Private and open-source alternatives to Squarespace Domains
12 domain registrars rated against the same public privacy criteria as Squarespace Domains (Google Domains), with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The home page loads Google Tag Manager.
- No ads or data sales: no. The privacy policy says interactions with third-party services are analyzed to tailor advertising.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
- Transparency report: no. No transparency report or government request policy is published.
- Tells users about requests: no. No published policy on notifying users about data requests.
- Security headers: no. Grade F (0/100+)
- Free WHOIS privacy: partial. Free on eligible domains, but most ccTLDs do not allow it.
- Honest renewal pricing: partial. Domains renew at the standard annual TLD price, so first-year offers and discounts renew higher.
- Transfer and registry lock: partial. A transfer lock is enabled by default. No registry lock service is documented.
See the full Squarespace Domains rating.
The alternatives
Cloudflare Registrar Grade C Our pick
Domain registrar that charges registry cost with no markup, with free WHOIS redaction, transfer lock and one-click DNSSEC.
Why it is our pick: Registry cost with no markup on registration or renewal, free WHOIS redaction, security-key login, and automatic DNSSEC with Cloudflare DNS.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Cloudflare Registrar scores 66 out of 100 (grade C) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 8 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, Free WHOIS privacy, honest renewal pricing, two-factor login and transfer and registry lock.
Njalla Grade D
Domain service run by njalla.srl in Costa Rica. Njalla registers domains in its own name and grants customers full usage rights, and accepts cryptocurrency.
Based in Costa Rica. Njalla scores 57 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 6 of 12 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, Free WHOIS privacy, honest renewal pricing and two-factor login.
INWX Grade D
German domain registrar with a large selection of European extensions, flat renewal pricing, authenticator-app login and optional registry lock.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). INWX scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 5 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, honest renewal pricing, two-factor login and transfer and registry lock.
Orange Website Grade D
Icelandic hosting company that also registers domains, asks only for an email address at sign-up and accepts Bitcoin.
Based in Iceland. Orange Website scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 6 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, Free WHOIS privacy, honest renewal pricing and two-factor login.
NameSilo Grade D
US domain registrar with flat renewal pricing and free WHOIS privacy, email forwarding and DNS on every domain.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). NameSilo scores 48 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 5 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, honest renewal pricing and two-factor login.
Gandi Grade D
French domain registrar and hosting provider with free WHOIS privacy on most extensions, TOTP and security-key login, and a yearly transparency report.
Based in France (Nine Eyes). Gandi scores 45 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 3 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report and two-factor login.
Joker.com Grade D
German domain registrar run by CSL GmbH, offering hundreds of domain extensions, free DNS hosting with DNSSEC, and optional paid WHOIS privacy.
Based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes). Joker.com scores 45 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 3 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, TLS configuration and two-factor login.
Spaceship Grade D
US domain registrar from the team behind Namecheap, offering domain registration with free WHOIS privacy, hosting, email and a domain marketplace.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Spaceship scores 41 out of 100 (grade D) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 2 of 12 criteria: TLS configuration and two-factor login.
Hover Grade F
Canadian domain registrar owned by Tucows, offering domain registration with free WHOIS privacy on supported extensions and email hosting.
Based in Canada (Five Eyes). Hover scores 36 out of 100 (grade F) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 2 of 12 criteria: TLS configuration and two-factor login.
Dynadot Grade F
California-based domain registrar with free WHOIS privacy on eligible extensions, two-factor login and optional registry lock.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Dynadot scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 2 of 12 criteria: two-factor login and transfer and registry lock.
IONOS Grade F
Web hosting company and domain registrar, part of the German IONOS Group, offering domains, website builders, hosting, email and cloud servers. The ionos.com site is run by IONOS Inc. in the US.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). IONOS scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 1 of 12 criteria: two-factor login.
Porkbun Grade F
US domain registrar with free WHOIS privacy on most extensions, authenticator-app and security-key login, and an API.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Porkbun scores 27 out of 100 (grade F) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 1 of 12 criteria: two-factor login.