Which web hosting really comes with a free domain?
Five hosts compared on the free domain: how long it lasts, which plans qualify, the fine print, and the year-two price.
The short answer: almost every host gives you a free domain, but only for the first year. From year two, you pay the domain at its regular price, on top of hosting that often costs three or four times its intro rate. DreamHost is our pick because it unlocks the free domain on a one-year plan and includes privacy. OVHcloud has the lowest renewal prices, IONOS includes .us and .ca on every plan, and Hostinger and Bluehost have the lowest sticker prices if you prepay years in advance.
We compared five web hosting plans with a free domain on what actually matters: how long the domain stays free, which plans qualify, the fine print, and what year two costs. Your profile in one line. One year, no long commitment: DreamHost. Lowest three-year bill: OVHcloud Starter. A .us or .ca: IONOS. Lowest monthly price with a four-year prepay: Hostinger. First WordPress site with a guided setup: Bluehost.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Who gives you the domain, and for how long?
On a pricing page, "free domain" can mean three different things. The domain is free for a year, then you pay. Or it's free only on longer terms. Or it's free, but you have to claim it within a set window. They look the same on signup day. They don't cost the same in year two.
Two terms before you read. A registrar is the company that registers your domain with the registry. A transfer moves an existing domain from one registrar to another, using an authorization code. The rank follows the quality of the domain offer; the score out of 5 is for the whole host, the same as in our other hosting rankings.
| The free domain: length, plans, fine print | Hosting price, intro then renewal | |
|---|---|---|
| DreamHostYear one, annual or multi-year | Free domain for the first year on annual and multi-year shared plans. Whois privacy included. | Launch $2.89/mo the first year, then $10.99. DreamPress 1 $14.99, then $19.99. |
| OVHcloudYear one, same order as hosting | One domain free for the first year on Starter, Personal, Startup, Pro and Performance. Order domain and hosting together. | Starter $1.89/mo for 12 months, then $3.09. Pro $2.39, then $11.79. |
| IONOSOne year, every plan | Free domain for one year on all four plans: .us, .ca, .com, .net, .org, .info, .me, .biz, .online. | Essential $4/mo, then $8. Plus $1/mo, then $14. One-year term. |
| HostingerOne year, 12 months and up, not Single | One free domain per account, 14 extensions everywhere, .ai and .io excluded. Fee kept if you cancel within 30 days. | Premium $2.49/mo on 48 months, then $10.99. Unlimited $3.49, then $16.99. |
| BluehostYear one, claim within 90 days | Free domain for one year on 12 or 36-month terms, premium domains excluded. Non-refundable domain fee, 60-day transfer lock. | Starter $3.99/mo on 36 months, then $9.99. Business $6.99, then $13.99. |
Prices checked in 2026 on each host's own pages, in US dollars, before tax.
DreamHost
DreamHost gives you a free domain for the first year on annual and multi-year shared plans. What sets it apart is the short commitment. The Launch plan costs $2.89 a month for the first year, then $10.99. You don't need to prepay 36 or 48 months to unlock the domain, which is how most of its rivals get their low sticker prices.
Domain privacy is included. That matters more than it sounds: privacy hides your name, address and phone number from the public whois record (the lookup anyone can run on a domain). Without it, your contact details sit in a public record that anyone, including spammers, can read.
On WordPress, DreamPress 1 runs $14.99 a month, then $19.99, and keeps the same one-year domain offer. The jump from Launch's intro price to its renewal price is steep in percentage terms, but $10.99 a month is still mid-pack for a renewal in this ranking.
The limit: like everyone except a handful of European hosts, DreamHost only covers year one. From year two, you pay the regular domain renewal on top of hosting. Put that line in your budget now, and check your auto-renew settings so the domain doesn't lapse quietly.
- Free domain for year one on annual plans
- Domain privacy included
- No 36 or 48-month prepay needed
- ✓Short commitment for the free domain
- ✓Whois privacy at no extra cost
- ✓Clear intro and renewal prices
- ✗Free domain lasts one year only
- ✗Launch more than triples at renewal
Our first pick if you want the free domain without locking in for years. Budget the domain renewal from year two.
OVHcloud
OVHcloud, the French cloud provider, includes one domain name free for the first year on its Starter, Personal, Startup, Pro and Performance plans. Starter costs $1.89 a month for 12 months ($22.68 up front), then $3.09 a month. Pro runs $2.39 a month, then $11.79. Starter's renewal is the lowest hosting renewal in this ranking.
