscription. You’ve come to the right place to get all of this information in one place, and our top-recommended registrars are providing it for FREE!
So let’s get started.
What is Domain Privacy?
Domain privacy (also called Whois privacy) is a service offered by a domain name registrar and managed by the WHOIS database protocol system to hide personal contact information from the domain that is publicly displayed in the WHOIS directory. By enabling it, alternative contact information will be displayed instead of your real data.
Why Do I Need to Use Domain Privacy?
Domain privacy protection is essential to keep your data safe from unwanted e-mails, hacking attempts, and fake calls through the public WHOIS lookup database. That’s why it is important. And you can always turn it ON or OFF.
What is the Best Domain Registrar with Free WHOIS Privacy?
Here are the top 10 domain providers offering free lifetime WHOIS privacy protection:
1. Namecheap
Namecheap is the best and most reliable domain name registrar to get lifetime free WHOIS privacy protection and keep your domain’s data safe. They give exactly what they advertise and there are no hidden fees or add-ons you need to spend.
My website, “websiteguidelines.com,” and many other domains are registered with Namecheap. I prefer Namecheap over other providers because they help me a lot through live chat support when I have a problem, which is always available for everyone. Whereas other providers, such as Cloudflare or Google Domains, do not.
I also use their Stellar Business Cloud Shared Hosting plan and other services which provide true stability and 100% uptime reliability. Overall, I recommend Namecheap for the highest performance at the lowest price in the market.
2. GoDaddy
GoDaddy (formerly Jomax Technologies) is the world’s largest and most popular domain registrar now. They started their journey in 1997 in Phoenix, Arizona, United States by entrepreneur Bob Parsons.
Buying a domain name from GoDaddy is very easy. Because everyone loves their beginner-friendly domain name search bar. However, the GoDaddy pricing plan is too complicated and it charges way more than the other registrars for both privacy protection and domain name registration.
Namecheap charges $6.98, while GoDaddy charges $2.99 for a new user’s first year of registration. But for subsequent years, Godaddy charges more than Namecheap, for example, GoDaddy’s renewal price is $19.99, and Namecheap’s renewal price is $13.98. So it makes sense that Namecheap is an affordable option.
Tech Tanmoy
Don’t worry! you can get essential WHOIS privacy protection from GoDaddy for free while you’re registering your domain name with GoDaddy or transferring a domain to GoDaddy. Their Full Domain Protection and Ultimate Domain Protection charges are $9.99 and $29.99 per year.
3. Cloudflare
Cloudflare recently started its domain registration program again. Trusted by millions of customers and they offer free WHOIS privacy and other essential security management tools.
Cloudflare is transparent about what they charge, their yearly domain price is $9.15 with an ICANN fee for both registering, renewing, and transferring.
Cloudflare Registrar is best for enterprise business that wants to integrate their hosting account with Cloudflare’s CDN service. However, If you want to use the Cloudflare domain, you must have to use their Nameservers which look like this:
- jillian.ns.cloudflare.com
- rudy.ns.cloudflare.com
And then you can add the custom nameservers, for example, hosting nameserver or hostname on existing zones which will be associated with A or AAAA records. Cloudflare will assign an IPv4 and IPv6 address to each custom nameserver hostname automatically.
4. Google Domains
Google is a leading domain name registrar for choosing the right domain extension through an easy-to-find domain name search box. And they offer free WHOIS privacy protection and other essential security tools managed by the Google Secured Cloud DNS network.
However, you can only purchase Google domains if your billing address is in a supported country. If your country/region is outside of these service areas, you can’t buy a new domain right now.
5. DreamHost
DreamHost is the second-best WordPress-recommended hosting provider founded in 1996 in Claremont, California, United States. They also sell e-mail hosting, domains, website builders, and other marketing tools, and custom web design & development services at an affordable price.
If you register a domain with DreamHost, you can take advantage of the free WHOIS privacy service to protect your sensitive information as long as you stay with them. But, the worst thing is you can’t buy just a domain from them; you need to have an active hosting plan or order a new one to get additional domains on DreamHost.
6. Hostinger
Hostinger is best known for affordable web hosting services. They also offer domain name registration and provide a free domain with their WordPress Starter to higher tier plan along with the free WHOIS privacy protection to protect your data forever.
People usually consider Hostinger when they need a long-term based hosting plan for a hassle-free business. If you’re one of them try to consider their Business WordPress plan at a $3.99 per month rate for both 12, 24, and 48 months. You can save the most by choosing the 48-month plan.
7. Porkbun
Porkbun is another trusted domain registrar that offers cheap domain registration prices with free WHOIS privacy and SSL certificates. They charge $9.73 per year for both new and old users for registration and renewal.
Overall, they support most domain extensions at affordable prices, and hassle-free service making it very easy for everyone to purchase a domain from there. But they’re not the best for web hosting services.
8. Dynadot
Dynadot is a domain name registrar and web host company based in San Mateo, California, and they’ve offices in other countries as well. Their goal is to help customers register domain names and create websites simply and affordably.
Dynadot offers domain privacy, website builder, 24/7 live chat support, and other accessibility for completely free. And their domain registration price is yearly $8.99 and $10.99 for the renewal price. The best thing is no upselling and no add-ons, so you have the confidence to buy your online presence.
9. IONOS
If you’re a beginner and looking for a complete package with web hosting, free domain, free domain privacy, free e-mail address, free SSL, and other essential services at once then IONOS is an affordable choice. You can get all of these features for just $12 for the first 12 months.
As you can see in the above image, you’re good to go with this limited-time bundle pack to start your first website without spending a lot of money. Remember, you can host only a website with IONOS Grow WordPress Hosting plan.
10. Shopify
Shopify is not only a domain registrar but also a complete web solution provider for e-commerce platforms for those who want to build an online store, drop shipping website, and other online marketplaces. Overall, they offer responsive webpages for both desktops and mobiles.
If you think so, then this could be an ideal platform for you to test their free trial offer and establish your business (aka retail point-of-sale systems).
Shopify offers free WHOIS privacy protection on all domain registrations, so you don’t have to add this extra layer of security for an additional cost. Unfortunately, they do not offer a free domain in any way.
Additionally, many domain providers are also offering free domain privacy protection including Namesilo, Hover.com, etc.
I have purchased and used domains from almost all of the above domain registrars, both personally and for my business website, from which I have transferred and which I am still using. But, in short, everyone is better than thousands of other registrars locally or globally.
Tech Tanmoy
Conclusion
Hopefully, this domain registrar with the free WHOIS privacy protection guide can help new and intermediate business owners who often wonder about their privacy.
I highly recommend Namecheap and Porkbun as my top favorites brand for domain registration and continuing renewal with them for the best services at the lowest price ever.
And other top-listed domain providers are also great for affordability and ease of use.
Hopefully, now it’s easier to understand which domain provider would be best for your domain privacy.
Have you already used any domains? If not, which registrar do you want to consider now?
If anything needs to be added or removed from here, or any kind of suggestions from you then please contact us or simply leave a comment below! We’ll be happy to hear your thoughts.
