If you registered a domain cheaply and now the renewal bill has arrived, you are not alone. Renewal is where registrars make their money, and the gap between two popular registrars for the exact same .com can be surprisingly large.
Namecheap and Porkbun are both well-liked, ICANN-accredited registrars. But for a .com renewal they charge very different prices. Here is the honest comparison, with prices checked on 24 October 2026.
The renewal price, side by side
These are the standard .com renewal prices, in US dollars per year, before any checkout fee is added:
| Registrar | .com renewal / year | Free WHOIS privacy |
|---|---|---|
| Namecheap | $18.48 | Yes, free for life |
| Porkbun | $11.08 | Yes, free |
That is a difference of $7.40 per domain, per year. Porkbun's price is close to what a .com actually costs a registrar: Verisign charges $10.26 wholesale, plus a $0.20 ICANN fee at checkout, which is why Porkbun's $11.08 total leaves almost no markup. Namecheap charges $18.48 for the same renewal — about 77% above that cost floor.
What the gap costs you over time
One domain, one year: the saving looks small. Over several years, or several domains, it is not.
- 1 domain, 5 years: Namecheap $92.40 vs Porkbun $55.40 — you save $37.00.
- 5 domains, 5 years: Namecheap $462.00 vs Porkbun $277.00 — you save $185.00.
- 10 domains, 1 year: Namecheap $184.80 vs Porkbun $110.80 — you save $74.00 every year.
Work it out for your own portfolio on our renewal calculator, or compare all eight registrars we track on the comparison page.
It is not only about price: privacy, support and dashboard
WHOIS privacy
Both registrars include WHOIS privacy free — Namecheap calls it WhoisGuard and includes it for life on eligible domains; Porkbun includes free WHOIS privacy with every domain. Neither charges extra for it, unlike GoDaddy, which charges for privacy on top of a $22.99 renewal.
Support
Namecheap offers 24/7 live chat and ticket support, and has a much larger support team. Porkbun's support is smaller but well reviewed, and its help pages are clear. If you need hand-holding at 2am, Namecheap has the edge. If you rarely contact support, this will not matter to you.
Dashboard and extras
Namecheap's dashboard is polished and familiar, with hosting, SSL and email products in the same account. Porkbun's dashboard is simpler and famously transparent about its pricing — it even publishes the wholesale cost breakdown of a .com. Porkbun also includes a free SSL certificate with every domain; Namecheap sells SSL separately.
When Namecheap still wins
Porkbun wins on renewal price, but Namecheap is the better choice in these cases:
- You already host with Namecheap and want billing in one place.
- You value 24/7 live chat support and a bigger help operation.
- You need a TLD Porkbun prices higher — renewal prices vary by extension, so check both registrars for your exact TLD before deciding.
- You are mid-renewal and short on time — renewing where you are is fine for one year; plan the transfer for next time instead of rushing it.
How to switch to the cheaper renewal
If Porkbun's price wins for you, do not just let the domain expire — transfer it instead. A transfer costs one year of renewal at the new registrar's rate and adds a year to your domain.
- Start at least 7 days before expiry. Never start a transfer in the final 48 hours.
- Unlock the domain in your Namecheap dashboard and turn off registrar lock.
- Get the authorisation (EPP) code from Namecheap and approve the transfer email when it arrives.
- Start the transfer at Porkbun and pay the $11.08 transfer fee, which includes one year of renewal.
- Check your DNS and email still work after the transfer completes — your nameservers and records should carry over unchanged.
Full walkthroughs: how to transfer a domain to Porkbun and transfer vs renew — which is cheaper.
Checklist: before you pay any renewal
- ☐ Check the renewal price (not the first-year price) for your exact TLD.
- ☐ Compare it with at least two other registrars — see our cheapest .com renewal prices list.
- ☐ Confirm WHOIS privacy is included free, or add its cost to the total.
- ☐ Check the expiry date and set a reminder 30 days before it.
- ☐ If you are switching, start the transfer a week early and keep your auth code safe.
Our verdict
For a .com you plan to keep, Porkbun is the cheaper renewal by $7.40 a year, with free privacy and a free SSL certificate included. Namecheap is a good registrar — its support and dashboard are genuinely better — but you pay $18.48 a year for that, and for most domain owners the cheaper renewal is the smarter buy. Read our full reviews: Namecheap review and Porkbun review.
Heads-up: Verisign is raising the wholesale .com price from $10.26 to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, so both registrars may adjust renewal prices after that date. Always check the live price before you renew — the official pricing pages are namecheap.com and porkbun.com. Prices in this article were checked on 24 October 2026.