I have been using GoDaddy for several years, but I recently also added NameSilo as a domain registrar I use.

NameSilo proclaims itself to be one of the top domain registrars in the world, being in possession of over 2 million active domains.

One important thing to note is that they are an ICANN accredited registrar, and this is outlined explicitly on the site.

The first thing that caught me was the fact that you can buy a .com domain for $8.99, and this price includes both the cost of WhoIs protection and the ICANN fee. And this is not just a first year intro price, you get the same price each year!

Note: This post contains affiliate links

And actually when I first visited their price list, they had a sale on .com domains for $6.99, and they also have quantity discounts. You can check out the NameSilo price list. They have the lowest prices on the internet and you can pay with credit card or PayPal.

NameSilo Coupon Code

Namesilo brands itself as a cheaper alternative to the established domain registry sites.

At the courtesy of SaadHost.com, use coupon code saadh to get an additional $1 off all domain prices, which means you get a .com domain for $7.99.

	NameSilo	GoDaddy
Pricing
Everyday .com registration price	$8.99	$15.17
Everyday .com renewal price	$8.99	$15.17
Lifetime FREE WHOIS Privacy
No ICANN or transaction fees
Security
Offers 2-factor authentication
Offers free advanced account security
Elite web site encryption
Email encryption
Company and Policies
Uses own domain registrar platform
At least 30 day grace period for renewing expired domains
Allows immediate outbound transfers
Offers registration refunds
Services/Features
One-Click DNS templates
Customizable DNS templates
Sub-account management
Offers hosting
Offers DNSSEC
Free API
Customizable parking pages
Customer Service
Customer service phone number
Customer service chat
Payment Options
Accepts major credit cards
Accepts PayPal
Accepts unverified PayPal accounts
Accepts Bitcoin
Accepts Skrill
Accepts AliPay
Domain Investing/Selling
Afternic Premium Partner
SedoMLS Partner
Reseller/Affiliate Options
Affiliate program
Free Customizable WHOIS records
Private-labeled reseller site
WHMCS module
HostBill module
Clientexec module
Blesta module
Boxbilling module
Email
POP accounts available
Free email forwarding
Multiple target and catch-all email forwarding

If you purchase a transfer, they also offer an excellent deal of adding a free year to the time remaining on your existing registration. The site also includes a list of FAQs which help you to complete the domain transfer process satisfactorily.

GoDaddy Review

Here is an incident:

 

NameSilo Discount Program

If you transfer $50 to your NameSilo account and you use that balance to purchase domains instead of your credit card, you get additional discount. (You need to enable the Discount Program feature and you need to verify your credit card’s ownership with them first.)

NameSilo also has a bulk domain discount. As an example, if you have 100 domains in your account, you get another 20 cents off the .com domain price.

How can they be so cheap? They don’t inflate their pricing to cover costs such as expensive celebrity spokespeople, vanity phone numbers, Super Bowl advertising, or non-domain-related technical and support staff. There are certain costs associated with running an effective domain registrar, but they are fanatical about avoiding non-essential expenses which allows them to keep their prices so low.

Site Speed

The next thing that I noticed was their site speed. I didn’t have to wait long for the pages to load. (On GoDaddy it takes forever.) Their customer service is great. You can contact them in whatever medium that suits you. Call them, email them or simply chat with them.

NameSilo Expired Domains & Auction

My next surprise came when I realized that NameSilo has a domain auction market: they auction their expired domains and you can sell your own domains, even if it is registered with another registrar. You can list them as an auction, but also as an offer/counteroffer and you can put the domains you are interested in on your watchlist.

It has a detailed search function – category, buy now price, reserve, age, number of bids, number of characters in the domain name, dashes, numbers. You can also download domain names to a csv file.

If you want to bid on an expired domain, you will immediately notice that NameSilo has a very interesting pricing for its expired domains, beating GoDaddy by miles.

In the last 24 hours of the domain’s expiry the auction price is only $1!

• If there is one day left, the fee is $5,
• $15 for two days,
• $25 for three days and
• $50 for 4 days and above.

Unfortunately most of their domains are not very aged, 2013 and later.

Although there is no NameSilo backorder, it is very easy to get their expired domains on the auction. The auction starts 5 days after the domain’s expiration date and ends 31 days after the expiry date.

I literally placed a bid on a DA 35, TF 13 expired domain on the last day of the auction for $1 and I got the domain the next day, which is a shorter wait time than GoDaddy Auctions. I only paid a total of $9.99. This way the domain never drops and you don’t have to wait 70 days after expiration of the domain.

