Recently I was looking for a cheap domain.
I didn’t care too much about the TLD. The scenario is that I’ve used lowend.party for many tutorials, but I also use it to host some “production” things. Since I was getting ready to update my NSD (Name Server Daemon) tutorial and would be taking DNS for the domain up and down, I thought it would be better to use a different domain.
Why Not a Free TLD?
There are some TLDs that offer free domains. .tk, .ml, .ga, .cf, and .gq. Why not go that route? I certainly can for a tutorials domain, but there are a couple reasons I am not a fan. The first is that there are persistent rumors of the .tk admin sometimes taking over domains that have become popular or have a glimmer of value. The second is that some of these TLDs have become vast sewers of crime, with millions of scam sites. Sure, there are scam sites on .com, .org, etc. but the reputation for some of these TLDs is appalling.
So Off I Went
Here’s some pricing from my favorite registrar, Porkbun:
| TLD | 1st Year | Renewal | 2-Year Price |
| .wang | $4.10 | $7.70 | $11.80 |
| .click | $1.04 | $9.32 | $10.36 |
| .party | $4.59 | $5.62 | $10.21 |
| .bid | $4.59 | $5.62 | $10.21 |
| .win | $4.59 | $5.62 | $10.21 |
| .stream | $4.59 | $5.62 | $10.21 |
| .vip | $3.07 | $5.13 | $8.20 |
| numbers-only .xyz | $1.22 | $1.22 | $2.44 |
That last one is for domains with numbers only. So 8675309.xyz is okay, nut 867-5309.xyz is not. You can do a little better on those at Spaceship.
Have you seen any cheap deals? I’m looking at both the initial and renewal price, so no super-cheapo intro deals. Worth keeping an eye on Domcomp and TLD List.
You might also check out the LowEndTalk thread where people are sharing tips!
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I also enjoy using LEBs! I have an empire of little guys for VPNs, larger guys for apps, and big guys for databases and storage. When I'm not in front a screen I'm into German Shepherd dogs, quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop roleplaying games, and forest hiking.
I enjoy writing technical articles here on LowEndBox to help people get more out of their systems. You can find me on LowEndTalk @raindog308
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If you don’t mind having cloudflare as your registrar they sell domains at cost.
You can get a .stream for $4.16/year for example.
Whenever I’m looking for a domain or am starting a new project and need a name, I’ll check out the prices on http://tld-list.com/ first. First year deals are great for projects I’m working on but don’t want to invest in, even if it is with a .pw or .sbs extension. Still miss that mega deal a few years back from NameCheap; I want to say it was something like $0.99 for 4 or 5 years.