Everything about Namesilo is perfect except their terrible website. That's a downside I can live with. I also highly recommend them.

I love Namesilo and have been using them for over a year with no hiccups.

However, they were acquired by a Canadian investment firm earlier this year [1]. Till now there's been no change and things are still running smoothly — I just hope that continues.

[1] https://coupontree.co/namesilo-was-sold-for-9-5-million/

Thank you for the info. I did not know that.

Also, on closer inspection today, I realised that Namesilo does indeed increase renewal fee after the first year. The fee stays the same thereafter, and it's still the cheapest around, but it's worth keeping in mind.

I caught onto this when I realised their registration price is actually below the wholesale cost for .com domains, according to this Cloudflare blog post.

I might move my domains to Cloudflare when they make this available.

What price did you get your first year at?

If it was with a coupon then I could see it being bumped up but if you get it at $8.99, it will be $8.99 the next year and all years forward.

All .com domains are $6.99 for me. Have been for at least 6 months. That not the case for you?

Edit: I do have many domains with them. I register new ones semi-frequently.

They are $8.99 for me for 1 year at a time. I have 7 domains with them but I didn't opt into their "discount program" (which required pre-funding your account at least $50 instead of using a CC / PayPal on demand). That's the one that drops them to $6.99 as seen here: https://www.namesilo.com/Support/Discount-Program

It does mention the renewal price is $8.89 (which is about the normal price) if you click the renewals tab.

I don't think I would put this into the same category as a bait and switch tactic that other vendors do. This one is all spelled out on the page and it's not part of the check out process. You have to go out of your way to discover and opt into the discount program.

I didn't opt in to the discount program. I have never preloaded anything.

I checked today and it was actually pretty difficult to find what the renewal prices would be. Partly because the website is awful.

I didn't say it's a bait and switch. Even the renewal prices are outrageously cheap. I have no bad feelings towards Namesilo. My intent to move to Cloudflare is not because I'm unhappy with Namesilo.

Interesting. I wonder how else you're getting that discount on a regular basis.

It is interesting, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Also, I don't buy domains all that often anymore but I have heaps on renewals, so there is actually very little benefit to me.

I also moved to namesilo last year after several years of goDaddy -> namecheap -> godaddy renewal pong. For 6 domains its just not worth my time to change (which they rely on to fleece you.) Worked it out I spent about 1hr to change, $7-$8 with coupons, so $7.50 avg, or $1.50 vs namesilo per domain. That's $9 for an hour, no thanks - namesilo from now on.