The asterisk matters. In OVHcloud's own community answers, the free domain covers registration or transfer for year one, then renews at the standard price. It doesn't apply to extensions whose transfer is already free. And the domain and hosting have to be in the same order: transfer the domain first and add hosting a few days later, and you lose the offer.
Customers also report surprises at renewal. One found an extra .com line added to the hosting renewal, visible only after confirming. Others saw a domain "unlinked" from its hosting when the two had different billing cycles. The fix is simple: keep both on the same yearly cycle and read the cart line by line.
The agency plans (Agency, Agency Plus, Agency Max) don't list the domain offer, so this is a small-site deal. Support is the weak spot in our scoring, at 3.2 out of 5.
- Free domain for year one on five plans
- Starter renews at $3.09/mo
- Free 10 MB hosting with every domain bought there
- ✓Cheapest three-year total in this ranking
- ✓Intro period of a full 12 months
- ✓Prices shown with the 12-month total
- ✗Domain and hosting must be ordered together
- ✗Agency plans don't include the domain offer
The cheapest host here over three years. Place one order for domain and hosting, then check the cart before you pay.
IONOS
IONOS includes a free domain for one year on all four of its web hosting plans: Essential, Starter, Plus and Ultimate. The list of free extensions is the same everywhere: .us, .ca, .com, .net, .org, .info, .me, .biz and .online. No plan is left out, so you can't land on a cheap tier that quietly drops the domain.
The prices come with a one-year term. Essential is $4 a month, then $8. Starter is $6, then $10. Plus is the eye-catcher at $1 a month, then $14. Ultimate goes from $10 to $18. Plus has the cheapest first year but the biggest jump, so it pays off only if you plan to leave or renegotiate after twelve months.
Here is the math we'd run. Over two years, Essential costs $144 in hosting, Plus costs $180. If you stay, Essential or Starter are the better deals, and the domain renewal comes on top of either one from year two.
The limit: the free domain stops after year one, like at DreamHost and Hostinger. IONOS is strong on freedom to leave in our scoring, so moving the domain later to a cheaper registrar is easy.
- Free domain for one year on all four plans
- Nine free extensions, including .us and .ca
- One-year term, no multi-year prepay
- ✓No plan excluded from the offer
- ✓Renewal price shown next to the intro price
- ✓Easy to move the domain out later
- ✗Plus jumps from $1 to $14 a month
- ✗Free domain lasts one year only
A good pick for a .us or .ca. Skip Plus unless you'll leave after year one, Essential is cheaper over two years.
Hostinger
Hostinger gives a free domain for one year on every shared plan except Single, as long as you sign up for 12 months or more. Premium costs $2.49 a month on a 48-month term, then $10.99. Unlimited goes from $3.49 to $16.99, Cloud Startup from $7.99 to $25.99. The low prices you see in ads are all tied to the four-year term.
The free extensions list is long, with fourteen available everywhere (.com, .org, .online, .shop, .store, .site, .tech, .xyz and more) and more depending on the country. Premium extensions like .ai and .io are excluded. You get one free domain per account.
Three conditions change the math. Cancel within the 30-day refund window and the domain registration fee is taken out of your refund. A new domain is locked for 60 days before you can transfer it out. And the domain renews at Hostinger's regular price, so check it in your dashboard before the date.
Our tip: put the 48-month renewal date in your calendar the day you sign. That's when Premium goes from $2.49 to $10.99 a month, and when the domain renewal joins the bill. Moving the domain to a separate registrar before that date is often cheaper.
- Free domain for a year on 12-month terms and up
- Fourteen free extensions everywhere
- Free transfer with a new Premium or Unlimited plan
- ✓Lowest monthly price on a 48-month term
- ✓Wide choice of free extensions
- ✓Free inbound transfer with a new plan
- ✗Domain fee kept if you cancel in 30 days
- ✗Lowest price needs a four-year prepay
Fine if you prepay four years and set a reminder for renewal day. Over a single year, DreamHost or IONOS cost less up front.
Bluehost
Bluehost includes a free domain for one year with 12-month or 36-month shared plans. Starter costs $3.99 a month on a 36-month term, then $9.99. Business goes from $6.99 to $13.99, and eCommerce Essentials from $14.99 to $21.99. The setup is built around WordPress, which is why it shows up in so many beginner guides.
The rules are the strictest on this page. Premium domains are excluded. You have to claim the free domain within 90 days of signing up, or the offer is gone. If you cancel, the domain fee is not refundable. And a new domain is locked for 60 days before you can transfer it.
The 36-month term is the catch on price. To get $3.99 a month, you pay three years up front, and the renewal at $9.99 a month comes with the domain renewal on top. Over three years, Starter costs about $144 in hosting, less than DreamHost Launch, but you pay it all on day one and lose the flexibility of a one-year term.
