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Porkbun Review: Is It a Legit and Reputable Domain Registrar?

Have you been scouring the internet for an honest Porkbun review to help you determine if it’s the right fit for your domain name registration needs?

If that’s the case, you will enjoy this article. 🤩

Compared to the heavyweights in the domain registrar space, Porkbun is relatively new, having launched in 2014. But it’s a fast-rising up-and-comer. The company manages over one million domains and has an impressive 4.8-star rating on Trustpilot [1].

This Porkbun review will look at the company’s essential services to help you determine if it suits your needs.


Core features of Porkbun ⚙️

Let’s begin our Porkbun review by exploring the core features: top-level domains (domain extensions), domain registration, and domain transfer.

Top-level domains (TLDs)

Top-level domains, commonly known as TLDs or domain extensions, help categorize your site and make it memorable to users.

According to TLD-LIST, Porkbun currently offers almost 550 TLDs at the time of writing [2].

It’s a comprehensive list that includes all types of TLDs you can think of, such as:

  • Generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as .com, .co, .net, .org, and .blog
  • Country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), such as .us, .uk, .fr, .de, and .in
  • Generic-restricted top-level domains (grTLDs), such as .biz, .name, .pro
  • Sponsored top-level domains (sTLDs), such as .gov, .edu, .mil, and .museum

So, no matter which niche or type of online project you intend to run, you will probably find the perfect domain on Porkbun’s platform.

Domain registration

Buying and registering a domain on Porkbun is straightforward.

From the homepage, type the unique name of the domain you want to register into the search bar.

Porkbun review showing the platform search bar.

After typing your domain, click the search icon, identifiable by the magnifying glass.

Porkbun review depicting the domain search icon.

Click on the bulk search option next to the pink search icon to search for many domains simultaneously. You can search up to 100 domains at once.

Within a few seconds, the super quick search engine will kick in and generate results. The search results show you if your preferred name/extension is available, and you will also see suggestions for other available extensions.

If your preferred domain name is available, click the + sign to the right of the domain.

Adding a domain to the shopping cart using Porkbun.

Click on the Checkout button with the shopping cart trolley icon.

Checkout icon as shown on Porkbun review guide.

You will be redirected to a checkout page.

Next, click on the blue Continue/Create Account/Login button on the bottom right corner of your checkout page.

Porkbun create new account icon.

Create a new account on the page that appears by filling in all the required details.

Porkbun new account and login page.

Click the blue Create Account button at the bottom of the page to finalize the creation of your account.

Once you verify your new account, you will be redirected to the checkout page. Input your credit card details to complete your purchase.

That’s it. You don’t have to deal with any upsells or unnecessary complications: just choose your domain, create your account, and enter your payment information.

Domain name transfer

The next thing to consider for our Porkbun review is the company’s domain transfer service.

Transferring a domain from another registrar to Porkbun is a breeze. ⌨️ You can do it in a few clicks:

Step 1: Log into your Porkbun account. Click the downward arrow on the arrow next to ACCOUNT and then select Add External Domain.

Step 2: Set up your domain to the following Porkbun name servers:

  • maceio.ns.porkbun.com
  • curitiba.ns.porkbun.com
  • fortaleza.ns.porkbun.com
  • salvador.ns.porkbun.com

Step 3: After configuring Porkbun’s name servers, enter the external domain you want to add to your account. Click the Submit and Verify button to add the domain from another registrar.

Your domain will show in your domain management dashboard if you’ve submitted correctly.

A domain must meet three essential requirements to be eligible for transfer:

  1. The domain name must have been registered for a minimum of 60 days
  2. The domain has been with the current registrar for at least 60 days
  3. The domain name must be unlocked, not on hold, or under security protection

Free WHOIS privacy

When you register a domain you have to give the registrar your email, phone number, and physical address. Activating WHOIS privacy protection ensures that this information isn’t publicly available.

This keeps your info safe and shields you from being bombarded by unrelenting spammers in your inbox.

Porkbun provides free WHOIS privacy for every domain registered with the company. However, some top-level domains do not support WHOIS privacy due to individual registry-level restrictions and policies.

👉 Here’s a partial list of domain extensions that don’t support WHOIS privacy:

  • ni
  • mx
  • com.mx
  • net.mx
  • org.mx
  • gg
  • co.gg
  • co.uk
  • org.uk
  • me.uk
  • eu

If you’re using an uncommon TLD, you may want to check with the platform’s support team to confirm if the domain extension you want supports WHOIS privacy.

Free SSL certificates

Security is a crucial factor to consider when considering a domain registrar.

An SSL certificate conveys trust to users, keeps website data secure, and makes it harder for online attackers to access users’ information. It does all this by encrypting your data.

Because SSL certificates are so valuable, many domain registrars charge for them. But Porkbun gives them free for all supported domains. The registrar also auto-renews the certificate for you.

Plus, each SSL certificate works with all major browsers.

URL forwarding

Another key feature of the Porkbun platform is URL forwarding.

URL forwarding allows you to redirect your new domain to an existing website. Porkbun’s URL forwarding supports both temporary redirects (also called HTTP 302 or 307 redirects) and permanent redirects (also known as HTTP 301 redirects).

Like SSL certificates, some registrars charge for URL forwarding.

Porkbun does it for free for its customers.


Other Porkbun services ➕

Although our main focus with this Porkbun review is on domain name registration services and features, Porkbun also has other things to offer besides only that. It’s helpful to be aware of this, so as to get comprehensive overview of Porkbun as a company. Plus if you’re on the hunt for some of these other services, then you’ll know that they are available for you.

