Squarespace Domains review
by Squarespace, Inc.Domain registrars
Domains sold on their own, no website needed: a .com is $10 for the first year and $20 to renew, with free privacy, DNSSEC on by default and email forwarding.
- Paid only
- Self-serve
- Usage-based
- Public prices
What you're paying for
- Easy to adopt (main value)
- Worth the price
A domain with privacy, DNSSEC, email aliases and forwarding switched on, managed in a simple dashboard, with no website plan required.
Squarespace Domains turns on the common protections for you: privacy, DNSSEC and the transfer lock are on by default, and email aliases (with a catch-all) and URL forwarding are free. You can keep the domain on Squarespace DNS or point it at up to 13 custom nameservers. The restore fee is published, there is no transfer-out fee, and domain managers can be added without sharing billing. It suits owners of a few domains, whether or not they build a Squarespace site.
- Protections on by defaultHelp articles say free privacy is included automatically, DNSSEC is enabled for every Squarespace-managed domain whose TLD supports it, and the domain lock is on by default.Evidence: Help center articles on privacy, DNSSEC and domain lock (2026-10-16)
- Email aliases and forwarding includedUp to 100 email aliases with a catch-all (*) and 301 or 302 URL forwarding with SSL, at no charge.Evidence: Email forwarding and URL forwarding help articles (2026-10-16)
- Published restore fee, no transfer-out feeThe redemption table lists $45 for a .com, and the transfer article says Squarespace does not charge to transfer a domain away.Evidence: Redemption-fee and transfer help articles (2026-10-16)
- Best for
- Owners of a few domains, with or without a Squarespace site, who want privacy and DNSSEC set up for them.
- Good to know
- A .com renews at $20 after a $10 first year, and there are no bulk actions, DNS export or customer API.
How Squarespace Domains compares
Against 3 other products we reviewed in Domain registrars: what you pay for with each, the five access facts, the plan limits we recorded and each review's bottom line. The note under the table says how each one was checked.
| Metric | Squarespace Domains | Cloudflare Registrar | Porkbun | Namecheap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Easy to adoptA domain with privacy, DNSSEC, email aliases and forwarding switched on, managed in a simple dashboard, with no website plan required. | Worth the priceA .com at the registry’s own price, $10.46 a year for registration and renewal alike, with DNS, DNSSEC and email routing included. | Worth the priceAn all-in $11.08 .com that costs the same to register, renew or transfer, with privacy, DNS, DNSSEC and forwarding included. | Worth the priceA low first-year .com with free privacy, DNS, DNSSEC and email and URL forwarding, and the freedom to point it at any nameservers. |
| Overall score | 6.8 | 8.6Best | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| Free option | Paid only | Paid only | Paid only | Paid only |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $20/yr | $10.46/yr | $11.08/yr | $18.48/yr |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per domain per year | Per domain per year, at cost | Per domain per year, all fees included | Per domain per year |
| .com year 1 / renewal | $10 (first-year discount) / $20 | $10.46 / $10.46 | $11.08 / $11.08 (about $11.81 announced from Nov 1, 2026) | $11.28 (sale, list $14.98) / $18.48, each plus $0.20 ICANN fee |
| 3-year .com cost (scenario) | $50, computed | $31.38, computed | $33.24, computed at the prices listed on Oct 16 | $48.84, computed |
| .io and .ai | .io $60 year 1 (list $70); .ai $85, 2-year minimum | .io $32 year 1, renews $50; .ai $80/yr, 2-year minimum | .io $28.12 year 1, renews $51.80; .ai $82.70/yr, 2-year minimum | .io $34.98 year 1, renews $75.98; .ai $89.98/yr, 2-year minimum, renews $114.98 |
| ICANN fee | Not mentioned; home page says fees are included | Passed through at cost, not itemised | Included in the shown price | $0.20 a year, added in the cart |
| Restore (redemption) fee | $45 for .com | Varies by TLD; amount not stated | $200 plus the renewal (price page) | $88.48 for .com including the renewal |
| Grace period after expiry | 30 days (Squarespace Domains LLC); 40 days for Tucows domains | 40 days for most TLDs (FAQ) | Ends day 35–45 at the normal price; auction possible from about day 26 | About 30 days at the normal renewal price |
| Refund window (new registration) | 5 days for gTLDs; none for .io | None; registrations and renewals are final | 96 hours with a 5% fee (help center); cart and agreement say no refunds | 5 days, at Namecheap’s discretion |
| Nameservers | Squarespace DNS or 2–13 custom nameservers | Cloudflare nameservers only | Porkbun DNS (on Cloudflare) or any external nameservers | Namecheap BasicDNS or any external nameservers |
| Email forwarding | Free, up to 100 aliases, catch-all | Free Email Routing, 200 rules | Free, 20 per domain, no catch-all | Free, up to 100 forwards, catch-all |
| Domain/DNS API | Reseller API only, for approved resellers | Registrar API (beta) and DNS API; no spend condition | Free; purchases use prepaid credit by default | Yes, after 20 domains, a $50 balance or $50 spent; IP allowlist |
