Is it safe to use a registrar I've never heard of?

Spaceship is run by the same company as Namecheap, one of the world's largest registrars, and is accredited by ICANN (the body that oversees all domain registration). Porkbun is likewise ICANN-accredited. Your domain is exactly as much yours at a small registrar as at GoDaddy.

Can I move a domain I already own at GoDaddy?

Yes. Domain transfers are a standard, protected process: you unlock the domain, get a transfer code, and the new registrar pulls it over — usually for the price of a one-year renewal (which gets added to your domain). Sites keep working during the transfer.

What should I compare besides the headline price?

Compare the renewal rate, purchase term, optional add-ons, support, privacy, and account controls. A familiar brand or bundled support may matter to you; assess the cost for the features you will actually use.

Should a Canadian business get .ca or .com?

If you serve Canadian customers, .ca is a strong signal. If you might expand internationally, compare the verified cost of registering both and point one at the other.

Which registrars actually bill in Canadian dollars?

CanSpace bills exclusively in CAD. Spaceship and GoDaddy let you pay in CAD or USD. Porkbun and Namecheap bill in USD only — the price is still fair, but your card statement will show a converted amount plus any foreign-transaction fee your bank charges. Prices marked ≈ on this page are our conversions of USD-only prices.

Do these prices include sales tax?

No. Provider list prices are pre-tax. Canadian companies add applicable GST/HST at checkout, while our dated real-order test at US-based registrars did not add Canadian sales tax. Tax and checkout treatment can change, so compare the final total.

Are cheap first-year domain promotions always bad?

No. A promotion can be worth using when it allows a one-year purchase, you own the domain, the renewal is disclosed, add-ons are optional, and transferring out is practical. Compare the checkout total and five-year cost, not the headline.

Comparison · Domains

Compare what domain renewal costs

A domain name is a commodity, but the service around it is not. Compare renewal price, support, transfer friction, nameserver restrictions, privacy, and checkout upsells. Here's the same .com at the most popular registrar and at the ones we actually recommend.

.com prices, side by side

.com domain prices by registrar
Registrar	First year	Renewal / yr	Privacy	The catch
SpaceshipChecked 2026-09-12· Recheck due; confirm with providerScout's pick Free WHOIS privacy. Bills in CAD or USD. Sister company of Namecheap.	≈CA$12.86US$9.08	≈CA$14.39US$10.18	✓ Free	⚠ Totals include the mandatory US$0.20 ICANN fee, charged to each .com registration, renewal, and transfer.
PorkbunChecked 2026-10-07 Same price to register and renew — no surprises. Bills in USD.	≈CA$15.36US$11.08	≈CA$15.36US$11.08	✓ Free	—
NamecheapChecked 2026-10-07	≈CA$15.50US$11.18	≈CA$25.90US$18.68	✓ Free	⚠ The first year is a sale price; renewal costs more. Totals include the mandatory US$0.20 ICANN fee on .com registration and renewal.
CanSpaceChecked 2026-09-12· Recheck due; confirm with provider Canadian company, bills in CAD only. Their free privacy applies to .ca domains, not .com.	CA$19.99≈US$14.42	CA$20.99≈US$15.14	Extra / upsell	⚠ WHOIS privacy ("ID Protection") costs C$4.99/yr extra on .com — free at Spaceship and Porkbun. A July 2026 Ontario checkout with privacy and HST was C$29.36/yr; tax and add-on pricing require a fresh checkout check.
GoDaddyChecked 2026-07-28· Recheck due; confirm with provider Includes contact-data privacy on eligible domains; paid Domain Protection is a separate product. Pricing date below is retained pending a complete US price recheck.	CA$0.01US$0.01	CA$32.99US$22.99	✓ Free	⚠ That 1¢ price requires buying 3 years upfront — years 2 and 3 are billed at the full renewal rate, so checkout is about US$46 / C$66.

Checked 2026-07-28· Recheck due; confirm with providerRenewal price is what you'll actually pay every year — judge registrars by that, not the year-one teaser.

Two honest picks

Spaceship is the price-first pick and offers native CAD billing. Porkbun is the support-first pick: it costs a little more for .com and bills in USD, but domain-owner communities consistently praise its interface, support, and transfers. Pick the trade-off you value instead of treating a tiny annual difference as the whole decision.

That "Privacy" column matters more than it looks

WHOIS and RDAP are public domain-registration directories. Visibility depends on the extension, registrant type, and registrar's privacy service. Spaceship, Porkbun, Namecheap, and GoDaddy include contact-data privacy on eligible domains. Paid account protection is a separate product. Privacy reduces exposure; it cannot guarantee an end to spam or sales calls.

