# Cloudflare Registrar 18 Hacker News commenters recommended Cloudflare Registrar and 9 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Recommended for at-cost domain registration and low renewal prices, with no markup on TLDs. Critics agree the main caveat is being forced to use Cloudflare's nameservers. ## Why people recommend it - Domains sold at cost (8 comments): "They sell at cost, and their entire business is around DNS and caching so they have no reason to decide to stop selling domains in the future or mess with us." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50144129)) "Cloudflare offers domain registration/renewal with no markup if you're looking for an option." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49028761)) "It feels like the only registrar that has a business case for at cost domains." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46191165)) - Low renewal prices (6 comments): "Cloudflare's prices are very beatable, especially if we're talking about the first year price." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48032874)) "If the price is your concern, the Cloudflare registration is only $10." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49029066)) "Cloudflare is cheaper by twenty-five to fifty percent on renewals." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47157971)) - Business model sustains low prices (3 comments): "They sell at cost, and their entire business is around DNS and caching so they have no reason to decide to stop selling domains in the future or mess with us." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50144129)) "It feels like the only registrar that has a business case for at cost domains." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46191165)) "they have a real business model that isnt just registration skim" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47914250)) ## What people warn about - Forced to use their nameservers (6 comments): "Cloudflare.com is good too, EXCEPT if you buy your domain from them, you'll be required to use their nameservers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47199961)) "they go the extra mile to force their NS, which I havent seen with other registrars" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47611772)) "removed the ability to change the nameservers for all domains registered with them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49029322)) - Seen as a lock-in tactic (3 comments): "Cloudflare is doing the enshittification strategy, enticing you now, and then extracting value later." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47159007)) "in an attempt to make domains into a revenue driver for their primary product" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49029701)) "you can only ever use Cloudflare for that domain. It's a loss leader." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49620263)) - Confusing dashboard and interface (2 comments): "very confusing to have a DNS dashboard that lets you configure DNS how you like" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49365510)) "hard for me to tell head from the tail on their interface" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50148245)) - Feels corporate, unfriendly to small buyers (2 comments): "it asked me to affirm I had Acme Widgets Corp.'s permission" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49222647)) "too corporate-like to support me for my cheap $10 domain" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49029124)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Porkbun](https://hackerapproved.com/p/porkbun.md): 81 recommend - [Namecheap](https://hackerapproved.com/p/namecheap.md): 35 recommend - [Hover](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hover.md): 13 recommend - [GoDaddy domain registrar](https://hackerapproved.com/p/godaddy.md): 10 recommend - [MarkMonitor](https://hackerapproved.com/p/markmonitor.md): 10 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.cloudflare.com/domains/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Cloudflare Registrar", https://hackerapproved.com/p/cloudflare-registrar/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).