| 2FA | Passkeys and hardware keys, authenticator app, SMS in five countries | Security keys (WebAuthn), authenticator app, email | Security keys and passkeys (WebAuthn), authenticator app, email | Security keys and passkeys (FIDO/WebAuthn), authenticator app |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated | Company SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022; Registrar not named in the SOC 2 service list | Not stated | Not stated |
| Registry lock | Not stated | Enterprise only, through sales | Not stated | Domain Vault for .com and some TLDs; price not stated |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Squarespace Domains is the most hands-off option here, with protections on by default and a $45 restore fee. A .com renews at $20 after a $10 first year, and bulk tools, DNS export and a customer API are not offered. | From its public pages, Cloudflare Registrar has the lowest 3-year .com cost here and the same price every year, with the essentials included. The trade-offs are Cloudflare nameservers only, no refunds and no published restore fee. | From its public pages, Porkbun pairs an all-in .com price that does not rise at renewal with free essentials and a capable API. The restore fee is $200, and its refund pages disagree. | From its public pages, Namecheap includes everything most owners need and keeps the cart clean, with a published restore price. Renewals cost more than the first year, the ICANN fee is added on top, and its pages disagree on the new-customer code and on renewal refunds. |
Evidence: Squarespace Domains: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Cloudflare Registrar: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Porkbun: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Namecheap: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
Score
- Pricing clarity
- 4.0 / 10, Fair
- .com renewal price shown before the cart; no ICANN or other fee added on top of the shown price; restore fee published; home page says taxes and fees are included, while the help center says sales tax is added at checkout; agreement caps the redemption fee at $150, while the help table lists .ai at $160 and some TLDs at $2,470; .io renewal price not stated on any page; .ai shown as $85 with no term label despite a 2-year minimum; help center says the cart shows the renewal price, but the Cart Overview we saw did not; FAQ says a site trial or plan is needed to buy a domain, while the home page and help say none is
- 3-year cost of one .com
- 6.3 / 10, Good
- $50 over 3 years: $10 year 1 + 2 × $20 renewal; first-year discount shown in search to any buyer without a code (list $20); help says discounts apply to the first year only; .io $60 first year (list $70; renewal not stated); .ai $85, 2-year minimum, term of the price not labelled
- Renewal-price stability
- 3.4 / 10, Fair
- renewal $20 vs year 1 $10 (2.00×); .com transfer-in $20 (regular rate) and adds a year; .ai cannot be transferred in
- Included essentials
- 10.0 / 10, Excellent
- WHOIS privacy free; DNS hosting free, external nameservers allowed; DNSSEC free; email forwarding free; URL forwarding free; transfer lock on by default; up to 100 email aliases with catch-all; custom nameservers turn off Squarespace DNSSEC
- Checkout and renewal terms
- 10.0 / 10, Excellent
- no paid add-on pre-selected; default term not stated; restore fee $45; 30-day grace period; 5-day refund window; Cart Overview showed matching-domain suggestions, none added; checkout needs login; 5-day refund for gTLDs, none for .io
- Exit and account control
- 7.0 / 10, Good
- auth code in the dashboard; no transfer-out fee (stated); 60-day registrant-change lock can be waived; no DNS zone export described; no customer API; security-key 2FA; API only for approved resellers
Review
Review from public pages
Written from Squarespace Domains's public pages (pricing, security or privacy, and docs) as read on Oct 16, 2026. We did not sign up, and no hands-on run is published yet.
What the public pages show
We read Squarespace Domains' home page and domain search, the Domain Registration Agreement (effective Feb 20, 2026), the DPA, the security pages and help center articles on pricing, TLDs, free domains, refunds, privacy, nameservers, DNSSEC, email and URL forwarding, 2FA, domain managers, activity logs, renewals, expiry, redemption fees and transfers on Oct 16, 2026. The search showed another currency from our location, so we set its currency picker to USD. We added a .com to the Cart Overview; checkout needs a login, so we stopped there and did not create an account.
Search shows a .com at $10 with $20 struck through, and the help center says discounts apply to the first year only and that common TLDs like .com are $20 a year. The Cart Overview suggested matching domains (.net, .org and a promoted .studio) without adding any.
Several pages disagree. The home page says taxes and fees are included, while the help center says sales tax is added at checkout. The agreement caps redemption at $150, while the help table lists higher fees for some TLDs. One FAQ says a site trial or plan is needed to buy a domain; the home page says no website is required. No page states the .io renewal price, and the .ai price has no term label.
