Spaceship Review 2026
Spaceship prints the renewal under every price card. A .com is $8.88 this year and $9.98 next year, and the card says so.
Our Verdict
4.7
Based on our independent review
6+ hours of research
Ease of Use
5.0/5
Pricing & Value
5.0/5
Features & Add-ons
5.0/5
Customer Support
4.0/5
Speed
5.0/5
Pricing Transparency
5.0/5
Privacy & Data
5.0/5
Best For: Solo founders and small-business owners who want a modern, clean registrar with flat renewal pricing and free privacy. Also a fit for developers who want a real REST API and Terraform provider on top of a price-competitive .com.
True Year 1 Cost: $8.88
Year 2+ (renewal): $9.98
Top Advantages
- Every price card shows the renewal. .com $8.88 then $9.98, .net $11.20 flat, .ai $79.98 flat.
- Free domain privacy on eligible domains, free email forwarding to 100 aliases per Spaceship's guide, DNSSEC settings in Advanced DNS.
- A public REST API at docs.spaceship.dev covering domain registration, renewal, restoration, DNS records and SellerHub.
.com $9.98 renewal
In This Article
How We Tested Spaceship
Live read of Spaceship's domain price cards, its redemption price list, its contact page, its DNS management page, its email forwarding guide and its API docs on 4 September 2026. Trustpilot re-read the same day. It reads 4.3 from 4,244. IANA 3862 checked on the IANA registrar list. No third party price trackers were used.
Spaceship Overview
What Spaceship Actually Costs
True Cost Analysis
Price Per Year
.com $9.98 renewal
Renewal Price
$9.98
A .com is $8.88 in year 1 against a $9.66 list price. It renews at $9.98, printed on the card. ICANN adds $0.20 a year at checkout. Redemption is $41.40 if you let it lapse.
Spaceship Pricing Plans
See live pricing →.com
Most Popular$8.88/1st yr
List $9.66, renews at $9.98
- Renewal printed on the card
- Free domain privacy
- DNSSEC settings in Advanced DNS
- Email forwarding to 100 aliases
- ICANN fee $0.20 added at checkout
.net and .org
$6.65/1st yr
.org $6.65 then $11.39, .net $11.20 flat
- Free domain privacy
- DNSSEC settings in Advanced DNS
- Redemption $41.40
.ai and .io
$31.98/1st yr
.io $31.98 then $51.75, .ai $79.98 flat
- Free domain privacy
- .ai redemption $165.60
- .io redemption $41.40
Spaceship Pros and Cons
Pros
- Every price card shows the renewal. .com $8.88 then $9.98, .net $11.20 flat, .ai $79.98 flat.
- Free domain privacy on eligible domains, free email forwarding to 100 aliases per Spaceship's guide, DNSSEC settings in Advanced DNS.
- A public REST API at docs.spaceship.dev covering domain registration, renewal, restoration, DNS records and SellerHub.
- Redemption prices are published on 1 page, $41.40 for .com, .net, .org and .io.
- Trustpilot 4.3 from 4,244 reviews on 4 September 2026.
Cons
- No phone support. The contact page offers [email protected] and chat.
- Same corporate group as Namecheap, so 2 registrars with 1 owner.
- .ai is $79.98 a year and its redemption fee is $165.60, the steepest on Spaceship's list.
- .online is $0.98 in year 1 and $21.38 at renewal, a 21 times jump the card does print.
- Promo codes we listed in April are gone from the site today, so do not plan on them.
Upsell Pressure & Hidden Fees
Transparency Check, We Documented Every Upsell
Almost none. In our April checkout Spacemail and hosting were optional add ons, none pre checked. The 1 number that is not on the price card is ICANN's $0.20 a year, which Spaceship's disclaimer says is charged at purchase on top of the displayed price. The renewal is on the card. The redemption fee is on its own page, $41.40 for a .com and $165.60 for a .ai. That is more than most registrars publish before you buy.
Pricing Transparency Score
5.0/5
5 = Fully transparent pricing · 1 = Heavy upsell pressure
What Real Customers Say
Reddit / Community Sentiment
Not re-read this run. The measured signal is Trustpilot, 4.3 from 4,244 reviews on 4 September 2026, down from 4.4 on our April read. We did not re-read individual reviews this run.
Is Spaceship Right for You?
Best For These Founders
First time founder
A .com at $8.88 with the $9.98 renewal printed on the card. No surprises in year 2.
Technical solo founder
The API covers registration, renewal, DNS records and contacts. Docs at docs.spaceship.dev.
Portfolio holder under 50 domains
Flat .net and .ai, published redemption fees, 1 dashboard.
