Porkbun review

Porkbun ranks first because its .com pricing answers the question most site owners actually have: what will this cost in five years. The .com page lists one price, $11.81 a year, and says there are no inflated first-year rates and no surprise renewal hikes. The free extras are the ones other registrars often charge for: WHOIS privacy, Let's Encrypt SSL certificates that renew automatically, DNS management powered by Cloudflare, and permanent, temporary or masked URL forwarding. Developers get API access, an MCP server for AI agents and Terraform support. If you want a mailbox on the domain, Porkbun email hosting costs $3.00 per inbox per month billed annually. The trade-offs are small: Spaceship beats it on the first-year .com price, and Cloudflare will be cheaper on renewal for buyers who already use Cloudflare DNS. For buyers who just want a fair, predictable price and a full set of free extras, Porkbun is the default pick.

Who it is for

Site owners who want a low .com price that stays the same at renewal

Price

.com from $11.81 per year, with no renewal hike according to Porkbun.

$11.81 everyday low price
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• Free WHOIS privacy on every supported domain
• Free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates that renew automatically
• Free DNS management powered by Cloudflare
• Free URL forwarding (permanent, temporary or masked) and email forwarding
• API access, an MCP server for AI agents and Terraform support for DNS as code

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: .com costs $11.81 a year, and Porkbun states the price stays the same year after year
• Strength: Privacy, SSL, DNS and forwarding are all included at no charge
• Strength: Email hosting is available from $3.00 per inbox per month, billed annually
• Weakness: Spaceship's first-year .com is cheaper at $9.48
• Weakness: No volume discount tiers listed on the .com page
• Weakness: Hosting and website builder range is smaller than at Namecheap or Network Solutions

Key facts

• .com price: $11.81 per year
• WHOIS privacy: Free
• DNS: Free, powered by Cloudflare

Where it ranks

Porkbun is No. 1 in our Best Domain Registrars verdict.