Namecheap review: cheap domains and low-renewal hosting

Namecheap is best known for domains, but its shared hosting has some of the lowest renewal prices among the big budget hosts.

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Namecheap hosting plans and prices

All Stellar plans include free SSL and cPanel. Namecheap offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for first-time shared hosting customers. For managed WordPress, its separate EasyWP service starts at $9.88 a month.

Domains are the main draw

Namecheap is one of the largest domain registrars. Every domain gets free WHOIS privacy, which hides your name and address from public lookups; some registrars charge for that. Keeping the domain and hosting in one account makes renewals and DNS simpler.

You can buy a domain on its own and host elsewhere. Many small businesses register with Namecheap and point the domain at a website builder like Shopify or WordPress.com.

What it really costs

A Stellar site for three years costs roughly $25 in year one, then $55.88 a year: about $137 in total. A comparable Bluehost Starter account is about $144 for the first three years, but renews at $9.99 a month after that. Add a .com renewal (about $18 a year at Namecheap) to either total if you keep your domain there.

Pros and cons

Who Namecheap suits

Namecheap fits a budget-conscious owner with one to a few low-traffic sites, or anyone who mainly needs a domain plus a simple site and email. It also suits people who want to keep domains separate from whichever builder they use.

It's not the best fit for a busy store or for someone who wants phone support. For a high-traffic site, managed cloud hosting such as Cloudways is faster.

Namecheap vs Bluehost and HostGator

Comparing the other two? See Bluehost vs HostGator. Starting a site from scratch? Read how to start a small business website.

What reviewers and customers say

Reviewers recommend Namecheap most for domains, and more cautiously for hosting. Criticisms include slower hosting under heavy load compared with Hostinger or SiteGround, chat-only support, and domain renewals that cost much more than the first-year promo. Some long-time users on Reddit report sudden account or domain suspensions after automated compliance checks, so keep your account contact details accurate.

Domain prices: year one vs renewal

Namecheap's first-year domain prices are promotional. A .com renews for about $18 a year plus a small ICANN fee. That's typical for major registrars, but check the renewal price for your ending (.net, .co, .io and others vary widely) before you buy.

How to transfer a domain to Namecheap

1. At your current registrar, unlock the domain and turn off domain privacy if it blocks transfers.
2. Request the authorization (EPP) code.
3. Start the transfer at Namecheap and enter the code. A transfer usually adds a year to the registration.
4. Approve the confirmation email. Most transfers finish within about a week.
5. Check that your DNS records (website, email) carried over before the old registrar's service ends.

Other Namecheap products

• EasyWP: managed WordPress from $9.88/mo, one site per plan.
• Private Email: business mailboxes from $14.88 a year.
• SSL certificates: free basic SSL on hosting; paid certificates for businesses that need organization validation.
• Auto-backups: included on Stellar Plus and Stellar Business.

Namecheap vs GoDaddy and Hostinger

Against GoDaddy, Namecheap is usually cheaper at renewal and includes free domain privacy, with fewer upsells. Against Hostinger, Namecheap renews for less ($55.88 a year against about $10.99 a month for Hostinger's entry plan), while Hostinger has faster infrastructure and more sites per plan. If speed matters more than price, see Cloudways.

Questions