# Porkbun review: a registrar that's cheap and safe to leave domains at

**Verdict: our pick for most small businesses and IT teams.** Porkbun is
honest about price (renewal costs the same as the first year), includes the
things other registrars charge for, and lets you protect the account with a
hardware security key. The main gap is the lack of a published registry lock
for high-value domains.

We review registrars from one angle: how well they protect a business's
domains. We have no affiliate relationship with any registrar. Facts were
checked on 30 October 2026; prices change, so confirm on the registrar's
own site.

## At a glance

| | Porkbun |
|---|---|
| .com price | $11.08 to register, $11.08 to renew, $11.08 to transfer in |
| WHOIS privacy | free |
| Two-factor sign-in | authenticator app (TOTP) or security key (WebAuthn) |
| Registry lock | not offered publicly |
| DNSSEC | yes, on Porkbun DNS and with your own nameservers |
| Free extras | DNS, email forwarding (up to 20 addresses), URL forwarding, Let's Encrypt SSL for hosting |
| API | yes, opt-in per domain |
| Support | phone and chat 9am–5pm Pacific every day, email 24/7 |

## Pricing you can predict

Many registrars sell the first year cheaply and recover it at renewal.
Porkbun's .com costs the same each year, and WHOIS privacy is included, so
the price you see is the price you pay for as long as you keep the domain.
For a business holding a dozen domains for a decade, that matters more than
any first-year discount.

## Security

- **Security keys.** Besides an authenticator app, Porkbun supports physical
  security keys through WebAuthn, the strongest protection against phishing
  of the registrar login. Use one for any account holding domains your email
  runs on.
- **WHOIS privacy** is included with every domain, so owner names and email
  addresses don't appear in public lookups that attackers use for targeted
  phishing.
- **DNSSEC** can be turned on for Porkbun's own DNS, or added manually with DS
  records when the domain uses external nameservers.
- **API keys** must be enabled per domain (or for all domains at once).
  Porkbun's own guide notes the keys work whether or not 2FA is on, so treat
  an API key like a password: store it in a secret manager and opt in only
  the domains that need automation.

## DNS and extras

Porkbun's free DNS runs on Cloudflare's network, and you can point a domain
at any other nameservers. Email forwarding, URL forwarding and a free
certificate for its hosting are included, which covers what most parked and
secondary domains need.

## What's missing

- **No published registry lock.** For the one or two domains that run the
  business, consider a registrar that offers Verisign Registry Lock. See
  [Registry lock](/guides/registry-lock).
- **Phone and chat support** keep Pacific business hours; email is 24/7.

## Reporting abuse at Porkbun

If a lookalike of your domain is registered through Porkbun, its registrar
abuse contact is `abuse@porkbun.com` (+1.855.767.5286). See
[How to report a lookalike domain](/guides/report-lookalike-domain-takedown)
for what to include.

## Compared with the others

See [the best domain registrar for security](/guides/best-domain-registrar-for-security)
for Porkbun next to Cloudflare Registrar, Namecheap and Gandi.

## Check your domain

Wherever your domains are registered, the
[domain expiry checker](/tools/domain-expiry-checker) shows expiry, transfer
lock and registrar, and the [WHOIS privacy check](/tools/whois-privacy-check)
shows whether owner details are public.

## Sources

- [Porkbun: domains (prices and included features)](https://porkbun.com/products/domains)
- [Porkbun: two-factor authentication](https://kb.porkbun.com/article/19-how-to-enable-two-factor-authentication)
- [Porkbun: security keys with WebAuthn](https://kb.porkbun.com/article/119-how-to-secure-your-account-with-a-physical-security-key-using-webauthn)
- [Porkbun: how to install DNSSEC](https://kb.porkbun.com/article/93-how-to-install-dnssec)
- [Porkbun: API getting started](https://porkbun.com/llms/guides/getting-started)
- [Porkbun: about and support hours](https://porkbun.com/about)
- [Verisign RDAP: porkbun.com (registrar abuse contact)](https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/porkbun.com)

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Source: https://nameward.app/guides/porkbun-review (updated 2026-10-30)