---
title: GoDaddy
slug: godaddy
url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/godaddy"
homepage: "https://www.godaddy.com/"
categories: domain-registrars, domain-api-providers
last_verified: 2026-07-23
dataset_version: 0738be72
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# GoDaddy

> The default registrar for people who have never compared registrars.

- The largest registrar in the world, priced like it: promotional first year, renewal roughly double the discount tier.
- Checkout is the reference implementation of the upsell interstitial.
- Things others include are products here: DNSSEC arrives with paid Premium DNS, free email forwarding withdrawn in 2022.
- Support is 24/7 and competent, and also a sales channel.

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | GoDaddy |
| Company | GoDaddy Inc. |
| One-liner | The default registrar for people who have never compared registrars. |
| Site | https://www.godaddy.com/ |
| Docs | https://developer.godaddy.com/doc |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Funding | Public (NYSE: GDDY) |
| Open source | No |
| Compared in | 2 |

## Where it is compared

### [Domain registrars](https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars)
Ranked **#14 of 15** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free WHOIS privacy | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | Basic redaction is bundled on many TLDs; the marketed privacy and protection tiers remain paid add-ons. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--free_whois_privacy |
| DNSSEC | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | Delivered through the paid Premium DNS product rather than free with the base registration. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--dnssec |
| DNS hosting | standard | Inferred | - | - | Free DNS is basic; anycast and advanced record handling sit behind Premium DNS. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--dns_hosting |
| Email forwarding | ○ | Community-reported | - | - | Free email forwarding was withdrawn in 2022 and replaced with a paid Microsoft 365 upsell. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--email_forwarding |
| Bulk management | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--bulk_management |
| TLDs offered | 500 TLDs | Inferred | - | - | Approximate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--tld_count |
| Public API | ◐ | Community-reported | - | - | API access was narrowed in 2024 to accounts holding a meaningful number of domains or a paid Discount Domain Club plan. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--api_available |
| Support quality | 3 | Community-reported | - | - | 24/7 phone, competent, and simultaneously a sales channel. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--support_responsiveness |
| .com first year | $11.99/yr | Inferred | - | - | Approximate. GoDaddy runs deep first-year promotions, occasionally near zero when bundled with hosting. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--com_first_year |
| .com renewal | $21.99/yr | Inferred | - | - | Approximate standard renewal; Discount Domain Club members pay less. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--com_renewal |
| Renewal jump | $10/yr | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--renewal_delta |
| At-cost pricing | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--at_cost_pricing |
| Fee transparency | ○ | Community-reported | - | - | Fees and add-ons surface late in the checkout funnel. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--icann_fee_transparency |
| .com.au renewal | A$29.99/yr | Inferred | - | - | Approximate AUD renewal for .com.au; GoDaddy sells .au through an accredited Australian entity. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--au_renewal |
| Transfer-out friction | 4 | Community-reported | - | - | Unlock, disable privacy, request the code, dismiss retention offers, and cancel any bundled protection product that blocks the unlock. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--transfer_out_friction |
| Auth code delivery | email-delay | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--epp_code_delivery |
| Registry lock | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | True registry lock is a GoDaddy Corporate Domains product, not part of the retail account. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--registry_lock |
| 2FA methods | totp, sms | Community-reported | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--two_factor |
| .au accredited | ● | Inferred | - | - | Operates an accredited Australian entity and sells .au directly. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--au_accreditation |
| Account recovery | 3 | Community-reported | - | - | Phone-based identity verification exists and is well staffed, which is also a social-engineering surface. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--account_recovery |
| Domains managed | 84 M | Inferred | - | - | Approximate, from company reporting. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--domains_under_mgmt |
| Ownership | public-company | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--ownership |
| Upsell aggression | 5 | Community-reported | - | - | Multiple interstitials, pre-selected add-ons, and continuing in-account promotion. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--upsell_aggression |
| Ad parking | ● | Community-reported | - | - | Unconfigured domains resolve to a GoDaddy-monetised parked page. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--parking_ads |
| Positioning | The default, defended by advertising rather than by price. | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#godaddy--positioning |

