When comparing Cloudflare Registrar vs Namecheap, the Slant community recommends Namecheap for most people. In the question“What are the best domain name registrars/providers?” Namecheap is ranked 2nd while Cloudflare Registrar is ranked 17th. The most important reason people chose Namecheap is:
Domain registration at Namecheap is economical, as their name implies.
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Pros
Pro Zero-margin fees for any registrations
Cloudflare only charges the ICANN registration fees for the domain and does not add any own margin.
Pro Registration fee is topped up on existing paid fees
You do not loose any paid fees from other registrars because the ICANN fees you pay to Cloudflare are put on top of existing balances. This means you can move your domain at any time without losing any pre-paid fees.
Pro Automatic SSL for your website
Even if you do not have SSL on your web server, Cloudflare automatically provides a free SSL certificate if enabled.
Pro Deep integration into Cloudflare ecosystem
The registration is deeply integrated into the existing Cloudflare ecosystem. You basically do not have to leave Cloudflare's website to manage any part of your domain.
Pro Zero-margin fees for any registrations
Cloudflare only charges the ICANN registration fees for the domain and does not add any own margin.
Pro Zero-margin fees for any registrations
Cloudflare only charges the ICANN registration fees for the domain and does not add any own margin.
Pro Low prices
Domain registration at Namecheap is economical, as their name implies.
Pro Great support with 24 hour live chat
Namecheap support is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Their support is provided over live text chat, which has a lower barrier to entry, faster connection, and allows you to communicate easier than other the phone.
Because most of the support you need for domains require you to provide text configuration data, live online messaging is the most efficient way to get fast support. It also does not require your constant attention so you don't have to waste time while the operator is researching an answer for you.
Pro Free subdomains
Namecheap allows you to set up 198 subdomains for free, and also provides wildcard subdomain catching so you can manage them yourself.
Pro Free e-mail and URL forwarding
Namecheap allows you to set up 100 virtual email addresses per domain, as well as catch all forwarding all undefined addresses.
Pro Supports credit cards, PayPal and adding funds to your account separately
When it comes to paying for domains, Namecheap supports all common payment methods. For most people this will be credit cards and Paypal, but Namecheap also has an option to add funds to your account separately.
Pro Free dynamic DNS routing
Pro Strong Anti-SOPA stance
Namecheap took a stand against SOPA.
Pro FreeDNS for outside domain
Namecheap offers a free and premium (w/ SLA) DNS hosting service for domains registered with other registrars.
Pro Free WHOIS privacy protection
It's active for one year.
Pro Bitcoin payment support
Pro Expiration grace period
Namecheap will notify you if your credit card is going to expire, and has a 27 day non-guaranteed grace period for renewal.
Pro Two-factor authentication
Pro Proactive support
Not all registrar care, but when there's an error or something held up the registration they've always at least gave it a shot without prompting. This is done in a proactive way, which isn't seen very often at all. This way the user can be hands off and not need to deal with certain issues as it is taken care of in the background by their support. User is still informed, of course, but can be entirely hands off, or not, but usually they've been efficient and transparent.
Pro Free .me domain for students
Through its NC.ME program, students can get a free 1-year registration on the .me TLD and discounts on .com, .io, and other TLDs along with Namecheap Private Email hosting.
Cons
Con Unable to set custom name servers
By using CloudFlare as Registrar, you are forced to use their nameservers.
Con Bad support
Only email support available for free user. If something happens to your account or domain, you can send an email and have to wait 1-2 weeks to get an answer from a person.
Con Limited TLDs available
Due to the service being in early access the available TLDs are limited but may be extended later.
Con Existing domains only at the moment
It seems that you cannot register new domains trough the registrar but only move existing domains to the service.
Con Misleading pricing
For example .me domain registration costs 3$ a year, but a continuation for 2 years cost 30$!
Con Expensive
It costs a lot of money to renew and purchase a domain. It also costs for their premium dns. They used to be cheap, but now it's so expensive.