Bluehost gets our lowest score here because of freedom to leave and backups, not because the domain offer is bad. If you pick it, claim the domain on day one and check that the whois record lists you as the registrant.
- Free domain for year one on 12 or 36-month terms
- WordPress-first setup
- Same domain offer on Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials
- ✓Guided start for WordPress beginners
- ✓Renewal prices shown up front
- ✓Three-year price locked in up front
- ✗Free domain must be claimed within 90 days
- ✗Domain fee non-refundable if you cancel
A fair pick for a first WordPress site if you claim the domain on day one. For lower year-two costs, see OVHcloud.
The free-domain traps you only see on your second bill
This comes from our comparison and from customer reports on host forums and reviews. Six checks to run before you order. For hosts ranked on every criterion, see the best web hosting, and for a small business, the best web hosting for small businesses. The free SSL certificate has its own page: web hosting with an SSL certificate.
Free for a year, not forever
Every offer on this page ends after twelve months. Look for the word "renewal" in the plan details, not in the banner. Then budget the domain renewal from year two, on top of hosting.
The real price is year two
Add hosting at its regular rate to the domain renewal. OVHcloud Starter renews at $3.09 a month, DreamHost Launch at $10.99, Hostinger Premium at $10.99 after 48 months. Run the three-year total before you compare intro prices.
Cancel early, pay for the domain
Hostinger and Bluehost keep the domain fee if you cancel inside the refund window. That's fair, since the domain was registered. But it means a "free trial" with a free domain isn't fully free.
Claim it and order it together
Bluehost gives you 90 days to claim the domain. OVHcloud needs the domain and hosting in the same order. Do both on day one and you avoid losing the offer on a technicality.
Check the registrant on day one
Look up your domain right after signup. The registrant should be you or your company. If an agency or a freelancer is listed instead, getting the transfer code later can be messy.
Watch the 60-day lock
A newly registered domain can't be transferred for 60 days. If you plan to move it to a cheaper registrar, set a reminder for day 61, then compare renewal prices before your first year ends.
- The domain is free on your plan and term length
- You know when the free period ends
- Your extension is on the free list
- Domain claimed and ordered with the hosting
- You are the registrant
- You know the domain renewal price
- You ran the three-year total
- Auto-renew set the way you want
- A reminder set for renewal day
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
Your questions on free domains with hosting
Is a free domain with web hosting really free?
For the first year, yes. After that, no host in this ranking keeps it free: from year two you pay the regular renewal price on top of hosting. Some hosts also take the domain fee back if you cancel, as Hostinger and Bluehost do within the refund window. So "free" really means "included in your first year, if you stay".
Can I get a free .com domain for life?
No, not from any of the hosts we compared. Pages that promise a free domain "for life" usually say "first year" further down. The closest thing exists in France, where o2switch keeps the domain included as long as its Cloud or Pro hosting stays active. In the US market, plan for a yearly domain renewal from year two.
What happens to my free domain after the first year?
It renews at the host's regular price, usually automatically, and the charge shows up next to your hosting renewal. If you turn auto-renew off and forget, the domain expires, and your site and your email on that domain go down together. Set a calendar reminder a month before the date.
Who owns a free domain, me or the host?
You should, but check. Run a whois lookup right after signup: the registrant should be you or your company, with an email address you read. With privacy turned on, the public record shows a proxy, so check the registrant in your host's dashboard instead. If someone else owns it, getting the transfer code later can be messy.
Can I transfer a free domain to another registrar?
Yes, once the 60-day lock after registration is over (Hostinger and Bluehost both apply it). Ask your host for the authorization code, start the transfer at the new registrar, and you usually get one extra year added. Our ranking of the best domain registrars compares renewal prices.
Should I keep my domain and hosting with the same company?
It's the simplest way to start, and it's how you get the free year. Long term, splitting them gives you more freedom: switching hosts no longer touches your domain or your email. A good middle path is to take the bundle, then move the domain to a separate registrar after 60 days if its renewal price is high.
Which extensions are usually included for free?
The common ones: .com, .net, .org, and often .online or .info. IONOS adds .us and .ca, Hostinger lists fourteen extensions everywhere. Premium domains and pricey extensions like .ai or .io are excluded almost everywhere. If you want a rare extension, check the host's list before you pay.
Is a free domain worth choosing a host for?
Rarely on its own. A domain costs far less per year than the hosting renewal, so the hosting price from year two matters more. Compare the three-year total first, then use the free domain as a tie-breaker. Our list of the best web hosting ranks hosts on every criterion.
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