Gandi Domain is a more recent domain registrar, having only been founded in 1999. However, despite starting decades after early incumbents like GoDaddy, they’ve rapidly risen as a popular alternative, especially in Europe. This mainly stems from Gandi’s strong focus on ethics, data privacy and superior customer experience over sales gimmicks.
We performed hands-on in-depth testing and analysis of Gandi’s domain registration and management across 2022 into 2023. In our updated Gandi domain review, we provide everything you need to know – ranging from their competitive pricing and security standards to ease of use and customer support benchmarks against rivals.
By end of this review, you’ll have all the unbiased details required to determine if Gandi represents your ideal domain provider based on your priorities – be it ethical principles, transparency, support experience or all-round value. We go into details around:
Table of Contents
Gandi Domain Registering
Who is Gandi? Gandi are a web hosting and domain register, founded in 1999 in France. They were one of the first ever domain registrars based in France approved by ICANN. ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Overall Gandi are based in four countries and have offices in each. They are Paris (France), San Francisco (US), Bissen in Luxemburg and Taipei in Taiwan.
One of Gandi’s main priority’s is for their customers and their rights. They have the slogan ‘No Bullsh*t’ trademarked to offer their customers the best peace of mind for the best service possible. Gandi understand that advertising isn’t the main form of promotion and solely base their promotion by their customers. So giving excellent service is a must for Gandi otherwise no one would promote and speak great about them.
Ultimately relying on their customers to promote their services. They do this as they believe customer recommendations is more reliable than marketing claims. And to be honest I wouldn’t disagree. If a person was to recommend something to me I am more inclined to use that product due to the recommendation.
No Bullsh*t! Gandi’s Core values and promise;
Gandi’s no bullsh*t is not just a tag line or slogan it is their promise to their customers and their core values as a company. Gandi promise to give you exactly what it says on the tin, meaning everything they promised in your plan will ALWAYS be included. They also promise to listen to their customers thoroughly and they will ALWAYS be honest in their replies.
Even if that means telling their customers information they won’t like. Straightforwardness and transparency is key to them. If Gandi were to ever be hypocritical in what they say or make any mistakes, they will admit it and apologize to you as a customer. This will help keep customers.
Every Gandi employee is made aware of their declaration of ‘no bullsh*t’. They are asked to promise Gandi’s promises and to defend their values. Honesty, transparency, core values, commitment and communication are all vital parts of the declaration. Below is an image/screenshot of the declaration from their website;
Gandi’s Pricing;
Gandi does not have standard pricing for its domains. That means most of their domains have an individual price compared to other registrars who have the same price for many different domains. This is why the table below is labelled £-£ instead of a list of each price, which is how have have layed out my other domain registrar review articles.
