How to get free domain

How to Get a Free Domain Name

Four ways to get your own TLD without paying for it

When you build a website, your domain name is your identity. That’s why you want a website that uses a top-level domain (TLD) like lifewire.com and not a subdomain of a provider’s domain like yourwebsite.yourhost.com. Having your own domain name looks more professional, and it makes your site easier to remember. You normally have to pay for that privilege, but we’ll show you four different ways to get a free domain name.

Ways to Get a Free Domain

There are a number of ways to get a free domain, and each one comes with its own benefits and drawbacks.

Here are the best ways we’ve found to get yourself a free domain:

How to Get a Free Domain From Name.com

To get a free domain from Name.com, you have to follow them on social media and then wait for them to run special promotions. These promotions sometimes include access to free domains, so remain vigilant and you might score.

How to Get a Free Domain From Freenom

Freenom is another registrar that provides free domain names. The catch is that when you register a free domain through Freenom, they register it in their name and then just give you the right to use it for the length of your registration period. You won’t be able to sell or transfer the domain to anyone else, because Freenom actually owns it.

Here’s how to get a free domain from Freenom:

Navigate to Freenom.com, enter your desired domain name, and click Check Availability.

Click Checkout.

If your desired domain name isn’t available, enter a new one or try one of Freenom’s suggested alternatives.

Select your desired registration period, and click Continue.

Click Verify My Email Address, and wait for an email from Freenom. Click the link in that email to proceed.

Enter your information, and click Complete Order.

How to Get the GitHub Student Developer Pack

GitHub is a massively popular community that allows users to host their own code and review the code of others. It enables a collaborative process that allows others to help you improve your code, while you get the opportunity to check out code written by other people.

The GitHub Student Developer Pack is a set of tools and services that are designed to help students get a jump start in writing code. One of those benefits is a free domain, so this is a great way to get your own website up and running if you’re a student.

This option is only available if you’re actually a student, and it’s limited to students who are at least 13 years old.

Here’s how to get the GitHub Student Developer Pack so you can claim your free domain:

Navigate to education.github.com/pack, and click Get the Pack.

Sign in to GitHub, or create an account and sign in.

Click Get student benefits.

Select Student, select your email address, and enter a description of how you plan to use GitHub, then click Submit your information.

If GitHub isn’t able to verify your student status, you won’t be accepted. Use your student email address to sign up if you have one.

If your request is accepted, you’ll gain access to the full GitHub education pack. Follow the instructions you receive via email to claim benefits like your free domain name.

How to Get a Free Domain From Your Web Host

The last way to get a free domain isn’t totally free, because it requires the purchase of a web hosting plan. A lot of great web hosting companies provide a free domain when you sign up, and this option isn’t limited to expensive hosts.

Since you need hosting for your domain anyway, this is a decent option to explore. Once you’ve narrowed down the best web hosting companies for your particular needs, check to see if any provide a free domain, and that might be the tie breaker you need to make your choice.

We’ll use Bluehost for our example, because they offer a free domain with all of their hosting plans, but there are plenty of web hosting companies that provide free domains.

Here’s how to get a free domain using this method:

Navigate to the web hosting service that provides free domain names, and locate their free domain offer. Using Bluehost, you would click Get Started.

Select your web hosting plan.

Make sure to verify that the plan you choose comes with a free domain name.

Select your preferred domain name. If your preferred name is taken, try other options until you find one that’s available.

Enter your billing information, select any optional hosting add-ons that you want, and submit.

The web host will register the free domain in your name, and you can start building your new site.

How to Get a Free Domain Name in 3 Steps

Every website has a domain – it’s what makes it unique and it’s where your site lives on the internet. I use neilpatel.com, as you can see in your browser.

So, one of the first steps of building a website is getting that domain to call home.

And that domain is going to cost you money.

That is, unless you keep reading this post.

I’ll walk you through how to get a domain name that aligns with your business and establishes your brand, and how to get it for free.

If this sounds like a foreign language, don’t worry. I’ve made it as simple as possible and will walk you through each and every step to get a free domain name in no time.

Your 2-Minute Cheat Sheet

Want a quick answer on how to get a free domain name? I’ll cut to the chase.

If you’re planning to start a blog or launch a website, you’ll need a web hosting company. When it comes to making a choice from the many available options, I suggest Hostinger.

Not only does the company provide excellent speed and uptime reliability, but it also offers a free domain name for the first year.

