Registrar partner
Porkbun
Independent registrar with honest pricing and a strong reputation.
- Founded
- 2014 · Portland, OR
- HQ
- Portland, Oregon
- Ownership
- Private — subsidiary of Top Level Design
What it is
Background and scope
Porkbun was founded in 2014 in Portland, Oregon, and operates as a subsidiary of Top Level Design, the registry behind .design, .ink, and .wiki.
Its pricing is transparent and consistent year-over-year — there is no first-year promo followed by a sharp renewal jump — and free WHOIS privacy, SSL, and email forwarding are bundled with every domain.
The product is API-accessible, the support team is human, and the marketplace has grown steadily as an alternative to the larger aftermarket venues.
Strengths
What it's good at
- Genuinely low first-year and renewal pricing, no bait-and-switch
- Free WHOIS privacy, SSL, and email forwarding included
- Marketplace growing quickly with founder-friendly seller terms
Trade-offs
Where it falls short
Smaller aftermarket inventory; limited enterprise tooling; brand recognition still building outside the indie ecosystem.
How Laser AI uses it
Our role on a deal
Porkbun has earned a quiet reputation as the registrar that does not try to upsell. We route transfers there for founders running lean — solo builders, pre-seed companies, anyone who wants honest renewal pricing and does not need enterprise tooling.
When we route here
Scenarios that send a hunt to Porkbun
- The founder is running lean and wants honest renewal pricing.
- A dev or secondary project domain needs a no-frills home.
- Free included extras (WHOIS privacy, SSL, email forwarding) matter to the founder.
At a glance
Porkbun in a single table
- Founded
- 2014 · Portland, OR
- HQ
- Portland, Oregon
- Ownership
- Private — subsidiary of Top Level Design
- Primary TLDs
- Major gTLDs (.com, .io, .co, .dev, .app) and many newer TLDs
- Marketplace
- Porkbun Marketplace — growing inventory
- Escrow
- Third-party escrow for higher-value sales
- API
- Yes — REST API
- Best for
- Indie AI founders who want a no-nonsense registrar for secondary domains and dev projects.
Snapshot as of May 30, 2026
Direct answer
What is Porkbun?
Porkbun is a privately held domain registrar founded in 2014 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It operates as a subsidiary of Top Level Design and is known for transparent, consistent pricing, free WHOIS privacy and SSL included with every domain, and a growing aftermarket marketplace — making it a popular choice among indie founders and developers.
FAQ
Common questions about Porkbun
Who owns Porkbun?
Porkbun is a subsidiary of Top Level Design, the registry operator behind extensions like .design, .ink, and .wiki.
Does Porkbun include WHOIS privacy for free?
Yes. WHOIS privacy, SSL, and email forwarding are included free with every domain registered or transferred to Porkbun.
Does Porkbun support .ai domains?
Yes. Porkbun supports .ai registration and transfers, with the same transparent renewal pricing it applies to other TLDs.
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You do not need to pick the registrar. We pick the path that closes the deal.
Tell us the name. We tell you which platform the seller is on, where escrow should clear, and where the domain should live once it is yours.