Consider Alternatives If…
You want a phone number. Spaceship's contact page lists email and chat.
You want a registrar with no tie to Namecheap.
You are buying .online or .io for the promo year. Renewal is $21.38 and $51.75.
What The Price Cards Say
Spaceship's domain page shows 6 cards and each one prints the renewal. On 4 September 2026, .com was $8.88 in year 1 against a $9.66 list price, renewing at $9.98. .net was $11.20 flat. .org was $6.65 then $11.39. .ai was $79.98 flat. .online was $0.98 then $21.38. .io was $31.98 then $51.75. Our April read had .com renewing at $10.18 and .ai at $68.98. Both moved.
| Extension | First year | Renews at | Redemption |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com | $8.88 | $9.98 | $41.40 |
| .net | $11.20 | $11.20 | $41.40 |
| .org | $6.65 | $11.39 | $41.40 |
| .io | $31.98 | $51.75 | $41.40 |
| .ai | $79.98 | $79.98 | $165.60 |
| .online | $0.98 | $21.38 | $62.10 |
ICANN's $0.20 a year is added at checkout. Spaceship's disclaimer says so under the cards. The promo codes we listed in April were not on the site today, so the card price is the price to plan on.
What Comes Free
Domain privacy is free on eligible domains. Withheld for Privacy provides it. Email forwarding is free and Spaceship's guide says you can set up to 100 aliases. DNSSEC lives in the Advanced DNS panel alongside nameserver management and a propagation checker, per Spaceship's domain management page.
SSL is not part of a bare registration. No hosting, no certificate. Use Let's Encrypt on your host. Our domain registration guide covers what to check before you buy anywhere.
If You Forget To Renew
Spaceship publishes its redemption prices on 1 page. A .com, .net, .org or .io costs $41.40 to recover. A .ai costs $165.60. A .co costs $103.50. That is on top of the renewal. Turn on auto renew, it is free and the page explains the grace period before redemption kicks in.
Support
Email at [email protected] and chat. No phone. That is the whole contact page. For a DNS question it is enough. For a locked account it is slower than a call. Trustpilot sits at 4.3 from 4,244 reviews on 4 September 2026.
Developer Ergonomics
The public API is documented at docs.spaceship.dev. It covers the domain list, registration, renewal, restoration, availability, contacts, DNS records and SellerHub listings, with asynchronous operations for the slow calls. That is enough to script a portfolio without leaving the registrar for DNS.
How Spaceship Compares
On a .com renewal Spaceship asks $9.98. Porkbun, Cloudflare Registrar and Dynadot each carry their current renewal on their own review, and the table below pulls each price from its row. Namecheap is the sibling with the higher renewal. Spaceship's case is 1 line. The renewal is on the card, and it is low.
Spaceship vs. Top Competitors
| Service | Learn More | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spaceship Best Overall .com $9.98 renewal 4.7 | .com $9.98 renewal | $8.88 | 4.7 | Solo founders and small-business owners who want a modern, clean registrar with flat renewal pricing and free privacy. Also a fit for developers who want a real REST API and Terraform provider on top of a price-competitive .com. | Current Review |
 Porkbun .com $11.08 flat 4.7 | .com $11.08 flat | $11.08 | 4.7 | Highest Trustpilot, flat pricing, broadest free feature bundle | |
 Cloudflare Registrar $10.44 4.1 | $10.44 | $10.44 | 4.1 | At-cost pricing, nameserver locked to Cloudflare | |
 Namecheap .com $18.48 renewal 3.8 | .com $18.48 renewal | $15.18 | 3.8 | Same corporate group, higher renewal pricing | |
 Dynadot .com $10.88 flat 4.4 | .com $10.88 flat | $10.88 | 4.4 | Technical founder pick, strong API |
Final Verdict
Spaceship puts the renewal on the price card. A .com is $8.88 this year and $9.98 every year after, privacy is free, redemption fees are published, and the API is real. No phone, and it shares an owner with Namecheap. Trustpilot is 4.3 from 4,244 reviews. For a founder buying a first .com it is the least surprising checkout we have tested.
By Daniel Wong, Legal & Compliance Analyst
Frequently Asked Questions
This review reflects independent, first-hand testing by the StartupOwl team. Affiliate relationships never influence our ratings or recommendations. Read our editorial policy →
About the Author
Legal & Compliance Analyst
Daniel grew up in the shadow of Silicon Valley but chose the legal route over engineering, working as a paralegal for a corporate law firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He realized that early-stage founders were constantly making catastrophic legal mistakes because they couldn't afford a $500/hour attorney, prompting his move to B2B media.
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