You can create a Hostinger account and sign up by clicking here. With the easy guided setup, the whole process just takes a couple of minutes.

After that, you’ll have hosting, a domain, and a basic website ready to go.

If your budget is really tight at the moment, you can also consider using a free subdomain.

yourusername.wixsite.com/yoursiteaddress or yourdomainname.wordpress.com.

Read on to follow the three easy steps to get a free domain name for your website.

You’ll be able to do all of this in one place with Hostinger. I will walk through some of your other options, but you may need to interface with multiple vendors to accomplish all of these steps.

Step 1: Go to Hostinger’s Website

The very first thing you need to do is head over to Hostinger by clicking here.

Click Start Now and you’ll be taken straight to the checkout page.

Conveniently, that checkout page is all set up with my recommendation. You’ll get premium shared hosting, which is the lowest-cost plan that also includes a free domain name.

Just click on the right-most box at the top to make sure you get the best deal.

Take a look at the add-ons below there to see if any are useful to you. None of them are absolutely necessary, but daily backups and priority support are helpful features, and they’re reasonably priced.

After that, enter your payment information, click Submit Secure Payment, and then you’ll be onto setup.

Step 2: Select Your Hosting Type

With my offer for Hostinger’s shared hosting, you actually don’t have to select a hosting type yourself. Premium shared hosting is all ready to go for you.

However, you may know enough about your website’s needs to also know that you might need a more powerful hosting type than shared hosting, like VPS or dedicated.

If you have no idea, read on to learn a little bit about the differences between those three types of hosting and who each one is best for.

Shared Hosting

I would recommend shared hosting if you’re starting a new website.

Not only are the plans under this category cheap, but they can also accommodate the needs of low-traffic sites quite efficiently. Your website is hosted on a server along with a bunch of other websites. You save money by sharing server resources with the other tenants.

It’s like living in an apartment versus having your own house. It costs less and you don’t have to worry about maintenance.

If one of the sites on the shared server starts taking too many resources, it can cause problems for your site’s performance. This is why shared hosting isn’t appropriate for really big complex websites.

If you’re just starting out with your website or revamping a small business or local site, you probably don’t have to worry about this. Shared hosting is perfect for someone who doesn’t expect high traffic volumes and lacks technical knowledge. Around 40% of businesses get less than 10,000 unique monthly visitors on websites, and shared hosting is fine for this number.

If you’re building a website for a small or local business and concentrating on driving quality traffic that is likely to convert — and not building something like a viral media site — starting with shared hosting is likely optimal. You can always switch to a different model later if you find your site growing beyond what the shared servers can handle.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting allows you to get better performance without having to pay the significantly higher price tags for the options that come after this one.

With cloud hosting, you get the same environment as shared hosting (that is, you’re sharing resources with the other sites on servers), but multiple servers work together via the cloud to prevent any one from getting bogged down because of a bulky, popular, or resource-hungry site.

That usually results in more reliable speed and uptime, since you’re not sharing the resources of just one server. This might be a good option if you’re not expecting extraordinary traffic on a regular basis but it’s critical for your business model that you maintain uptimes and speeds no matter what any other site sharing your resources does.

Cloud hosting is a good half-step up from shared hosting but not as powerful and reliable as the next option.

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting stands for virtual private server hosting. This category includes plans for websites that want better performance and can accommodate a higher price point.

The good thing about this hosting type is that it guarantees useful resources for you exclusively. Technically, you still share a server with other websites, but you have a “virtual“ server that includes dedicated resources.

You can consider this hosting type if you expect sudden spikes in traffic volumes.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting gives you exclusive access to an entire server reserved for your website alone. You don’t have to share it with anyone.

Understandably, you get premium performance with this subscription plan, but you have to be ready to pay its premium price, too.

This is a good option if your business is a large enterprise that regularly handles high traffic. It’s also great for those who want complete control over the hosting environment, such as businesses in more regulated industries like healthcare or finance.

For this guide, I’ll suggest you choose the premium shared hosting plan that’s preselected. However, if you prefer other plans, you can easily select them to customize how you set up your free domain name and pay for hosting to go along with it.

Step 3: Claim Your Free Domain Name

After you’ve completed checkout and payment, you’ll be taken to your Hostinger control panel, hPanel.

There, you’ll see an option front-and-center for claiming your free domain.