**Verdict.** The highest exit cost outside Crazy Domains, priced to extract from people who do not comparison-shop.

### [Domain APIs](https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers)
Ranked **#10 of 15** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Spend to first call | $30 up front | Community-reported | 2026-07-23 | https://developer.godaddy.com/doc/endpoint/domains | Since mid-2024 production access requires ten or more domains under management or an active Discount Domain Club membership, roughly US$30 a year for the entry plan. The OTE sandbox stayed free. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--min_spend_to_api |
| Sandbox / OTE | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://developer.godaddy.com/doc/endpoint/domains | Separate OTE host with its own keys. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--sandbox_env |
| Reseller contract | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | No contract for the standard API, but the eligibility gate functions as one. A separate reseller programme exists. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--reseller_contract |
| Min prepaid balance | $0 float | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--min_prepaid_balance |
| ICANN accredited | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--icann_accredited |
| API auth | api-key | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://developer.godaddy.com/doc/endpoint/domains | An sso-key header carrying a key and secret pair. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--api_auth |
| TLDs offered | 500 TLDs | Inferred | - | - | Approximate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--tld_count |
| .au support | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | GoDaddy retails .com.au and .au, but the documented Domains API schema does not carry the auDA eligibility fields, so programmatic registration is not a clean path. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--au_support |
| Register endpoint | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--register_api |
| Bulk availability | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://developer.godaddy.com/doc/endpoint/domains | An array of names in a single POST, with a fast/accurate mode switch. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--bulk_availability |
| Suggestion API | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--suggestion_api |
| Transfer in/out | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--transfer_api |
| DNS record API | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--dns_record_api |
| EPP code via API | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--epp_code_api |
| Auto-renew control | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--auto_renew_api |
| Webhooks / events | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--webhook_events |
| Contact model | inline-per-order | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--contact_model |
| Privacy via API | paid-addon | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--privacy_api |
| Rate limit | 60 req/min | Community-reported | - | - | Undocumented; 429s are commonly reported around one call per second per key. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--rate_limit |
| Pricing basis | retail-premium | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--pricing_basis |
| Renewal price in API | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Purchase schemas return a price for the term requested; there is no clean separate renewal figure per TLD. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--renewal_price_api |
| .com renewal | $21.99/yr | Inferred | - | - | Approximate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--com_renewal_usd |
| MCP server | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--mcp_server |
| Machine-readable spec | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://developer.godaddy.com/doc/endpoint/domains | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--openapi_spec |
| API since | 2015 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--api_since |
| Positioning | Mass-market registrar whose API is now positioned as a benefit for larger customers. | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#godaddy--positioning |

**Verdict.** Technically strong surface undermined by the least trustworthy access policy here and the worst pricing.

## Alternatives

- [Dynadot](https://toolweight.com/tools/dynadot), Domainer-oriented registrar with strong bulk tools and a built-in marketplace.
- [Gandi](https://toolweight.com/tools/gandi), European registrar with huge TLD breadth and post-2023 premium pricing.
- [Namecheap](https://toolweight.com/tools/namecheap), The mainstream cheap registrar: heavy first-year discounts, higher renewals.
- [NameSilo](https://toolweight.com/tools/namesilo), Flat renewals, free privacy and portfolio tooling for people holding hundreds.
- [Netim](https://toolweight.com/tools/netim), French registrar with unusually deep ccTLD coverage and corporate controls.
- [Porkbun](https://toolweight.com/tools/porkbun), Near-cost pricing with free privacy, SSL and forwarding, and a clean exit.
- [Synergy Wholesale](https://toolweight.com/tools/synergy-wholesale), Australian wholesale registrar, near-cost .au if you can open an account.
- [Cloudflare Registrar](https://toolweight.com/tools/cloudflare-registrar), At-cost registration bolted to Cloudflare DNS, no markup, ever.
- [Crazy Domains](https://toolweight.com/tools/crazy-domains), Australian bait pricing: single-digit first year, then several times that.
- [Direct EPP (own accreditation)](https://toolweight.com/tools/direct-epp), Become the registrar: ICANN accreditation plus an EPP client per registry
- [Hexonet](https://toolweight.com/tools/hexonet), Wholesale platform with 1,000+ TLDs, bulk checks and a free OT&E on signup
- [Hover](https://toolweight.com/tools/hover), Expensive, calm and upsell-free, with the best phone support in the category.

## Logo & brand colours

SVG files: https://toolweight.com/teams/godaddy/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/godaddy/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/godaddy.

| Hex | oklch |
| --- | --- |
| #000000 | oklch(0.0% 0.000 0.0) |

## Licence and attribution

Data from Toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0.

- Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/tools/godaddy
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/godaddy.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.