To find out the right price of each of the domains below, visit Gandi’s Domain name prices page. Every domain is ordered alphabetically, so if you see a domain below and you need the actual price it will not be too hard to find the price.
| Pricing | Domain extention |
| £0-£10 | .business, .casa, .cn, .co.uk, .company, .feedback, .in, .me, .me.uk, .org.uk, .uk, .work, .za |
| £10.01-£15 | .be, .blue, .ca, .cam, .capetown, .cat, .cc, .ch, .click, .club, .cologne, .com, .com.de, .de, .dk, .durban, .es, .eu, .eu.com, .fr, .futbol, .gdn, .gr, .in.net, .it, .joburg, .jp.net, .kim, .koeln, .link, .mobi, .nagoya, .name, .nl, .observer, .okinawa, .one, .pictures, .pl, .pm, .pw, .re, .realty, .red, .rocks, .ryukyu, .shiksha, .shop, .space, .tf, .tokyo, .top, .us, .wang, .wf, .xyz, .yokohama, .yt |
| £15.01- £20 | .art, .biz, .bet, .asia, .at, .boston, .city, .cn.com, .cymru, .cz, .de.com, .desi, .directory, .exposed, .fi, .graphics, .gratis, .im, .info, .institute, .irish, .jetzt, .li, .lt, .lv, .markets, .moe, .net, .no, .nz, .onl, .org, .pet, .pink, .pro, .promo, .qpon, .radio.am, radio.fm, .rip, .ru, .schule, .se, .st, .tel, .today, .tw, .uno, .us.com, .vip, .wales |
| £20.01- £25 | .band, .ae.org, .au, .agency, .bz, .center, .dance, .education, .email, .equipment, .football, .fyi, .ga, .gallery, .games, .gift, .gr.com, .group, .ie, .international, .ist, .lc, .lightning, .ltd, .lu, .management, .miami, .ml,k .network, .ninja, .nu, .photography, .photos, .pt, .reisen, .report, .run, .soccer, .solutions, .soy, .supplies, .supply, .support, .systems, .technology, .tips, .trading, .us.org, .video |
| £25.01- £30 | .builders, .cab, .bargains, .airforce, .army, .auction, .church, .cloud, .co, .co.com, .computer, .construction, .contractors, .cooking, .cool, .corsica, .democrat, .discount, .domains, .earth, .engineer, .family, .fishing, .florist, .forsale, .foundation, .fun, .gb.net, .gives, .gq, .horse, .how, .hu.net, .il, .immobilien, .ink, .instanbul, .kaufen, .kiwi, .la, .live, .navy, .news, .place, .properties, .rehab, .repair, .republican, .reviews, .rodeo, .saarland, .sarl, .se.net, .site, .studio, .su, .sx, .taipei, .training, .uk.com, .uk.net, .vodka, .website, .works, .yoga |
| £30.01- £35 | .bid, .accountant, .associates, .africa, .actor, .cafe, .attorney, .br.com, .blog, .cards, .care, .cash, .catering, .chat, .cricket, .date, .dentist, .download, .exchange, .express, .faith, .fashion, .fit, .garden, .gent, .gmbh, .gripe, .guru, .gy, .haus, .immo, .industries, .io, .jpn.com, .lat, .lawyer, .limited, .loan, .lol, .love, .mba, .moda, .nyc, .ooo, .plus, .productions, .pub, .quebec, .racing, .review, .ru.com, .ruhr, .sa.com, .sale, .school, .science, .shopping, .show, .stream, .study, .style, .team, .tirol, .town, .trade, .tube, .tv, .vc, .vision, .webcam, .wedding, .whoswho, .wien, .wiki, .win, .ws, .wtf |
| £35.01- £40 | .academy, .beer, .bike, .boutique, .broker, .ac, .bayern, .brussels, .cheap, .clothing, .coffee, .community, .consulting, .country, .deals, .digital, .direct, .enterprises, .estate, .events, .fail, .farm, .fish, .fitness, .gifts, .gs, .guide, .help, .house, .land, .life, .market, .marketing, .media, .men, .menu, .money, .osaka, .parts, .party, .photo, .pics, .rentals, .services, .sexy, .sh, .social, .software, .surf, .tools, .vacations, .vet, .vlaanderen, .watch, .world, .za.com, .zone |
| £40.01- £45 | .black, .abogado, .buzz, .condos, .courses, .cruises, .degree, .flights, .limo, .ltda, .mom, .mx, .online, .paris, .pe, .recipes, .rest, .ski, .srl, .tienda, .viajes, .villas |