Click Claim Domain to search for your preferred free domain name. Once you see it, click the purple box next to it.

After that, you’ll just have to enter some basic information to register your free domain name. Fill out the form and submit it. Hostinger will take a few minutes to verify your registration information, and then send you an email with a link to complete the verification.

With that, you’re all set on securing your free domain name!

There’s just one more thing I recommend.

Make sure to enable WHOIS protection. After you’ve completed verification, you’ll be taken to the section of your dashboard for your new free domain name. Then, just look for the slider button under WHOIS Privacy and click it so it becomes purple and enabled.

Doing this will conceal your name, email, phone number, and address from appearing on a public database, providing some important benefits including:

Once you complete that last step to safeguard personal privacy, you’re done!

You now have an excellent hosting plan as well as a free domain. If you have not already started, then start now at Hostinger.

Other Ways to Get a Free Domain Name

For the sake of comprehensiveness, I’ll also discuss two other ways of getting a free domain. Although I don’t recommend them, it’s always good to know all of the options.

I’ll explain each of these methods in greater detail below, including the reasons why I don’t recommend them when talking about how to get a free domain.

Option 1: Get a Free Subdomain

Several website builders offer subdomains, which is a personal domain that exists within an existing domain name.

Remember that movie Inception where Leonardo DiCaprio dreams that he is in a dream? Something similar happens here.

You end up getting a domain name within a domain name.

Site builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly offer subdomains to their users. They have a free trial as well, so if you like their services, you can purchase their premium plans that include everything you require to build, launch, and manage a professional business website.

You typically get a free domain name with these options along with a few other perks, including:

Given those perks, why do I still say this method is not ideal?

Let’s dig deeper into those issues with an example.

Imagine you use a free website builder like Wix. You won’t have to pay for a domain, yes, but your site will have the Wix subdomain. It’ll look something like this:

Suppose your Wix username is “My Stunning Website 123,” and the free domain name you want is myblogsite. Here’s what you’ll get:

Think about it: Does that look professional? Have you seen any credible websites that have domains like this? Would you input your personal information or credit card data into a site with this type of URL structure and feel good about it? If not, why would you expect customers to do the same.

That is why I’d only suggest this method if you want to experiment with your website builder’s free features or new updates.

WordPress is your other option, and luckily, it is not as invasive as Wix. The format for a free WordPress subdomain is: yourdomainname.wordpress.com

This is a good option for situations when one cannot spend money, but it is not a viable long-term strategy. You want your free domain name to be memorable and short—both of which aren’t possible when you use a subdomain.

The fact that your visitors won’t remember your domain or find it hard to remember is another disadvantage. Even if these site builders offer some SEO tools to help you give your site a slight boost in the search engine results, that positive might wash out to a neutral, at best, if people can’t remember your domain.

Option 2: Use a Free Domain Name Registrar (Not Recommended)

You can get a free domain name from a free domain registrar, but it’s generally unsuitable. Especially if you want your domain to reflect a certain level of professionalism or trustworthiness.

Your prospective customers would much prefer working with a domain name that reads yourbusiness.com instead of your yourbusiness.tk. Uncommon extensions are confusing for many people, and they can quickly erode trust. At a time when many people are aware of online phishing and scam schemes but don’t fully understand them, having a site show up with an unfamiliar extension creates too many questions in the consumer’s mind.

Plus, you don’t own the domain name, which also defeats the purpose of launching a blog or a website.

However, if you do decide to take this route, you can check out Freenom and GetFreeDomain.Name.

Several domain registrars will give you a free domain in exchange for running ads on your website. There is nothing wrong with running ads, but this just isn’t the best way to do it. Here’s why:

If you’re seriously toying with the idea of running ads on your website, I’d advise you to do so through a legitimate advertising network as it can be a great source of income. Don’t exchange ads for a free domain.

Important: Don’t Forget to Renew Your Domain Name!

Pay attention to how long the term is for your initial domain purchase. I cannot stress this enough.

Setting up a website or blog is hard work. You put in a lot of effort to find the perfect URL, design a website, and publish relevant content on it.

So, just imagine the horror when you get up and realize some random stranger has bought your domain out from under you.

The reason? You forgot to renew your domain.

Many people have made this mistake in the past, and it cost them dearly.

