GoDaddy and Namecheap both sell domain names and business email. For a small business, the first-year price is often an offer. The renewal price is what you pay every year after that, so compare renewals first. Then decide where your email should live.
Facts below come from the GoDaddy domains page, the GoDaddy .com page, the GoDaddy business email page, the Namecheap domain prices page and the Namecheap business email page, as of October 2026. Prices are in US dollars, as shown on each site's US pages. Taxes and fees can be added at checkout.
The short verdict
- Pick Namecheap if you want a lower listed renewal price on a .com and a low-cost mailbox for one or two people.
- Pick GoDaddy if you want Microsoft 365 email and apps from the same company that holds your domain, or you already use other GoDaddy products.
Domain prices: first year and renewal
Namecheap, .com, 1 year:
- Register: $11.28 for the first year at the time of writing, shown as a sale price.
- Renew: $18.48 a year.
- Transfer in: $11.48.
Namecheap adds a $0.20 ICANN fee per year to some domains, including .com. At the time of writing, it also offered new customers a .com for $6.48 for the first year with a promo code.
GoDaddy, .com:
- Regular price: $22.99 a year.
- At the time of writing, the .com page offered the first year for $0.01 with a 3-year purchase. The additional years are $22.99 each.
- The domains page also showed a code for new customers: a .com for $2.99 for a 1-year term.
These offers change often, so read the terms at checkout. After the offer, you pay the renewal price every year.
A quick example over three years for a .com, at the prices listed in October 2026:
- Namecheap: $11.28 for year one, then $18.48 for each of the next two years, plus the ICANN fee.
- GoDaddy: with the 3-year offer, $0.01 for year one and $22.99 for each of the other two.
Then both renew at their regular price every year after. Work out the total for the number of years you plan to keep the name.
Domain privacy
Both include it at no extra charge. Namecheap lists free privacy protection for life. GoDaddy says it provides free domain privacy with your domain purchase, which keeps your name, address and phone number out of the public WHOIS directory.
Business email
A business address like you@yourbusiness.com shows customers that the email comes from your business. Both companies sell it.
Namecheap Private Email, after a 30-day free trial, billed yearly:
- Launch: $14.88 a year. 1 mailbox, 5 GB.
- Expand: $41.88 a year. 3 mailboxes, 10 GB each.
- Scale: $71.88 a year. 5 mailboxes, 15 GB each.
GoDaddy Microsoft 365 email, per mailbox, per month:
- Email Essentials: $1.99 for the first 1-year term, regular price $8.99. 10 GB storage.
- Email Plus with Security: $5.99 for the first term, regular price $9.99. 50 GB.
- Secure Online Essentials: $10.99 for the first term, regular price $14.99. Adds web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and Teams.
GoDaddy lists a 7-day money-back guarantee on its email plans.
You do not have to buy email where you buy the domain. You can keep the domain with one company and use email from another. The guide on how to set up a business email address walks through the options.
How to decide
- Pick the name first. If you are still choosing, read how to name your business.
- Compare renewal prices. Look past the first-year offer.
- Decide how many mailboxes you need. One person and a shared inbox is different from a team of five.
- Turn on auto-renew. Keep the card on file up to date, so the domain does not lapse.
If your website builder includes a free domain for the first year, compare that too. See WordPress vs Wix and Wix vs Squarespace.