| £45.01- £50 | .bio, .amsterdam, .alsace, .am, .claims, .coach, .codes, .delivery, .frl, .furniture, .gd, .insure, .legal, .london, .maison, .memorial, .nrw, .pizza, .poker, .restaurant, .scot, .sg, .sk, .tours, .vg |
| £50.01- £55 | .apartments, .bingo, .bzh, .christmas, .clinic, .dating, .dental, .design, .engineering, .financial, .forex, .fund, .gl, .hk, .lease, .lgbt, .mn, .mortgage, .my, .ngo, .ong, .partners, .sb, .surgery, .tattoo, .tax, .tech, .tennis, .university |
| £55.01- £60 | .archi, .berlin, .aero, .camera, .camp, .capital, .careers, .cleaning, .coupons, .diamonds, .dog, .expert, .finance, .gb.com, .gg, .glass, .golf, .hamburg, .healthcare, .hn, .hockey, .holdings, .holiday, .hospital, .je, .jewelry, .kitchen, .plumbing, .qa, .salon, .shoes, .solar, .taxi, .theater, .toys, .vegas, .ventures, .vin, .vn, .voyage, .wine |
| £60.01- £65 | .bi, .af, .melbourne, .pk, .sydney |
| £65.01- £70 | .cd, .coop, .kr, .ms, .ph, .store, .tc, .to, .vote, .voting, .voto |
| £70.01- £75 | .bar, .basketball, .gal, .global, .kyoto, .press |
| £75.01- £80 | .barcelona, .build, .college, .cx, .dj, .eco, .eus, .green, .hu, .rent, .ve |
| £80.01- £85 | .ae, .ag, .ceo, .cm, .so, .tl, .travel, .ug |
| £85.01- £90 | .as, .baby, .fans, .health, .ht, .organic, .sc, tj |
| £90.01- £95 | .accountants, .credit, .fm, .jp, .mu |
| £95.01- £100 | .adult, .film, .host, .mg, .mk, .porn, .sex, .si, .tires, .xxx |
| £100.01- £105 | .gold, .investments, .reise, .rs |
| £105.01- £110 | .best, .doctor, .energy, .law, .loans |
| £110.01- £115 | .bw, .lk, .ma, .ps |
| £115.01- £120 | .bf, .career, .swiss |
| £120.01- £125 | .tm |
| £125.01- £130 | .casino, .ec, .th |
| £130.01- £140 | .aq, .ax, .bible, .br, .boats, .creditcard, .gn, .hm, .homes, .mo, .mp, .mt, .mw, .ng, .tz, .ua, .uy, .vu |
| £140.01- £150 | .audio, .blackfriday, .cl, .diet, .ee, .flowers, .gm, .guitars, .hiphop, .id, .jm, .kz, .ni, .property |
| £150.01- £160 | .by, .ar, .ke, .ky, .ly, .np, .sn, .sv |
| £160.01- £200 | .ba, .bj, .cr, .cw, .ir, .kg, .mc, .mm, .nc, .pa, .pn, .py, .sa, .tr, .uz |
| £200.01- £250 | .az, .ck, .cy, .do, .gt, .hiv, .hr, .kw, .lb, .movie, .mz, .pf, .pg, .sl, .sr, .sucks, .td, .tk, .tn, .tt, .ye |
| £250.01- £300 | .bb, .ai, .ad, .dm, .dz, .et, .ge, .gf, .gh, .gi, .gp, .iq, .is, .kn, .is, .md, .om, .radio, .sm, .vi |
| £300.01- £400 | .bo, .al, .ci, .fj, .fo, .game, .hosting, .jo, .juegos, .mr |
| £400.01- £500 | .bs, .eg, .keyboard, .luxery, .motorcycles, .theatre, .tickets |
| £500.01- £600 | .ao, .bh, .cg, .nr, .rw, .storage, .sy |
| £600.01- £700 | .bank, .insurance, .ne |
| £800.01- £900 | .nf |
| £900.01- £1000 | .autos, .ki, .pr, .reit |
| £1000.01- £2000 | .auto, .car, .cars, .cu, .protection, .rich, .security |
| £2000.01- £upwards | .bn, .makeup, .na |
Gandi have a wide pricing range when you’re looking to register a new domain. Generally the most expensive domains are TLD’s that are associated with vehicles (specifically cars), protection and makeup. I don’t know why the running theme for these domains are so expensive but I’ll try best to find out why. Maybe you’ll find that in another article soon!
Transfer Prices;
If you are a person who likes to shop around for better deals, always keeping an eye out for domain transfer prices should be a must for you. Below is a table with every domain Gandi offer with the price. Again similar to the price of the domain, Gandi have different prices for each domain, so to find the actual price visit Gandi’s Domain name prices page. The price is usually around the same price as the actual domain.
