---
title: Porkbun
slug: porkbun
url: "https://toolweight.com/tools/porkbun"
homepage: "https://porkbun.com/"
categories: domain-registrars, domain-api-providers
last_verified: 2026-11-07
dataset_version: 0738be72
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# Porkbun

> Near-cost pricing with free privacy, SSL and forwarding, and a clean exit.

- Run by Top Level Design, the registry behind .design, .ink and .wiki, so pricing sits unusually close to wholesale.
- Free WHOIS privacy, SSL, email forwarding and one-click DNSSEC are standard, not upsells.
- The interface is idiosyncratic and the brand deliberately silly.
- The transfer-out path is one of the cleanest in the category.

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | Porkbun |
| Company | Top Level Design |
| One-liner | Near-cost pricing with free privacy, SSL and forwarding, and a clean exit. |
| Site | https://porkbun.com/ |
| Docs | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Open source | No |
| Compared in | 2 |

## Where it is compared

### [Domain registrars](https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars)
Ranked **#2 of 15** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free WHOIS privacy | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://www.porkbun.com/products/domains | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--free_whois_privacy |
| DNSSEC | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--dnssec |
| DNS hosting | standard | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--dns_hosting |
| Email forwarding | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-06-30 | https://porkbun.com/ | Free forwarding; paid mailboxes sold separately. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--email_forwarding |
| Bulk management | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--bulk_management |
| TLDs offered | 600 TLDs | Inferred | - | - | Approximate; one of the broader retail catalogues. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--tld_count |
| Public API | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--api_available |
| Support quality | 5 | Community-reported | - | - | Consistently reported as fast and technically literate over email and chat. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--support_responsiveness |
| .com first year | $11.81/yr | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://www.porkbun.com/products/domains | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--com_first_year |
| .com renewal | $11.81/yr | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://www.porkbun.com/products/domains | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--com_renewal |
| Renewal jump | $0/yr | Inferred | - | - | Promotional pricing appears on newer TLDs, not on .com. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--renewal_delta |
| At-cost pricing | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | A thin margin above wholesale, close to cost, but not cost. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--at_cost_pricing |
| Fee transparency | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--icann_fee_transparency |
| .com.au renewal | A$19.94/yr | Inferred | 2026-11-07 | https://porkbun.com/tld/com.au | Porkbun lists .com.au at US$13.70/yr regular renewal (US$8.29 sale price shown); converted to AUD at 1.4554 (frankfurter.dev, 2026-11-06). Excludes GST. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--au_renewal |
| Transfer-out friction | 1 | Community-reported | - | - | Unlock toggle and auth code sit together in the domain management panel; no retention interstitial. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--transfer_out_friction |
| Auth code delivery | instant-dashboard | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--epp_code_delivery |
| Registry lock | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--registry_lock |
| 2FA methods | totp | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--two_factor |
| .au accredited | ○ | Inferred | 2026-11-07 | https://auda.org.au/industry/registrars/accredited-au-registrars | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--au_accreditation |
| Account recovery | 4 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--account_recovery |
| Domains managed | 4 M | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-07 | https://porkbun.com/blog/porkbun-four-million-domains-under-management/ | Vendor says it crossed 4 million. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--domains_under_mgmt |
| Ownership | registry-affiliated | Inferred | - | - | Operated by Top Level Design, the registry behind .design, .ink and .wiki. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--ownership |
| Upsell aggression | 1 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--upsell_aggression |
| Ad parking | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--parking_ads |
| Positioning | Everything the expensive registrars charge extra for, included. | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-registrars#porkbun--positioning |

**Verdict.** The best general-purpose registrar here: near-cost, everything bundled, and a ninety-second exit.

### [Domain APIs](https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers)
Ranked **#13 of 15** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note | Permalink |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Spend to first call | $0 up front | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | Key and secret are generated free from account settings. API access must then be enabled per domain before domain-level calls work. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--min_spend_to_api |
| Sandbox / OTE | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--sandbox_env |
| Reseller contract | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--reseller_contract |
| Min prepaid balance | $0 float | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--min_prepaid_balance |
| ICANN accredited | ● | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--icann_accredited |
| API auth | api-key | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--api_auth |
| TLDs offered | 600 TLDs | Inferred | - | - | Approximate; one of the broader retail catalogues. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--tld_count |
| .au support | ○ | Inferred | - | - | The catalogue is wide but does not carry .au, and there is no eligibility-field support anywhere in the API. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--au_support |
| Register endpoint | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--register_api |
| Bulk availability | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--bulk_availability |
| Suggestion API | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--suggestion_api |
| Transfer in/out | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--transfer_api |
| DNS record API | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | Per-record create, edit and delete, including retrieval by type and subdomain. The strongest part of the API. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--dns_record_api |
| EPP code via API | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--epp_code_api |
| Auto-renew control | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--auto_renew_api |
| Webhooks / events | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-11-06 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--webhook_events |
| Contact model | account-default | Inferred | - | - | Registrant details come from the account; there is no contact-object model for registering on someone else's behalf. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--contact_model |
| Privacy via API | free-and-default | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--privacy_api |
| Rate limit | 6 req/min | Community-reported | - | - | Reflects the availability check, which is the binding limit at roughly one call per ten seconds. Other endpoints are looser but undocumented. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--rate_limit |
| Pricing basis | retail | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--pricing_basis |
| Renewal price in API | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-23 | https://porkbun.com/api/json/v3/documentation | The pricing endpoint needs no authentication and returns registration, renewal and transfer prices for the whole catalogue. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--renewal_price_api |
| .com renewal | $11.06/yr | Inferred | - | - | Approximate. | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--com_renewal_usd |
| MCP server | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--mcp_server |
| Machine-readable spec | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--openapi_spec |
| API since | 2019 | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--api_since |
| Positioning | Cheap retail registrar whose API exists mainly so developers can automate DNS. | Inferred | - | - | - | https://toolweight.com/compare/domain-api-providers#porkbun--positioning |

**Verdict.** Superb free pricing and DNS API, but verify a registration endpoint exists before building a signup flow.

## 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.
- [GoDaddy](https://toolweight.com/tools/godaddy), The default registrar for people who have never compared registrars.
- [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.
- [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/porkbun/logo.svg and https://toolweight.com/teams/porkbun/mono.svg. JSON: https://toolweight.com/api/v1/brands/porkbun.

| Hex | oklch |
| --- | --- |
| #ef7878 | oklch(71.0% 0.147 21.5) |

## 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/porkbun
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/tools/porkbun.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- Toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements.