Free Domains/Subdomains
Getting something for nothing sounds great but it is worth considering the pros and cons of free domains and whether they will meet your requirements. If everything goes wrong you won't lose financially but you may feel "cheated" and feel that you have wasted your time having a free domain name.
Free Domains/Subdomains available not including free hosting
Freenom - No longer operating
This Dutch company in partnership with the national governments of the countries concerned has over a number of years offered the following free domain names:
Free .cf Domain (Central African Republic)
Free .gq Domain (Equatorial Guinea)
Free .tk Domain (Tokelau) an island in the Pacific Ocean
Once registered these domains were able to be forwarded to the web address of your choice or name server details could be set to your webspace to enable you to create your website
Latest news:
Freenom stopped allowing new domain name registrations in March 2023
https://securityboulevard.com/2023/03/
sued-by-meta-freenom-halts-domain-registrations/
In June 2023 management of the .ga domain names were taken back by the Gambian government and in Jul 2023 management of the .ml domain names were taken back by the Malian government. Consequently use of the previously "registered" freenom domain names for e-mails, websites or redirections came to an end.
Freenom domain names are no longer available for registration and existing domain names with .cf, .gq or .tk extensions whilst still managed by Freenom might very likely be returned to the national governments over the next few months.
February 2024 websites using freenom registered .gq and .cf domains no longer visible. E-Mail accounts using .gq and .cf domain names no longer working. Freenom has announced it is exiting the Domain business
https://www.freenom.com/en/freenom_
pressstatement_02122024_v0100.pdf
https://domainincite.com/29520-freenom-settles-500-million-
meta-lawsuit-and-will-exit-domain-business
July 2026 after previously announcing their exit from the Domain registration business Freenom is back offering Paid .cf, .gq and .tk domain names.
Freenom Is Back, and No Longer Free. The Free-Domain Registry Behind Years of Phishing.
Cybersecurity experts have recommended avoiding Freenom and looking to other established low cost domain registrars. These include Netcraft, The Spamhaus Project Spamhaus. Investigative journalists such as Krebs on Security. Regulatory & Governing Bodies ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the Governments of Mali and Gabon. Developer Communities (Reddit & Hacker News) r/selfhosted & r/webhosting (Reddit), Hacker News (YCombinator). Domain & Tech Reviewers Cybernews & NameOcean Cybernews, NameOcean.
European site offering .eu.org and .xx.eu.org subdomains (where xx =country two letter code eg uk=united kingdom).
Latest news:
Experiencing long delays in approval of domain registration. Forum news EU.Org validation speed
Have they stopped approving new requests? Eu.org domain question
French language site offering free .fr.nf (Norfolk Island), .asso.st (São Tomé and Príncipe), .ze.cx (Christmas Island), .infos.st, .biz.st subdomains
Frii Subdomains No longer operating
Free .frii.site subdomains. New service 2024. Allowed to register 3 subdomains. Full DNS entries.
Choice of thousands of free subdomains and forwarding
Numeric .XYZ Domains - 99 cent domains
Also known as Class 1.111B domains. 6N-9N .xyz domain names ie. NNNNNN.xyz - NNNNNNNNN.xyz. (N = 0-9). Full DNS control
Free Subdomains - list of providers
Free short subdomains - Env.pm
Free short subdomains for your personal projects or personal use. .env.pm, .jsx.pm
Free subdomains available including free hosting
A number of Free hosting companies include a free subdomain
More information >>>
Free Domains included in paid-for Hosting plans *
D9 Hosting - Free Domain included with all plans. Extensions include .co.uk, .org.uk, .com, .org.
Krystal Hosting - Free Domain included for the lifetime of your Ruby Cloud Hosting plan. Extensions include .co.uk, .org.uk, .com, .org.
Siteground - Free Domain included with all plans. Extensions include .co.uk, .com, .org.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Free
No need to reveal personal details on a whois registrant document
Cons:
You have no rights to the subdomain, since it is not registered in your name. You are only being allowed to use the name.
Further reading:
Domain names and Subdomains
Freenom
Forum thread discussing Freenom
Country extensions
Numeric Domains
Recommendations:
There are very limited options available to obtain free domains/subdomains. Free DNS Afraid can be useful for temporary projects or testing purposes as is Env.pm but otherwise use a hosting option with a free subdomain or regsiter your own low cost paid domain
Michael Fowler
Other articles by Michael Fowler:
Free Hosting - Michael Fowler
The Pros and Cons of using free hosting. A review of the free hosting available in the early days of the internet (1990 - 2000) and the free hosting options available today.
Free E-Mail - Michael Fowler
Discussion of the inadequacies of isp e-mail addresses and the free e-mail alternatives available.
Hosting Reviews - Michael Fowler
A listing of leading website hosting companies with links to Review centre and Trust Pilot reviews.
Sitemaps - Michael Fowler
Discussion of the different types of sitemap, their value and the desirability of using them on a website
Disclosure: Potential Communications is an affiliate of Just Host Me, Aidaform, D9 Solutions, Krystal Webhosting, Namesilo and Siteground * and receives a commission on purchases made through this website.
Disclaimer: The websites linked from this webpage are believed to offer services worth considering and to be factually correct but no warranty is offered as to the accuracy of the information on those linked websites nor that those services will meet your particular requirements. You are also subject to any copyright / terms of use restrictions of those websites.