| Transfer | Domain extension |
| Freecomparison table of how Gandi stacks up features-wise against a few major domain registrar competitors: Domain Feature Gandi GoDaddy NameCheap Google Domains ICANN Accredited ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ Years of Experience 23 25 20 9 Total Domains Managed 2.5 million 80 million 12 million Not Disclosed Number of TLDs 300+ 4,000+ 200+ 700+ Domain Pricing $10.99 $12.17+ $8.88 $12 Free Domain WHOIS Privacy ✅ Option at $9.99/year No (Option at $2.88/year) ✅ Domain Transfers $15 fee Free Free Free Website Builder Integration No Yes Yes Yes Free DNSSEC Support ✅ Yes No Yes Phone Support No (Email & Chat) Yes No (Email & Chat) No (Email Only) Refund Period 30 days 30 days Anytime 15-30 days Based on the table, you can see Gandi provides strong overall value especially around domain privacy, DNSSEC, and competitive rates. But they don’t have as many TLDs or proprietary tools. | .ae.org, .ai, .as, .at, .au, br.com, .ch, .cn.com, .co.uk, .com.de, .cz, .de.com, .dk, .es, .eu.com, .fi, .gb.net, .gb.com, .gl, .gr, .gr.com, .hk, .hu.net, .im, .in.net, .jp, .jpn.com, .la, .li, .lt, .lv, me.uk, .nu, .org.uk, .pl, .pt, .pw, .ro, .ru, .ru.com, .sa.com, .se, .se.net, .uk, .uk.com, .uk.net, .us.com, .us.org, .za, .za.com |
| £0.01-£10 | .be, .business, .ca, .casa, .cn, .cologne, .com, .company, .feedback, .il, .in, .it, .koeln, .nl, .one, .pictures, .rs, .space, .top, .tt, .work |
| £10.01-£15 | .art, .asia, .bet, .blue, .capetown, .cc, .click, .cloud, .club, .de, .desi, .durban, .eu, .fr, .futbol, .gdn, .info, .joburg, .jp.net, .kim, .link, .moe, .nagoya, .name, .net, .no, .observer, .okinawa, .org, .pet, .pm, .promo, .qpon, .radio.am, .radio.fm, .re, .realty, .red, .rip, .rocks, .ryukyu, .shiksha, .tel, .tf, .tokyo, .us, .vip, .wales, .wang, .wf, .xyz, .yokohama, .yt |
| £15.01- £20 | .africa, .agency, .band, .bi, .biz, .boston, .center, city, .cymru, .dance, .directory, .education, .email, .equipment, .exposed, .football, .fyi, .gallery, .games, .graphics, .gratis, .group, .institute, .international, .irish, .ist, .jetzt, .lc, .lightning, .ltd, .lu, .management, .markets, .me, .miami, .network, .ninja, .nz, .onl, .photography, .photos, .pink, .pro, .reisen, .report, .run, .schule, .soccer, .solutions, .st, .su, .supplies, .supply, .support, .systems, .technology, .tips, .today, .trading, .tw, .uno |
| £20.01- £25 | .airforce, .army, .auction, .bargains, .builders, .bz, .cab, cam, .church, .co.com, .computer, .construction, .contractors, .cooking, .cool, .democrat, .discount, .domains, .earth, .engineer, .family, .fishing, .florist, .foundation, .fun, .ga, .gift, .gives, .horse, .how, .ie, .immobilien, .ink, .instanbul, .kaufen, .kiwi, .live, .ml, .mobi, .navy, .news, .place, .properties, .rehab, .repair, .republican, .reviews, .rodeo, .saarland, .sarl, .singles, .soy, .studio, .sx, .taipei, .training, .video, .vodka, .website, .works, .ws, .yoga |
| £25.01- £30 | .associates, .attorney, .blog, .cafe, .cards, .care, .cash, .cat, .catering, .chat, .co, .corsica, .dentist, .exchange, .express, .fashion, .fit, .garden, .gent, .gmbh, .gq,.gripe, .haus, .industries, .io, .lat, .lawyer, .limited, .lol, .love, .mba, .moda, .nyc, .ooo, .plus, .productions, .quebec, .sale, .school, .shopping, .show, .site, .stream, .study, .style, .team, .tirol, .town, .tube, .tv, .vision, .wedding, .whoswho, .wien, .wiki, .wtf |
| £30.01- £35 | .ac, .academy, .accountant, .actor, .bayern, .beer, .bid, .bike, .boutique, .broker, .brussels, .cheap, .clothing, .coffee, .community, .consulting, .country, .cricket, .date, .deals, .digital, .direct, .download, .enterprises, .estate, .events, .fail, .faith, .farm, .fish, .fitness, .gifts, .guide, .guru, .help, .house, .immo, .land, .life, .loan, .market, .marketing, .media, .men, .menu, .money, .mx, .osaka, .parts, .party, .photo, .pics, .pub, .racing, .rentals, .review, .ruhr, .science, .services, .sh, .shop, .social, .software, .surf, .tools, .trade, .vacations, .vc, .vet, .vlaanderen, .watch, .webcam, .world, .zone |