Here’s just one example of the shenanigans that can occur when domains expire: In July 2021, Vidme, a video embedding platform, failed to renew and caused expired embeds. That means that videos embedded in content on sites ranging from the Washington Post to New York Magazine were “naked.”

An adult website scooped up the Vidme expired domain, an action that eventually led to adult video content showing up as the embedded videos on older news stories and on other web pages. It was a huge fail for Vidme, but also a major issue for the brands and trustworthiness of all sites with those embedded videos.

How can you avoid this?

First, take note of your initial term. A lot of registrars default to a one-year registration, but with some, you can buy five, 10, 20, or even 100 years at checkout.

The longer your initial term, the longer you don’t have to fret about renewal. Plus, you lock in the annual rate for the duration. That can save you money over the long term because like all other goods and services, domain name prices can increase over time.

Second, and this is most important if you don’t buy a multi-year term at first, is to make sure the domain renewal date is marked on your calendar with a reminder set for around one month in advance.

That way, you can prepare for renewal without your registration lapsing.

A one-month heads-up also gives you a chance to review the renewal rates from your domain registrar. Sometimes, that renewal rate jumps up quite a bit. If it’s more than you were expecting, at least you have a few weeks to consider your budget and options.

Last, if you don’t have a shoestring budget, I’d suggest just setting your domain to auto-renew.

With most providers, you can find in your dashboard the expiry date of your domain, the renewal cost, and an option to enable auto-renewal. You can see in the image above that Hostinger makes this really easy in its services submenu under billing settings.

The other providers I’ve reviewed on this list also allow for auto-renewal, so you can set it and forget it with any that you choose.

I just suggest checking in on your domain’s renewal rate before the time comes, so you don’t get any unfortunate budgetary surprises if the rate spikes on you.

You also do need to ensure you use a payment method that won’t expire before the renewal date.

Most sites won’t automatically drop your domain name if the payment method has expired. Typically, you’ll receive an email letting you know the payment expired and you have a certain amount of time to update it.

However, emails can get lost in the shuffle, and this is just another way you could accidentally lose your domain name. Use a credit card or other payment methods with expiration dates a few years out if you can to avoid this issue.

FAQs

Can I get a domain for free?

Yes, if you’re looking for how to get a free domain, it’s as easy as signing up with Hostinger or another provider that offers free domain names. Note that a free domain doesn’t mean you automatically have a website. You still need to set up hosting.

Which free domain is best?

How do I auto-renew my domain?

To auto-renew your domain and ensure you don’t accidentally lose it to someone else, simply select auto-renewal settings with your domain provider. You can usually find the expiry date for the site in the dashboard or settings. Look for a box or other option you can toggle on to select auto-renewal. Just be sure that the payment method you enter will work when the auto-renewal date arrives.

Conclusion

Hostinger is the best way to get a free domain name–one that you won’t have to surrender even if you switch web hosts.

The other way is to use a subdomain by using reliable and reputable web builders like WordPress and Wix.

Within seconds you’ll have a reliable web hosting service as well as a new free domain name. Trust me, saving a few dollars isn’t worth the hassle of looking unprofessional, running a spammy website, or getting hacked.

See How My Agency Can Drive Massive Amounts of Traffic to Your Website

Share

Hey, I’m Neil Patel. I’m determined to make a business grow. My only question is, will it be yours?

About Neil Patel

He is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.

Hey, I’m Neil Patel. I’m determined to make a business grow. My only question is, will it be yours?

How to Get a Free Domain Name

If you’re thinking of moving your business online or having an online presence, you need a domain name. The good news is that you don’t have to buy one immediately. In this article, we explore how to get a free domain name.

Content

By definition, a website domain name is an address that people type into their browser’s URL bar to visit the website. You can think of a domain name as a physical address if your website was a house or an apartment.
There are several ways of getting a free domain name and we’ll walk you through the processes.

Getting a free domain name with Bluehost

Your first option is hosting your website with services like Bluehost. Some other web hosting services offer a free domain name if you host your website with them. In practice, the domain name cost is deducted from the hosting fee.

Some web hosting platforms or website builders will offer you a free domain name in exchange for displaying ads on your website. And other services will give you a free domain name in exchange for selling your data to advertisers.

Now if you’re planning to make money on your website, then you’ll probably want to place profitable ad formats like in-page push (Social Bar) or native banners in blog posts. So your first option —hosting with Bluehost — is the most viable.