The 5-year receipt

First-year teasers are noise. Here's one .com held for five years — the way you'll actually own it:

Spaceship · 5 years

≈CA$70.42US$49.80

GoDaddy · 5 years

CA$131.97US$91.97

These are five-year estimates using the dated registration and renewal rates, including known mandatory fees, before sales tax and optional add-ons. Support and account features differ, and future rates can change. Run your own numbers →

.ca prices for Canadian businesses 🍁

A .ca tells Canadian customers you're local — and CIRA (the Canadian non-profit that runs .ca) reinvests registration funds into community internet projects. Requirements: you need a Canadian presence (citizen, resident, or registered Canadian business) to register one.

.ca domain prices by registrar
Registrar	First year	Renewal / yr	Privacy	The catch
SpaceshipChecked 2026-09-12· Recheck due; confirm with providerScout's pick Same price to register and renew. Bills in CAD or USD. No Canadian sales tax was charged in our July 20, 2026 order test; confirm your checkout total. WHOIS visibility follows CIRA registrant rules.	CA$12.92US$9.32	CA$12.92US$9.32	CIRA rules	—
CanSpaceChecked 2026-09-12· Recheck due; confirm with provider Canadian company, bills in CAD only, CIRA-certified registrar.	CA$11.99≈US$8.65	CA$12.99≈US$9.37	CIRA rules	⚠ Canadian company, so your provincial sales tax is added at checkout — with Ontario HST the renewal is C$14.68/yr all-in, more than Spaceship.
PorkbunChecked 2026-10-07 Bills in USD. Current registration and renewal sale prices lead this row.	≈CA$11.99US$8.65	≈CA$12.69US$9.15	CIRA rules	⚠ Current prices are marked as a sale; the provider also shows higher crossed-out regular prices.
GoDaddyChecked 2026-07-28· Recheck due; confirm with provider	CA$0.01≈US$0.01	CA$21.99≈US$15.86	CIRA rules	⚠ That 1¢ price requires buying 3 years upfront — years 2 and 3 are billed at the full C$21.99, so checkout is about C$44.

Checked 2026-07-28· Recheck due; confirm with providerRenewal price is what you'll actually pay every year — judge registrars by that, not the year-one teaser.

Honest note on the top rows: CanSpace is a Canadian, CIRA-certified registrar that bills only in CAD, and we earn nothing recommending it. Canadian sales tax is added at checkout. In our dated real-order test, Spaceship did not add Canadian sales tax. Compare the final checkout total, privacy inclusion, and whether keeping the registrar entirely Canadian matters to the business.

Watch for these at checkout

⚠Multi-year pre-pays hiding in “promos.” A near-free first year can require several years upfront at the full renewal rate. The table's gotcha field shows the verified term.
⚠Paid WHOIS privacy. Hiding your home address from the public domain registry should be free (it is at Spaceship, Porkbun, and Namecheap). Check the difference between free contact-data privacy and paid account-protection services.
⚠Pre-checked add-ons. Email trials, "site builders," SSL certificates you don't need (hosting like Cloudflare Pages includes HTTPS free). Uncheck everything.

Common questions

Is it safe to use a registrar I've never heard of?: Spaceship is run by the same company as Namecheap, one of the world's largest registrars, and is accredited by ICANN (the body that oversees all domain registration). Porkbun is likewise ICANN-accredited. Your domain is exactly as much yours at a small registrar as at GoDaddy.
Can I move a domain I already own at GoDaddy?: Yes. Domain transfers are a standard, protected process: you unlock the domain, get a transfer code, and the new registrar pulls it over — usually for the price of a one-year renewal (which gets added to your domain). Sites keep working during the transfer.
What should I compare besides the headline price?: Compare the renewal rate, purchase term, optional add-ons, support, privacy, and account controls. A familiar brand or bundled support may matter to you; assess the cost for the features you will actually use.
Should a Canadian business get .ca or .com?: If you serve Canadian customers, .ca is a strong signal. If you might expand internationally, compare the verified cost of registering both and point one at the other.
Which registrars actually bill in Canadian dollars?: CanSpace bills exclusively in CAD. Spaceship and GoDaddy let you pay in CAD or USD. Porkbun and Namecheap bill in USD only — the price is still fair, but your card statement will show a converted amount plus any foreign-transaction fee your bank charges. Prices marked ≈ on this page are our conversions of USD-only prices.
Do these prices include sales tax?: No. Provider list prices are pre-tax. Canadian companies add applicable GST/HST at checkout, while our dated real-order test at US-based registrars did not add Canadian sales tax. Tax and checkout treatment can change, so compare the final total.
Are cheap first-year domain promotions always bad?: No. A promotion can be worth using when it allows a one-year purchase, you own the domain, the renewal is disclosed, add-ons are optional, and transferring out is practical. Compare the checkout total and five-year cost, not the headline.