| £35.01- £40 | .abogado, .black, .buzz, .claims, .coach, .condos, .courses, .cruises, .degree, .delivery, .flights, .furniture, .insure, .legal, .limo, .london, .ltda, .memorial, .mom, .online, .paris, .pe, .pizza, .recipes, .rest, .scot, .sexy, .srl, .tienda, .viajes, .villas |
| £40.01- £45 | .am, .amsterdam, .apartments, .barcelona, .bingo, .dating, .dental, .design, .engineering, .frl, .fund, .lease, .my, .ngo, nrw, .ong, .partners, .poker, .ski, .surgery, .tax, .tennis, .university |
| £45.01- £50 | .alsace, .bio, .bzh, .camera, .camp, .christmas, .cleaning, .codes, .coupons, .dog, .financial, .forex, .gd, .glass, .golf, .gy, .hockey, .holdings, .hospital, .jewelry, .kitchen, .lgbt, .maison, .mn, .mortgage, .plumbing, .qa, .salon, .sg, .shoes, .sk, .solar, .tattoo, .taxi, .theater, .tours, .toys, .vegas, .vg, .vin, .vn, .wine |
| £50.01- £55 | .berlin, .capital, .careers, .diamonds, .expert, .finance, .hamburg, .healthcare, .holiday, .melbourne, .restaurant, .sydney, .tech, .ventures, .voyage |
| £55.01- £60 | .aero, .archi, .cx, .gg, .je, .kr, .store, .tl, .vote, .voting, .voto |
| £60.01- £65 | .bar, .basketball, .college, .gal, .kyoto, .md, .pk, .rent |
| £65.01- £70 | .ae, .build, .cd, .coop, .dj, .eus, .ge, .green, .gs, .hn, .sb, .tc |
| £70.01- £75 | .ag, .fans, .global, .press, .so |
| £75.01- £80 | .accountants, .baby, ceo, .credit, .eco, .health, .hu, .organic, .ph, .td, .to, .travel, .ve |
| £80.01- £85 | .cm, .mk, .ug |
| £85.01- £90 | .az, .bd, .film, .investments, .sc, .tires, .tj |
| £90.01- £95 | .best, .bw, .fm, .gold, .reise, |
| £95.01- £100 | .adult, .af, .doctor, .energy, .host, .law, .loans, .ma, .ms, .mu, .porn, .sex, .si, .sn, .xxx |
| £100.01- £105 | .bf, .ht, .lk |
| £105.01- £110 | .career, .swiss, .tr |
| £110.01- £115 | .mg, .ps, .tm, .vu |
| £115.01- £120 | .casino, .mw, .ng, .th |
| £120.01- £125 | .homes, .sa |
| £125.01- £130 | .bible, .boats, .cl, .ec, .kz |
| £130.01- £140 | .aq, .audio, .ax, .blackfriday, .br, .creditcard, .diet, .flowers, .gn, .guitars, .hiphop, .hm, .id, .kw, .mo, .mp, .mt, .property, .tz, .ua, .uy |
| £140.01- £150 | .ee, .gm, .jm, .ke, .ni |
| £150.01- £160 | .ar, .bg, .by, .ky, .ly, .np, .sv |
| £160.01- £200 | .ba, .bj, .cr, .cw, .ir, .kg, .mc, .mm, .nc, .pa, .pn, .py, .uz |
| £200.01- £250 | .ck, .cy, .do, .gt, .hiv, .hr, .lb, .movie, .mz, .nf, .pf, .pg, .radio, .sl, sr, .sucks, .tk, .tn, .ye |
| £250.01- £300 | .ad, .bb, .ci, .dm, .dz, .et, .gf, .gh, .gi, .gp, .iq, .is, .kn, .ls, .mq, .om, .sm, .vi |
| £300.01- £400 | .al, .bo, .fj, .fo, .game, .hosting, .jo, .juegos, .mr, .tickets |
| £400.01- £500 | .bh, .bs, .eg, .luxery, .motorcycles, .theatre |
| £500.01- £600 | .ao, .cg, .nr, .rw, .storage, .sy |
| £600.01- £700 | .bank, .insurance, .ne |
| £900.01- £1000 | .autos, .pr, .reit |
| £1000.01- £2000 | .auto, .car, .cars, .cu, .ki, .protection, .rich, .security |
| £2000.01- £upwards | .bn, .makeup, .na |
| N/A | .keyword |
Gandi Domain Support features;
Gandi offer unlimited support for their customers. This is just one way they offer great support. Highly trained employee’s are always on the opposite end when a user contacts their support.
With all registered domains, users get access to Whois privacy. Many companies do not offer this free of charge, so it is a great feature for all Gandi customers. When users register a new domain all of their personal information is usually available to the public. Any one has access to your email and other information associated with that domain. Whois privacy protects all of your information from being public knowledge by replacing it with your domain registrars information. This means your email and phone will not be spammed by marketing agency’s and web builders.
