How to Get a Free Domain Name: 4 Legit Ways in 2022
Elizabeth Kraus has more than a decade of first-hand experience building and growing a boutique digital marketing agency and double that in small and mid-size business marketing management. She provides expert answers to marketing questions related to branding, content marketing, web development, email, social media, and SEO.
This article is part of a larger series on Small Business Websites.
Buying a domain name outright for your website or professional email address only costs about $12 per year. However, there are a few ways to get one at no cost. For example, domains often come included when bundled with other services. We’ll show you how to get a free domain name for your business and discuss each method’s benefits to help you determine which option is best for you.
If you are planning to build a WordPress website, one of the easiest ways to get a free domain for the first year is with a web hosting service like Bluehost. They offer low-cost yet feature-rich plans packed with free extras, including a domain, from five to unlimited email addresses and a WordPress website builder, starting from $2.95 per month.
The other legitimate ways to get a domain name for free include:
4 Ways to Get Domain Names for Free
Option A | Option B | Option C | Option D |
|---|---|---|---|
Free domain with web hosting plan | Free domain with website builder plan | Free domain with email hosting plan | Free domain name registrar |
Best For: | Best For: | Best For: | Best For: |
Those building a WordPress website | Those building a site with a website builder (e.g., Wix) | Dedicated business email hosting | Personal use only* (NOT appropriate for business use) |
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Top Providers: | Top Site Builders: | Best Provider: | Providers: |
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Pro tip: Saving money by going through a free domain registrar usually comes at the cost of looking unprofessional with unfamiliar domain extensions that look untrustworthy and may also pose a security risk.
How to Set Up Your Free Domain Name (With Any Option)
You can get a free domain through a variety of ways, either by getting a web hosting plan, a site builder, an email hosting plan, or through a free domain registrar. Here are some of the options available and the pros and cons of each to help identify the perfect way to set up your website with a free domain name available.
Click the tabs below to find out what you need to know about free domain registration:
Option A: How to Get a Free Domain Name With Web Hosting
Hosting is one of the few required costs for building a website on WordPress. Get the most out of your web hosting plan by choosing one that includes a domain, email accounts, and a WordPress site builder. Hosting companies usually include automatic or one-click WordPress installation, and the best have site builders to simplify the process of building a WordPress site.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Free domains, email addresses, and site builders with hosting plans WordPress users will need anyway | Renewals can get pricey after 12-, 24-, or 36-month introductory pricing expires |
| Free .com domains and other top level domains (e.g., .net or .org) | Most plans require a minimum 12-month contract to get a free domain |
| You own the domain as long as you continue to renew your plan | |
| Looks professional and credible | |
| Automatically connects your domain to your WordPress site and makes it easy to set up business email addresses | |
How to Set Up a Free Domain With Web Hosting Plans
Top web hosting companies like DreamHost and Bluehost include free domain registration in affordable plans. To get your domain for free, simply choose which web host you want to use and select a plan. During account setup, you’ll be prompted to enter the domain name you want to see if it’s available, and if it is, complete the checkout process to complete the domain registration process.
Here are the best overall web hosting providers for WordPress that come with a free domain, free email addresses, and a WordPress website builder:
- Bluehost: Best for getting all you need to build a small business website on WordPress, from a free domain the first year and a free SSL certificate to free business email addresses for less than $3 a month
- DreamHost: Best for those wanting dedicated WordPress hosting or who need to migrate a WordPress website with site builder plans starting under $3 per month, including a free domain for 12 months
- InMotion Hosting: 24/7/365 U.S.-based customer support makes it the best web hosting platform for businesses prioritizing customer care, with WordPress site builder plans that come with a free domain the first year starting under $4 per month
Not sure which web host is right for you? Get the complete breakdown on the best web hosting companies for small businesses.
Option B: How to Get a Free Domain Name With a Website Builder
Building a professional website no longer requires web developer skills and coding. All-in-one site builders like Squarespace, Weebly, and Wix give you the ability to build your own site quickly, easily, and code-free. Since plans are all-inclusive, you’ll get a domain for free with your site builder of choice in addition to everything else you need to build and maintain your small business website.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Free domain for 12 months with leading site builders | Must purchase a paid plan to get a domain (no domains included in free plans) |
| Free .com or other top level domains (e.g., .net or .org) | More expensive than building a basic WordPress site through a hosting provider |
| Easiest way to build a site; no web design experience required | No email accounts included with plans |
| Professional and credible appearance | |
How to Set Up a Free Domain
Site builders offer a much easier way to build a business website. For example, with Weebly, all you need to do is create an account, select a template, and customize your site based on the elements of your choice. When you’re ready to go live, click the prompt from your user dashboard to connect a domain or click the orange “Upgrade” button in the upper right-hand corner of the site editor to upgrade to a paid plan that includes a free domain.
