Gandi vs Hover
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Gandi and Hover.
Quick Verdict
3.2/5
Gandi
0 reviews
3.2/5
Hover
0 reviews
Both Gandi and Hover are equally rated at 3.2/5. Free WHOIS privacy and free Anycast DNS (LiveDNS with DNSSEC) on every domain; SSL free for the first year only; the formerly included free mailboxes were withdrawn in 2023 and email is now a paid subscription Hover is known for having the cleanest checkout experience in domain registration — no upsells, no bundled hosting pitches. Flat pricing, free WHOIS privacy, and email forwarding included.
Gandi French registrar — no bullshit policy since 1999 | Hover Clean domain registrar — no upsells | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.2 (0 reviews) | 3.2 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | From $11/mo | From $2.99/mo✓ |
| Best for | EU and privacy-conscious buyers with a handful of names who want a principled, GDPR-native registrar with strong free DNS and are willing to pay above-market renewals | Individuals and small businesses holding a few important domains who want a clean, upsell-free registrar experience and will pay modestly more for it |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | eu datacentergdpr compliantapi access | — |
| Visit Gandi → | Visit Hover → | |
Gandi
Pros
- + No checkout upsell carousel; transparent per-TLD price list with a public A-E volume discount grid (up to 50% off)
- + Free WHOIS privacy, free Anycast LiveDNS with DNSSEC and automatic DNS backups, unlimited aliases and forwarding with every domain
- + Long, mostly reliable track record: registered 1999, ICANN-accredited (IANA ID 81), GDPR-native French jurisdiction
- + Solid automation: public API across domains, DNS, email and billing, plus bulk portfolio actions
Cons
- - Renewals are among the highest in our comparison: .com renews at $38.38/yr, about 3.5x at-cost
- - Included mailboxes were removed in 2023, including for customers who had prepaid multi-year registrations
- - Volume discounts only start at $600 annual spend; small portfolios pay full price
- - Paid email and post-first-year SSL add-ons cost more than standalone specialists
Hover
Pros
- + Flat registration/renewal/transfer pricing on mainstream TLDs (.com $18.99/yr)
- + WHOIS privacy included free; $0.20 ICANN fee is the only surcharge
- + Clean checkout with no upsells or pre-checked add-ons
- + ICANN-accredited registrar backed by Tucows' wholesale infrastructure
- + Straightforward DNS and portfolio management, plus email forwarding
Cons
- - Above budget-registrar pricing on .com and other legacy TLDs
- - Public review scores are poor (Trustpilot 1.3 across ~120 reviews)
- - Promo-then-jump pricing on newer TLDs (.online $2.99 → $36.99 renewal)
- - No hosting, no notable reseller programme, thinner tooling for large portfolios
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