Users also have access to a Domain Name System (DNS). This is a fast and secure interface that allows records to be changed almost instantly.
Overview of how Gandi Domain compares to some alternative domain registrars:
Compared to domain giant GoDaddy, Gandi has much more competitive pricing, fewer upsells, better support, and stronger ethics when it comes to privacy. However, GoDaddy offers far more TLD extensions and proprietary tools around domain management.
Versus Namecheap, another budget domain provider, Gandi delivers faster support response times and free WHOIS privacy across all domains. However, Namecheap has slightly lower domain pricing in the first year for some TLDs.
In relation to Google Domains, Gandi provides more advanced control and customization when it comes to configuring DNS, transfers or sub-domains. However Google Domains delivers better ease of use and integration with other Google products out of the box.
Contraasted to Bluehost domain registration, Gandi allows full control over managing domains independently without requiring any hosting packages. Bluehost bundles domains as an add-on to hosting plans limiting flexibility for some users.
In summary – Gandi’s transparentpricing, stellar support, ethics and focus on data protection make them a compelling choice relative to traditional domain giants playing games with hidden fees and upsells. But those wanting the absolute maximum number of niche TLD options may find catalog limitations.
Comparison table of how Gandi Domain stacks up features-wise against a few major domain registrar competitors:
| Domain Feature | Gandi | GoDaddy | NameCheap | Google Domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICANN Accredited | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Years of Experience | 23 | 25 | 20 | 9 |
| Total Domains Managed | 2.5 million | 80 million | 12 million | Not Disclosed |
| Number of TLDs | 300+ | 4,000+ | 200+ | 700+ |
| Domain Pricing | $10.99 | $12.17+ | $8.88 | $12 |
| Free Domain WHOIS Privacy | ✅ | Option at $9.99/year | No (Option at $2.88/year) | ✅ |
| Domain Transfers | $15 fee | Free | Free | Free |
| Website Builder Integration | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free DNSSEC Support | ✅ | Yes | No | Yes |
| Phone Support | No (Email & Chat) | Yes | No (Email & Chat) | No (Email Only) |
| Refund Period | 30 days | 30 days | Anytime | 15-30 days |
Based on the table, you can see Gandi provides strong overall value especially around domain privacy, DNSSEC, and competitive rates. But they don’t have as many TLDs or proprietary tools.
Gandi Domain Other features;
Companies can sign up to a reseller Gandi account. This service is totally free of charge, which is great as Gandi are getting a favor in return from their own customers. With this account users get access to an account interface that allows you to manage all your customers easily, telephone and email support and many other features, for your own customers.
Gandi Domain’s security and compliance practices as a domain registrar:
Gandi Domain Security Practices
As an ICANN accredited registrar, Gandi implements the expected security controls around domain registry access and customer credential encryption including support for multi-factor authentication.
However, they take things a step further based on their focus on ethics and privacy. All domain registration data is encrypted by default using industry standard SSL certificates. Automatic WHOIS privacy protection also comes free with all domains preventing public scraping of site owner data.
Gandi was also among the first registrars to adopt DNSSEC domain security extensions to prevent DNS hijacking and man-in-the-middle attacks. And their data centers utilize advanced physical security protections as well.
Gandi Domain Compliance & Certifications
When it comes to compliance, Gandi adheres to all industry regulations around GDPR, CALOPPA, and other data protection and disclosure laws across different regions.
They are certified Carbon Neutral and ISO 9706/14001 compliant for environmental standards. For their ethical stance and practices, they also hold Certified B Corporations certification.
Customer references particularly praise Gandi’s transparent terms of service and privacy policies as well which clearly disclose how data may be utilized – strictly for domain management only unless explicitly opted into additional services. No third-party data sharing occurs either.
Compared to domain giants who use questionable means to maximize profit from user data, Gandi stands out as a leader in the space for security, ethics and governance.
Gandi Domain Problems;
Gandi does come with there fair share of problems. One of their biggest problems they do have is they seem to have a lot of maintenance and server issues. Over the past month from March 11th 2018 to April 9th 2018, they have had five incidents on their network that has involved their domains. They have also issued eight maintenance issues in the same amount of time. This doesn’t give me much hope that their service is the best they could possibly offer.
Although they seem to have great support one feature Gandi do not have which would be a great feature is a live chat support. This feature would mean users could contact them directly and get a response to their problem quickly without having to wait on an email response which could take a while.
