Namecheap review: .xxx at $69.98, then $154.98 a year

What .xxx, .porn, .sex and .adult cost at Namecheap

Namecheap sells .xxx and .porn for $69.98 in the first year, a 46% discount on the $128.98 list price, and renews them at $154.98 a year. An inbound transfer costs $128.98. .sex is priced on the same grid. .adult can be ordered too, with the same 46% first-year discount, but its renewal price is not published.

The renewal rate sits above the undiscounted registration price, so the bill more than doubles in year two. Paying for several years upfront does not help: the multi-year grid applies the discount to the first year only.

For a defensive registration, meant to keep a brand name in .xxx out of other hands, the first-year discount is worth less than 9% of a five-year hold.

.com pricing and the new customer code

A .com costs $11.28 in the first year at Namecheap, then $18.48 a year. An inbound transfer is $11.48. New customers can bring the first year down to $6.79 with the code NEWCOM679, limited to one domain per person or household and to non-premium names.

Namecheap adds the ICANN fee of $0.20 a year at checkout on some extensions. Every purchase is processed in US dollars, which keeps things simple for a US buyer. Buyers paying in rupees, reais or euros see an estimated conversion on the site, and their bank applies its own rate when the charge goes through. Local VAT or GST can be added depending on the billing country.

Is Namecheap trustworthy?

Namecheap, Inc. is a registrar based in Phoenix, Arizona, and has been in business since 2000. The universal terms of service, which apply to every Namecheap product, prohibit any material that Namecheap judges obscene or threatening. Namecheap can remove it without notice, suspend the service or close the account with no refund, and the judgment is Namecheap’s alone.

The same terms let Namecheap ask for government-issued photo ID or business documents to verify a customer. An adult brand registered under a company should keep its incorporation papers ready.

On the plus side, every eligible domain gets free lifetime WHOIS privacy, along with free BasicDNS and DNSSEC. Payment options are card, eCheck, PayPal and Bitcoin.

Namecheap strengths and limitations