The first year of a domain is cheap almost everywhere. The renewal is where the real price lives — and Hostinger and Namecheap tell two very different stories over five years.
The renewal prices (checked October 2026)
- Hostinger: $19.99/year to renew a .com
- Namecheap: $18.48/year to renew a .com
Namecheap is cheaper by about $1.50 a year. Over five years that's roughly $7.50 — not life-changing, but it adds up across a portfolio of domains.
Why the first-year price lies to you
Both registrars discount year one heavily. Hostinger often sells the first year for under $10, and Namecheap does the same. If you compare only the first-year price, Hostinger can look cheaper — until the renewal invoice arrives at $19.99.
The honest comparison is always renewal vs renewal. A full breakdown with a 5-year cost table is here: https://renewpings.com/blog/hostinger-vs-namecheap-domain-renewal
What else matters besides price
- Free WHOIS privacy: Namecheap includes it free for life on most domains. Hostinger includes it free on some plans — check before checkout.
- DNS and management: both have solid dashboards; Namecheap's is the more mature of the two.
- Transfer-out: both allow transfers with an auth code, but unlock the domain and disable privacy first, or the transfer can stall.
The bottom line
If you own one or two domains, pick the registrar whose dashboard you prefer — the price gap is small. If you manage ten or more, Namecheap's lower renewal saves real money every year.
For a side-by-side of every major registrar's renewal price, see the comparison page: https://renewpings.com/compare — and the cheapest .com renewal list: https://renewpings.com/blog/cheapest-com-renewal-prices
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