Here are the best site builders that provide domains for free for the first year with paid plans:
- Squarespace: Best for small businesses overall and solid search engine optimization (SEO) tools to grow your online presence
- Wix: Best for those wanting a flexible drag-and-drop site builder for maximum design freedom
- Weebly: Best website builder with built-in ecommerce tools with any plan
- IONOS: Cheapest site builder with first year pricing at $1 per month plus domain and email address
Want more help deciding which is right for you? Get the complete breakdown of the best website builders for small businesses to see which include a free domain.
Option C: How to Get a Free Domain Name With Email Hosting
If you aren’t ready to build a website yet or you want a separate domain to use for business emails, a dedicated email hosting plan that includes a free .com domain could be ideal. IONOS offers several different email hosting options that come with a free domain, starting from $1 per month.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Get a free .com or other top level domain to use for email in hosting plans from $1 per month | Doesn’t include web hosting like you get with DreamHost and Bluehost |
| Using a separate domain for email can reduce incoming spam and make email usernames harder to discover | 2GB storage limit in the Basic 1 plan isn’t adequate for moderate-to-heavy email users |
| Cost per user decreases as you add more users to the Mail Business plan | |
As buying a domain often costs around $12 to $15, IONOS email hosting plans essentially bundle business email and a domain for what you would pay just to get a domain. All plans include spam filtering, virus protection, web-based email, and IMAP/POP settings to set up your email in your preferred email client, and can scale with additional email accounts or storage:
- Mail Basic 1: $1 per user, per month for a domain and email account with 2GB storage
- Mail Basic 1+: $4 per user, per month to increase storage to 12GB
- Mail Business: $5 per user, per month to increase storage to 50GB and gain premium virus protection; cost per user, per month decreases as more accounts are added ($3 per user, per month with five users, $2.50 per user, per month with 10 users)
How to Set Up a Free Domain With Email Hosting
Choose the IONOS email hosting plan you want to start with and then follow the prompts to check the availability of your preferred domain name, add it to your cart, and check out. Once your domain is ready for use, you can set up email addresses on it right away.
Option D: How to Get a Domain Free Through a Domain Name Registrar
If you’re only interested in a domain name registrar that offers a 100% free domain, you can opt for a free domain name registrar. However, it can result in untrustworthy-looking domain extensions, such as .tk, as opposed to a standard .com. Before using one of these alternative domain extensions for your business, consider whether saving $12 a year is worth the risk of not presenting your brand in the best way to prospects and customers.
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Completely free | Looks unprofessional and untrustworthy |
| .com and other top level domains (e.g., .net, .org, .us) are not available free | |
| You don’t own it | |
| More susceptible to hackers | |
How to Set Up a Domain Through a Free Domain Registrar
Free domain registrars might be easy to use at first, but they can also be a headache. For example, with Freenom, you’re prompted to input your desired domain name. Upon clicking “Check Availability,” you’ll be redirected to a list of (seemingly) available domains to choose from. However, you’ll likely notice that this list is deceiving, and upon clicking the “Get Now” button, odds are the domain won’t actually be available.
Here are two domain registrars offering completely free domains:
If you need a domain for your business website or professional email, don’t use a free one. It’s not credible for businesses and may even pose security issues to your online operations. Instead, get a free domain with other services you need, such as WordPress web hosting through Bluehost, a site builder plan like Squarespace or Weebly, or dedicated email hosting through IONOS. Alternatively, purchase your domain from any of the best domain registrars.
If you’re running on a truly tight budget, we suggest that you build your business website on a subdomain through a free website builder, such as yourbusiness.weebly.com. It looks more credible as people are far more familiar with Weebly, and it’s 100% free to use. As you grow, you can get a free domain through a Weebly paid plan, which is the cheapest on the market with ad-free plans starting at $12 per month.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s the best way to get a free domain name?
The best way to get domain names for free is through other services your business needs, such as web hosting. For example, Bluehost includes a free domain and five free email addresses with purchase of its $2.95 per month hosting plan. Select a hosting plan, follow the prompts to search for a domain, select an available domain, and buy web hosting. Learn more about the process with our step-by-step instructions for business domain name registration.
How do I get a free email using my domain name?
Many hosting plans offer a free domain and at least one free email account with a matching email address (e.g., name@yourdomain.com). Bluehost offers the best value, including five free business email addresses within its ultra-low-cost plan for just $2.95 per month. It also comes with many other money-saving extras, such as a free domain name and a free SSL certification.
How can I get a free website?
There are many ways to get a free website, from site builders such as Weebly, Wix, or GoDaddy to an open-source content management system like WordPress.org. However, while free website builder plans are 100% free, there are other costs when using WordPress, such as hosting, a domain, an SSL certificate, and the cost of any plugins or premium themes you want to use.
Bottom Line
If you want a free domain, your best bet is to get a legit domain bundled with other services you need, whether that’s a WordPress web hosting plan for as little as $2.95 per month from Bluehost, a free domain with a website builder like Squarespace, or dedicated email hosting through IONOS from $1 per month.
You Might Also Like…
- For help finding an available domain, get the expert tips on choosing a domain name.
- Need to get a legit domain name and you’re not ready to choose a content management system (CMS)? Get yours from the best domain name registrars.
- Now that you have a domain, learn how to set up your professional email address.