Here’s why.
When you’re building a website, you’ll almost certainly have to pay for web hosting. Even though some free web hosting companies are out there, you should avoid them at all costs. We previously discussed web hosting services in depth.

In a nutshell, choosing a good hosting will make it easier to expand your website, provide a positive user experience, and prevent problems. So, if you’re going to pay $5 per month for Bluehost (or any other hosting company of your choice), you might as well get a free domain name.

What if you want to switch hosting providers?

You must be the sole owner of your domain name. If you don’t have complete control over it, you could be in for some problems in the future. With Bluehost, you can transfer your domain name or simply point it elsewhere if you’re dissatisfied with their hosting service. This way, you retain sole ownership of your domain until the end of its registration period.

Starting with Bluehost

If you want to learn how to set up your website on Bluehost, we’ve written a step-by-step guide here. The very first thing you should do is visit Bluehost’s website. Then choose Hosting from the top menu bar.

1. Select a web hosting option

Bluehost provides three different hosting options: shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and virtual private server hosting.

Shared Hosting

If you’re a beginner, we recommend starting with shared hosting. Not only are the plans in this category inexpensive, but they can also effectively meet the demands of low-traffic websites.

Shared Hosting makes it possible for multiple websites to share server resources. This is the primary reason for its low cost, but it can also lead to slow loading times and performance issues.

This hosting option is ideal for website owners who do not expect much traffic and have little technical knowledge.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

Virtual private service hosting offers plans for website owners that require improved performance and can afford a higher price tag.

The advantage of this hosting option is that it provides exclusive access to valuable resources. Although you share a server with other websites, you have a “virtual” server with dedicated resources.

If you expect spikes in visitor volumes, we recommend choosing this hosting option.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting gives you access to an entire server dedicated to your website. This hosting plan provides superior performance at a premium price.

It is ideal for large companies that deal with a lot of traffic on a daily basis. It’s also the best option for those who want total control over their hosting environment.

However, you get a free domain with any of the above hosting options.

2. Choose a web hosting subscription plan

You can pick from four paid web hosting plans: Basic, Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro.

We recommend starting with the Basic entry-level plan because it is less expensive and better suited to beginners. It’s very cost-effective, with monthly plans starting at just $2.95. Also, If you’re getting this price, you should pay three years in advance to save costs in the long run.

If you intend to launch a larger website for your business, get the Choice Plus plan. The extra features are worth the additional cost. Click Select under the plan you decide to go with.

3. Choose a domain name

Bluehost then asks you to set up your domain after you’ve chosen a subscription plan. You’ll have two choices at this point:

Select the Create a new domain option to search for available domains.

Choose a TLD (top-level domain) extension and enter the domain you want to buy into the search bar. Here are some of your options:

We recommend going with a .com extension because it looks more professional and makes you appear more trustworthy to your visitors.

You can always choose a different extension if the .com extension is already taken and you’re firm on your preferred domain name.

4. Create your account

Now you have to create your Bluehost account and finalize your plan terms after choosing a domain name.

Package Extras: Pay close attention to the section on Package Extras. You don’t need everything you see, but the Domain Privacy+ Protection option is a must-have.

This option prevents your name, email, phone number, and address from appearing on public databases. We think that the $0.99 monthly fee is well worth it to keep hackers at bay!

And that’s it! You now have a great hosting plan and a free domain name.

Other methods to get a free website domain

Get a free subdomain

A subdomain is a domain that exists within an established domain name. Most website builders like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, and Shopify offer subdomains. They also offer free trials, with the option to purchase their premium plans – which includes everything you need to build, launch, and manage a professional website.

You also get a free domain name as part of the package, including a drag-and-drop site builder, web hosting, templates, and search engine optimization (SEO) tools.

The Downsides of Subdomains

Let’s take a look at an example. When using a free website builder such as Wix, with a free subdomain, it will look like this: example.wixsite.com/example

Let’s assume our Wix username is “AdsterraRocks” and our desired domain name is Adsterra. Here’s what we’ll get: https://adsterrarocks.wixsite.com/adsterra

We recommend this method only if you want to try out some of your website builder’s free features or new updates. You can go with other options like Hostinger and WordPress — they’re less intrusive than Wix. A free WordPress subdomain is formatted as adsterra.wordpress.com.

This is a good option when you can’t afford a domain name yet, but it’s not a long-term solution. Your domain name must be short and memorable, and this is impossible to achieve with a subdomain.