These include:

  • Website hosting. Get shared WordPress hosting with secure storage, unmetered bandwidth, and quick installs for as low as $7.50/month.
  • Email hosting. Enjoy free email hosting for the first three months of domain registration and pay $24.00/year afterward.
  • Email forwarding. Forward up to 20 email addresses for your new domain to your existing ones. For instance, if your current email is john@example.com you can forward john@newdomain.com to it.
  • Domain marketplace. Buy domains being marketed by third parties from Porkbun’s fully stocked marketplace. Once you buy a domain, they automatically transfer it to your account. You can also sell your domains using this service.
  • Domain auctions. Buy top TLDs from the auction service.

Porkbun pricing plans 💳

Our Porkbun review would be incomplete without tackling pricing.

One thing that makes Porkbun a fan favorite is affordability. Their prices are among the cheapest in the industry:

ExtensionRegistrationRenewalTransfer
.com$10.37$10.37$10.37
.co$9.58$22.97$22.97
.org$8.15$10.72$10.72
.net$11.48$11.48$11.48
.biz$14.40$14.40$14.40
.io$37.38$46.65$46.65
.tech$8.73$41.69$41.69
.info $3.07$16.97$16.97
.shop$2.04$25.21$25.21
.blog$3.58$21.09$21.09

Interestingly, Porkbun charges the same price for initial domain registration, renewal, and transfer for some of the most popular domain extensions. This is notable because most domain registrars charge low registration fees but hike the renewal rate significantly. So you might end up spending more on a Porkbun domain in the first year if you’re choosing a .com or .net domain, but you’ll reap savings over time.

Porkbun also often runs first-year registration deals. For instance, at the time of writing this article, you get a .com domain extension for as low as $7.97.


Porkbun customer support 🖱️

The next stop in our Porkbun review and analysis is customer support. Porkbun has three support channels:

  • Phone. Porkbun offers telephone support from 4 AM – 5 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, and 9 AM – 5 PM Pacific Time, on Saturdays and Sundays. Phone support is available 365 days per year.
  • Live chat. You can chat with the support team staff live during the same regular working hours noted above.
  • Email. The third option for reaching the Porkbun support team is by email: support@porkbun.com

If you’re wondering how Porkbun customer service compares to other domain-focused companies, it offers all of the same customer service support options as most other popular registrars. In fact, it offers more options than some registrars, as phone support isn’t always available through other companies.

However, the customer service is limited to business hours in Pacific Time, whereas many competitors offer live chat and/or phone services 24/7.

In addition to their support options, Porkbun also has a self-service knowledge base loaded with tutorials. You can dig into it whenever you need help with their services.

How responsive is Porkbun customer support?

To get a real-world feel for how good Porkbun’s customer service is, I reached out to the Porkbun support team via chat and asked a few basic questions. For example, I asked about bulk domain search:

Interacting with the Porkbun chat support team to evaluate their customer support response.

A support team member promptly answered all of my questions. He told me exactly what to do to solve my hypothetical request. His response demonstrated a thorough knowledge of Porkbun’s products and services and even included an annotated screenshot. In summary, I was satisfied with the experience.


Porkbun pros and cons 👍👎

Another key Porkbun review talking point is the solution’s pros and cons.

Below is a summary of Porkbun’s advantages and disadvantages.

Pros 🔋

  • A simple, easy-to-use beginner-friendly user interface
  • Cheap, upfront pricing with no hidden fees
  • Very low domain renewal rates
  • Free SSL certificates and WHOIS protection

Cons 🪫

  • They don’t offer support around the clock
  • You can’t use their hosting service if your domain is registered elsewhere

Overall, whether you’re registering and managing a domain name or contacting the support team, you will enjoy using Porkbun. It’s simple, smooth, and swift. You will find your way around the website easily and do what you need to do without struggling. Simply put, Porkbun’s pros far outweigh its few cons.


Porkbun alternatives

This Porkbun domain review would be incomplete without touching on alternative solutions.

🖱️ The top tools you can use instead of Porkbun are:

  • Namecheap. Namecheap is a renowned domain registrar and web hosting company offering a wide range of TLDs at cheap prices. It also provides free WHOIS privacy, SSL certificates, managed WordPress hosting, email hosting, domain name marketplace, and more.
  • Hover. Hover hails from Canada and is well liked for its user friendliness. This domain name registrar has all the popular extensions and hundreds of other TLDs. Additionally, the company offers custom email hosting and email address forwarding.
  • GoDaddy. GoDaddy is a giant company in the domain registrar space. It’s famous for its cheap pricing and expansive offering of TLD extensions. GoDaddy also sells web hosting, email hosting, and website building services.
  • Hostinger. Hostinger is primarily a web hosting company that also registers domain names. The brand’s other tools include a website builder, online store builder, email hosting, and business name generator.
  • Dynadot. Dynadot is an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar, web hosting, and website building platform. You can also buy, bid, and bulk manage domains using the company’s super-powered domain marketplace solution.

Porkbun review: the verdict 🎈

In summary, Porkbun does its core business of domain registration excellently.

What stands out from our Porkbun review is the website’s ease of use. You can buy a domain name and find your way around the website even if you are not tech savvy. You can also gain easy access to other services like web hosting through Porkbun.

Another thing most users love is Porkbun’s affordability, especially the long-term savings.

The one place where Porkbun falls short is customer support, which is only available during regular working hours. Most competitors provide support around the clock.

Despite this one drawback, Porkbun is an excellent option if you want a simple solution or need a cheap but reliable domain registrar. 😎

Are you thinking of buying your first or next domain name? Check out our guide on how to choose a domain name.