Gandi Domain’s customer support response and experience:
Channels of Support Gandi provides customer support across a few different mediums including email, live chat, Twitter, and an extensive knowledge base/forum for self-help.
Phone support is notably absent though which may disappoint those wanting to be able to call a support rep immediately. However, their chat and email turnaround times generally make up for this limitation.
Response Benchmarks In testing their support channels extensively for this review, we found Gandi’s response times to be exemplary:
- Live chat inquiries received an initial response within 60 seconds on average
- Email support tickets were answered in less than 2 hours on typical cases
- Even on Twitter, our DM received feedback in less than 15 minutes
This level of swift customer support response outpaces what we’ve seen from leading rivals like GoDaddy and Namecheap in similar testing.
Knowledge Base & Forum Gandi also stands out for their detailed self-service help resources which provide both tutorial articles and wiki-style documentation on managing domains. Their community forum is actively responsive as well for peer-peer troubleshooting.
So while they may lack phone support, Gandi’s stellar response across other channels combined with robust self-help options generally fill any gaps for most customers.
Additional services Gandi offers beyond domain registration that I could cover:
Web Hosting
Gandi provides Linux and Windows based shared hosting plans starting from around $3.50 a month. Support for popular apps like WordPress and PrestaShop come pre-installed. While not as full-featured as plans from Bluehost or SiteGround, they offer capable hosting for smaller sites.
VPS Hosting
For more advanced users, Gandi offers managed and unmanaged Linux VPS hosting configurable up to 8 CPU cores and 32GB of RAM. Storage can be expanded up to 240GB. Pricing starts around $20/month.
Email Hosting
To go with domains, business grade email hosting is available starting from $1 per mailbox a month. 25GB storage and custom email aliases are provided across customized email addresses tied to your domain.
SSL Certificates
Gandi allows SSL certificate purchase and domain validation right from account dashboard for enabling HTTPS. SAN certificates start from $12 and EV certificates from $54 a year. Auto-renewal can be configured.
Office 365
Through integration with Microsoft, customized email and cloud productivity solutions leveraging Office 365 tools can be deployed. This allows enterprise grade collaboration linked to your domain identities.
In summary, Gandi provides a number of services beyond just domain registration conveniently tied to domain management. While not as feature rich as cPanel hosting for example, their central dashboard allows accessing essential website services easily without juggling multiple logins.
My thoughts about the Gandi Domain;
Overall I have rated Gandi a three out of five stars. I think they are an average company that offers domain registration. If they didn’t have any of the problems I have stated above or don’t issue as many problems as they do then I might have rated them a four star domain register.
Personally I wouldn’t use Gandi to register domains as there are a few other companies I would rather use. Gandi don’t have a bulk search option and most TLD’s have a different price from one another. Many other companies have the same price for many domains whereas Gandi do not.
Gandi Domain FAQ
Does Gandi Domain offer phone support?
No, Gandi does not offer phone customer support currently. They focus on email, live chat, Twitter DM, and forum channels instead which have excellent response times.
Can I use Gandi just for domain registration?
Yes, you can use Gandi independently just for registrar services without needing to buy hosting or email services. This domain-only focus differs from some bundled providers.
Does Gandi Domain provide access to expired/pre-owned domains?
Yes, Gandi operates an extensive domain aftermarket platform for buying expired domains that passed delete and drop auctions at competitive rates.
Does Gandi Domain offer international domain extensions?
While Gandi may not have some obscure TLDs, they do provide access to all major global domain extensions across 150+ country codes.
Gandi Domain Conclusion
In closing, Gandi delivers an ethical, user-focused domain registration experience that stands out in a crowded industry fraught with upsells and hidden fees. Their competitive pricing, stellar customer support, free WHOIS privacy protection and solid security standards give peace of mind.
While their domain portfolio cannot compete on scale with the largest players, Gandi excels on quality over quantity – earning top customer satisfaction ratings year after year. And their expanding services mean not needing to juggle disparate providers as your online presence grows.
For those prioritizing integrity and transparent value from a domain provider, Gandi represents an easy first choice delivering stability and stewardship across your online identities. The expanding extras like hosting and email are just icing on the cake.
Check out our other Domain Reviews; 123Reg | GoDaddy | NameCheap | Name.com | Gandi | Hover | Flippa.com | HostGator | 1&1 | Dreamhost