Pay for a premium site builder plan

You may not have to settle for the free subdomain if you build your website with Wix (or Squarespace, Weebly, or other website builders).

However, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan, and most website builders offer a free domain name for only one year. Fortunately, Wix’s ($14/month) and Squarespace’s ($12/month) entry-level paid plans offer free domain names.

It’s up to you to calculate your domain renewal cost. You don’t want to be stuck with a bad deal that consumes your budget and ends up being more expensive than just buying a domain from the start.

Subscribe to domain registrar ad programs

Some domain registrars offer free domain names in exchange for running ads on your website. Although there is nothing illegal with having ads on your website, you’ll not have control over the ads and their placements.

Most times, this practice significantly degrades a website’s user experience and its SEO ranking. Even if a million users visit your website, all revenue from the ads will go to the domain registrar. Obviously, this is a terrible deal for any publisher or webmaster.

Cheap domain name registrars

If you’re still undecided on BlueHost, you can still buy a domain name for cheap from some good domain registrars. We’ve listed some ICANN-accredited domain registrars — the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has permitted these companies to register domain names.

Domain.com

Domain.com offers several services, but they focus on domain sales. They’re one of the best and oldest domain registrars out there.

Domain.com also provides web hosting services, as well as a custom website builder. But we strongly advise against them; you can find better hosting and website building services elsewhere.

Pricing:

Namecheap

What is WhoisGuard?

Spammers and hackers collect information about domain owners from publicly available WHOIS to send spam to their emails or find a loophole to hack their websites. WhoisGuard prevents this by hiding your data and putting theirs in place of yours on the WHOIS registry.
Pricing:

Hover

Hover is a new domain registrar that claims to be the place “where the internet’s best ideas get named.” That claim is subjective, but Hover’s appeal is undeniable: they are a simple company that excels at one thing: selling domains and associated email accounts.

Pricing:

GoDaddy

Pricing:

Frequently Asked Questions

You can search for a domain name using godaddy.com, Bluehost, or any of the domain name registrars we listed above. Simply enter your domain name idea into their search bars and see if it’s available or other similar domain names.

Go to Godaddy.com to check if your domain name is available. If your ideal domain name is taken, GoDaddy gives you the option to get it by contacting the owner and negotiating on your behalf.
Although they provide other alternatives, we do not recommend taking this route. You’ll be competing with an already existing website with the same name, which is bad for business.

Here are the best ways to get a free domain name:
– Getting a free domain name by hosting with Bluehost.
– Getting a free subdomain from a website builder.
– Paying for a Premium Site Builder Plan.
– Going with Domain Registrar Ad Programs.

Conclusion

A good domain name adds a professional touch to your website and brand. First impressions are important, and you don’t want a bad domain name to ruin yours. Your domain name should be short and very easy to remember.

You should go with the .com TLD, no matter the cost. If your ideal domain name is already taken, try using domain name generators to find better options that hint at your brand’s services.

FREE domain name registration

Kick off your project the right way

How to get your free domain name

Web hosting plan

Business plan NEW: Double your web hosting database. MySQL 5.7 DB now includes 2 GB of storage. Close

MyWebsite plan

Starter plan 30 days risk-free. Not satisfied or have the wrong product? Cancel online or by phone in the first 30 days for a full refund — guaranteed. Close

Business Email plan

Mail Basic 1 For approximately 10,000 emails. Close

Learn more about our FREE domain extensions

.com domain

.biz domain

.ca domain

.us domain

.online domain

.me domain

.org domain

.net domain

.info domain

Free domain registration and hosting

Host your domain

For anyone looking at being present online, picking the right hosting plan is important. The included free domain helps get your web project set up and online in no time.

There are a number of free hosts available who can help you create a website on one of their subdomains without any upfront costs.

However, if you find that your site is slow to load, inundated with unwanted advertising, or there is a lack of customer support available, then you should consider switching to a paid provider. See how we stack up to the competition.

Plan example: Business

Create a website and domain

If you’re looking at creating a website using an easy-to-use drag and drop website builder, then a MyWebsite plan is the right choice for you.

All plans come with a free domain and email account, stunning templates optimized for mobile devices, and built-in tools that will help you reach the right audience.

Among other features, the product allows you to offer your site in multiple languages, and helps you keep in touch with your visitors through customer review widgets.

