Namecheap, Inc.

Namecheap holds nearly 5% of the global domain market with over 10 million domains under management, built up since 2000. The Phoenix-based company started on a single proposition, affordable domain registration, and expanded into a web services provider covering shared hosting through SSL certificates.

Payment flexibility is one point of separation from the rest of the registrar market: cryptocurrency is accepted alongside PayPal and credit cards, which most competitors do not offer. The domain marketplace runs active auctions on premium names, and the WHOIS lookup service supplies the domain intelligence that routine web operations depend on.

Acquisitions have been selective. Namecheap bought Namebase, a marketplace built specifically for Handshake names, then sold it in January 2026. The episode showed a willingness to test domain technologies outside the traditional TLD system without committing indefinitely to them.

Over two million customers use the flagship platform and related services. Hosting runs from basic shared plans up to dedicated servers, the SSL certificate products secure millions of websites, and the FreeDNS and PremiumDNS services cover name server management for customers who need it.

Recent corporate activity has changed the ownership structure. In 2025, CVC Capital Partners acquired a majority stake while founder Richard Kirkendall retained significant ownership. The deal valued Namecheap at $1.5 billion and brought private equity resources behind the expansion plans.