Domain Market

They also have a domain market where you can sell your own domains or buy them.

Their sales commission is 3.5-7%, the lowest in the industry. They give you a sales landing page where you can customize the color, text, etc. They also handle the payment processing, so you don’t need a third party or an escrow company. Then they pay you with PayPal or wire transfer. You can also choose to sell your domain with a payment plan.

Here is a tutorial on how you can set up your own market site for domain sales, which are mobile friendly.

Domain Push

When you sell your domain, you can push it to another NameSilo member’s account right from your control panel, you just need their user name.

NameSilo Domain Security

Unfortunately domains are a key target for hackers, spammers and other criminals. Having a user name and a password doesn’t prove to be enough security in today’s internet. All domains are always locked at the registry level. This means that no changes can be made to your domains at the registry level.

Namesilo also provides you with a Domain Locking feature, so that no one will transfer your domain to any other registrar, even if they guess your user name and password. You also get the Domain Defender with Namesilo. Your domain name gets secured with security questions that are necessary to pass in order to change the domain name server or any other feature.

In addition to all this, there is also a 2-Factor Authentication, which is specifically intended to protect your account from being improperly accessed. With these features, you feel absolutely safe.

Domain Portfolio Manager

They also have a domain portfolio manager for domain investors.

You can utilize these portfolios to group domains within your account. You can also perform group actions (such as updating domain contacts, renewals, setting name servers, etc.) on all domains within a portfolio at one time.

Whois Email Verification

As part of the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), ICANN began enforcing a new rule requiring registrars to verify Registrant contact information used in WHOIS. NameSilo will email the email address used as the Registrant contact role for all domains immediately upon registration or transfer completion of a domain. Also, removing WHOIS Privacy or updating the contact information used for the Registrant of a domain will trigger verification.

Registrars are required to deactivate any domains for which email verification has not been completed within 15 days of initial notification. Deactivation entails placing the domain on clientHold status which entirely disables the domain including web site, email and any other services used by the domain.

Cheapest Domain Transfer & Renewal

The Transfer Manager displays the status of all of your incoming domain transfers. Transferring domains between registrars is a strictly regulated process that can undergo various paths before the transfer is completed. You can cancel your transfer request at any time before the transfer has been completed.

NameSilo gives you the cheapest domain transfer or renewal rate you will find on the internet, $8.99 for a .com domain with free privacy.

Domain Link Manager

This is a unique feature that I haven’t seen with any other registrar.

You can use this function to organize your domains no matter which registrar they are with (they have added buttons to easily transfer any external domains to NameSilo). Linking your external domains can be done via the “Add Domains” link.

This section also has an expiration calendar to keep track of when your domains expire… And you can use the email reminder feature to select if you would like theirr system to send you email reminders prior to the expiration of your domains registered with other registrars listed within Domain Link. You can even select the number of days prior to the expiration of your domains in which to have their system send you reminders.

How To Transfer A Domain From GoDaddy To NameSilo

I transferred my domain from GoDaddy to NameSilo and it took me 15 minutes and cost me $8.99 (including an a year of registration).

The reason I switched was the lower domain registration cost and the free domain privacy.

First I had to unlock my domain with GoDaddy. Then I initiated the transfer from NameSilo.

In a couple of minutes I received a verification email to ensure that it was really me that initiated the transfer.

I clicked on the link, then I was prompted to enter the domain release code, which I got from my GoDaddy account.

Then I received another email from GoDaddy to let me know that the domain will be transferred in 7 days unless I log into my GoDaddy account and approve the instant transfer, which I did, and in a few minutes I received the notification from NameSilo that the domain transfer was complete.

Other NameSilo Features

You also get free domain parking and you can keep 100 percent of the revenue.

If you use multiple registrars, with their free domain link product you can view all of your domains in one place.

If you have a domain portfolio, you can assign your domains to different domain groups. You also get a discount for purchasing bulk domains, or if you load your account with at least $50 and you purchase from your account balance (you need to verify your credit card before you can do that.)

They also have an affiliate program AND a reseller program. As part of the reseller program you can sell domains on your own website (you need to provide customer service to your own customers). You can also brand your interface with your company info and you charge your customers the fees that you set, while you buy the domains at wholesale price.

You can also create sub-accounts to handle your clients’ domains.

Remeber to use coupon code saadh to get $1 off your NameSilo purchase.