Strengths
- Protections switched on for you
Privacy, DNSSEC and the domain lock are on by default; custom nameservers are allowed, with a DS record field for them.
vs GoDaddy: GoDaddy limits free DNSSEC to the first five domains in an account.
- Low, published restore fee
The redemption table lists $45 for .com and .io, and the grace period is 30 days at the regular rate.
Compared: Porkbun lists a $200 restore fee.
- Catch-all email aliases included
Up to 100 aliases, with an asterisk alias catching all other addresses.
Compared: Porkbun’s forwarding has no catch-all.
- Managers without billing access
Unlimited domain managers can be added; they cannot see billing or turn off auto-renew, and a 90-day activity log is kept per domain.
Things to know
- Renewal doubles after year one
A .com is $10 for the first year and $20 a year after; transfers in are charged the regular $20.
Workaround: Registering for more years at once locks in the current price, per the help center.
- No bulk actions, DNS export or customer API
The help center says you cannot apply bulk changes, no DNS export is described, and the API is for approved resellers only.
Workaround: The transfer guide suggests a screenshot of your DNS settings before moving.
- Pages disagree on fees and requirements
Tax inclusion, the redemption fee cap and whether a site plan is needed differ between the home page, the agreement and help articles.
Pricing reality
Squarespace bills each domain per year. For our scenario, one .com for 3 years costs $10 + 2 × $20 = $50 (computed), with privacy, DNS and DNSSEC included and no ICANN fee mentioned. Sales tax may be added at checkout according to the help center. .io is $60 for the first year (list $70), with no refund window; .ai is $85 with a 2-year minimum and cannot be transferred in. An annual Squarespace website plan includes one free domain for the first year, which then renews at its regular price ($20 for a .com). The restore fee is $45 for .com.
Exit path
Turn off Domain Lock, choose "Request transfer code" and reauthenticate; the code is emailed to the registrant, and Squarespace charges no transfer-out fee. DNSSEC must be removed before the transfer. No DNS export is described and DNS settings are not carried over, so record them first. The agreement allows opting out of the 60-day lock when you change registrant details.
Compared with
- Pick Squarespace Domains when
- You want privacy and DNSSEC set up for you and a $45 restore fee.
- Pick Namecheap when
- You want bulk actions, a domain list export and an API.
- Pick Squarespace Domains when
- You want a lower .com renewal ($20 vs $22.99), free email forwarding and a 30-day grace period.
- Pick GoDaddy when
- You want BIND zone export, an API and ISO 27001 on the registrar platform.
Choose it if
- You own a few domains and want privacy, DNSSEC and email aliases set up for you.
- You build or plan a Squarespace site and want the domain in the same account.
- You want a low, published restore fee.
Look elsewhere if
- You manage many domains and need bulk changes or an API.
- You want the .com renewal to match the first-year price.
Bottom line
From its public pages, Squarespace Domains is the most hands-off option here, with protections on by default and a $45 restore fee. A .com renews at $20 after a $10 first year, and bulk tools, DNS export and a customer API are not offered.
Plan limits at a glance
| Limit | As recorded |
|---|---|
| Billing unit | Per domain per year |
| .com year 1 / renewal | $10 (first-year discount) / $20 |
| 3-year .com cost (scenario) | $50, computed |
| .io and .ai | .io $60 year 1 (list $70); .ai $85, 2-year minimum |
| ICANN fee | Not mentioned; home page says fees are included |
| Restore (redemption) fee | $45 for .com |
| Grace period after expiry | 30 days (Squarespace Domains LLC); 40 days for Tucows domains |
| Refund window (new registration) | 5 days for gTLDs; none for .io |
| Nameservers | Squarespace DNS or 2–13 custom nameservers |
| Email forwarding | Free, up to 100 aliases, catch-all |
| Domain/DNS API | Reseller API only, for approved resellers |
| 2FA | Passkeys and hardware keys, authenticator app, SMS in five countries |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated |
| Registry lock | Not stated |
Read from the vendor's public pages on Oct 16, 2026. No hands-on run is published yet. How we check
We have not published a sign-up run for Squarespace Domains yet. The access facts above were read from its sign-up and pricing pages on Oct 16, 2026.
We have not published API calls for Squarespace Domains yet.
Squarespace Domains lists 3 plans. The cheapest paid plan, .com renewal (yearly list price), costs $20/yr.
- Squarespace Domains.com$10first yearFirst-year discount (list $20); renews at $20 a year
- Free domain privacy
- DNSSEC on automatically
- Up to 100 email aliases with catch-all
- URL forwarding with SSL
- Squarespace Domains.io$60first yearList $70; no refund window for .io
- Squarespace Domains.ai$85/moRegistry minimum of 2 years; whether $85 is per year or for the term is not stated
Prices as listed, USD, excluding tax; observed 2026-10-16.
Source: domains.squarespace.com pricing page. Prices change; the observed date above is when our agent read them.