Plan example: Starter

Please note:

Set up an email address

Having the right domain address is key when it comes to communicating via email. An email address such as:

will leave potential customers with the impression that you mean business, especially when compared to competitors with addresses like:

All our email plans come with a free domain bundled in.

Plan example: Mail Basic 1

Free domain names — FAQ

What are some of the other free offers or deals you’ve had in the past?

Is there a list of domains at IONOS that are always free?

Yes, there is a list of free domains. Because we’ve integrated them into our plans and packages, you can get these same FREE domains included at no extra cost. Here’s a list of extensions that are available as complimentary add-on domain names:

How can IONOS afford to offer free domains?

First of all, IONOS is not a free domain name service provider in general. We usually have very competitive pricing for our domain customers; however, you will not be able to enjoy free domains all the time. The reason we can occasionally give away domains at little or no cost is that our large customer base enables us to attract a lot of registries that work with us.

One example of such cooperation might be a registry that launches a new TLD but does not intend to do all of the marketing and sales activities by themselves. Nevertheless they would like to see quick growth in their user base and to reach this goal they give IONOS very attractive offers. Then, for example, we can sometimes offer free domain registration.

On the one hand, this is a great opportunity for our customers to benefit from fantastic offers, on the other hand it can evoke the wrong impression about the hosting industry in general. In the long run, it is impossible to offer free domain name registration and cheap web hosting services at a high quality level.

Can I expect to get a free domain name for a lifetime, when register with IONOS?

Yes, there are packages and plans that include a free domain for the life of the plan. Currently, this is possible with our email plans.

How to get a free domain and what to do with it

My brother, Steve, plays the didgeridoo. He and fellow “didgers” meet once a month to play their instruments, give each other advice and chat about where to purchase didgeridoos. He lives pretty far away, so the last time he visited he showed me some videos of them playing. I asked if they had a website where they posted these videos and hosted a message board. He said they didn’t — and hadn’t even thought about it (and I wondered how we’re related).

Since he indulges in a non-revenue producing hobby, his first concern about creating a website was the cost. But he was all ears when I told him that it’s possible to acquire a domain name without paying for it. So, I showed him how to get a free domain.

Editor’s note: Be on the lookout for free domain offers when you purchase a website and/or web hosting. For example, GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress hosting includes a free domain when you purchase an annual plan.

Get a free domain: Where to start

First, we went to the internet to look for free domains. Our first google search, “free domain,” brought up a number of domain sellers on the first page. (GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar, topped the list.) Honestly, it was a little overwhelming for Steve — he couldn’t believe how many companies sold domain names.

We tried a new search, “domain coupon codes,” to see if we could narrow down the choices a little. It worked, and we found a number of reliable coupon sites.

Retailmenot.com, Goodsearch.com and Groupon were offering domain coupons. There were even several domain-specific coupon sites — domaincouponcode.com, domainpromo.com and domainpromocodes.com. They all seemed to have a variety of legitimate, current domain coupons.

How to get a free domain coupon

As you do your own search for freebies, keep in mind that not all coupons you find online are real. I had to show Steve that you might not be able to use the first one you find. To help him figure out how to get a free domain coupon that would actually work, I gave him a few rules of thumb to remember when searching the internet:

Getting your free domain

Once we found a reliable coupon, Steve and I went to GoDaddy to get a domain. This turned out to be quite fun — I had no idea there were two spellings for didgeridoo/didjeridoo, so it opened up a whole new world of possibilities!

Steve rejected my fabulous puns — didgeyawannadidge.com was immediately thrown away — but we were able to find many other didgeridoo possibilities before settling on didgeclub.co.uk.

After we researched how to get a free domain and selected an awesome name, Steve stared at me and asked, “now what?”

Next steps

Steve reminded me that he was a musician, not a “computer geek” (apparently a term of endearment, as he uses it about his sister on a regular basis) and wasn’t sure what should happen next. We started out by setting up a professional email address that we forwarded to all the club members. An email address that includes your domain name gives you instant credibility!

Next, we wanted to connect the new domain name to a website for the didge club. Steve was tickled that he could use a DIY site builder — GoDaddy’s GoCentral — to create a modern website, no technical experience required.

Two hours ago, Steve didn’t even know how to get a free domain. Now, he has plans for a great website for his didgeridoo club (or is that didjeridoo club?) that’s connected to his domain. That’s what I call music to his ears.