Domain Registrar Review (Canadian Edition)
Posted by Jon Lee in Reviews, Web Development, tags: canada, domain-name, namecheap, registrars
In a previous post, I reviewed different Domain Name registrars. The focus was on the big 3 extensions: .com .net and .org. Since that post, I’ve gotten a few questions from readers asking where I registered my .ca domain name so I decided to write a review of registrars that offer the .ca extension!
One thing I should note is that .ca registrations all go through CIRA and they offer no privacy options. Also, you should give your real information. Upon registering my first .ca domain name, I received a call to my contact phone number to confirm that I had indeed purchased the domain.
Note: .ca is generally pronounced “dot see eh”, not “dot ka”
Cost
| Company | Price |
| Namecheap | $15.95 (US) |
| 10dollars | $10.45 |
| Netfirms.ca | $9.95 |
| NamesPro.ca | $12.88 |
| Planet Domain | $19.95 |
The cost of .ca domains are on average higher than those of .com domains. The table on the right lists the price per year of several popular registrars. Prices are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.
Usability
From the table to the right, I have only used Namecheap, 10dollar and Netfirms.ca. Namecheap has the best user interface as stated in the previous post but their cost is a fair bit higher. 10dollar and Netfirms have okay control panels, nothing to boast about but not terrible either. It is a trade off between cost and usability.
Reputation
None of the registrars listed above have particularly bad reputations so I can’t comment too much on this.
Conclusion
Although I am consolidating all my .com names with Namecheap, the difference in price is too substantial to move my .ca names to them as well. Personally, I would recommend 10dollar or Netfirms as I’ve had fairly good experiences with both companies.
If you have tried another registrar, let me know in the comments!
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I have a few domains with NamesPro, I find they are pretty good. I didn’t realize Namecheap has .ca domains, that must be a new thing. The price jump is a bit high though. I may transfer to netfirms when renewal time comes.
I;ve used Netfirms for .ca and .com domain names. Very good prices and interface.
I have a lot of different domains spread out with different registrar but I wanted to consolidate to someone who had great customer service. In the past 3 months I have transferred\registered over 50 domains with . I found to have excellent customer service and quick response times. Also, they’re local to me which is a big plus.
I forgot to mention, it was for Namespro.ca
Good Review!! I have used Domainsatcost.ca, which offer a free privacy option. Unlike most other .ca registrars.
Hmmm I was under the impression you couldn’t get Privacy with .ca domains! I’ll have to look into that
I’m not sure how long Namecheap has had them, but I do wish the prices were a little lower so I could consolidate..
I had to pay a one time fee for my privacy option which works with .ca I’ve seen it on a few .ca registrars as well.
I think I have privacy on my .ca as well, with namespro.ca. If I remember, it was on the expensive side though. I think my domain came to $20 or so with privacy.
I have been with godaddy.com for quite few years. Their support is horrible. It is cheap but you are certainly getting what you paid for. If anything goes wrong, god help you as they certainly wont.
I’m aware that this is an older post but I’d like to voice out my recommendation for Netfirms.ca as being the best domain registrar. Dot Ca registration is only $9.99/year including whois privacy and webmail. Also, your domain is available within minutes unlike some other companies where you have to wait for 24 hrs…
and their system is trustworthy…..I remember doing a query on this particular domain in GoDaddy.com, it says that it was in “back order” and that i should pay $18.99 USD + $8.99 for privacy…I then double checked with Netfirms and guess what? I registered it for $9.99 CAD including privacy and webmail…LOL
I want to transfer my domain names to a better registrar so spent a few hours shopping around online to finding the best one. I narrowed it down from zillions to just Canadian registrars (under Canadian law and use Canadian currency) that are ICANN2009 and CIRA accredited, and are not obviously thinly disguised total crap from Bombay or the Bahamas. I then removed two with broken and otherwise screwy websites. I did not include resellers, obviously. The remaining shortlist is amazingly short:
1. netfirms.com / netfirms.ca
2. domainsatcost.ca
3. domainpeople.com
Netfirms (since 1999) is in Markham and Buffalo. It has unfortunate tacky and somewhat disingenuous advertising. $9.95/year Only netfirms is hiring. They accept Paypal. They’re very very big.
Domainsatcost (since 2000) is in Ottawa $14.95/year
Domainpeople (since 1999) is in Vancouver $19.95/year
The last two both look fine, I’ve asked if they take Paypal and will find out soon.
I have to chime in and mention namespro.ca for .ca domain names. I have many .ca domains with them and any time I’ve had to contact their support for any reason, they have been really quick to reply and so helpful.
On the other hand, 18.88 for .com domains seems really steep to me. I’m fed up with godaddy so I’m looking at the other options.
Hi Leif,
Avoid domainsatcost.ca.
I had my .com domain registered and managed with domainsatcost.ca and they registered the name with Namescout.com (both companies are owned by momentous.ca)
I wanted to transfer my domain to another host 2 days after it expired. I received the authorization code for the transfer
but the transfer was blocked and my account closed because I issued a complaint of poor services with domainsatcost.ca.
I lost my domain name.
I tried to send a complaint to ICANN but the company that filters the complaints is called internic.ca, also owned by momentous.ca. I’m sure ICANN never received my complaint