# Free Domain Alternatives — September 2026

## Freenom is Dead (do NOT waste time)
- .tk/.cf/.gq: 12.6M domains dropped in 2024 (Netcraft documented). Site alive but no new registrations.
- .ml/.ga: same fate, governments reclaimed TLDs

## Genuinely Free TLDs (full DNS, your domain forever)

### .pp.ua — мгновенно бесплатно
- Registrar: https://nic.ua/ru/domains/.pp.ua
- Purpose: personal pages, Ukraine
- Cost: FREE, instant registration
- Full DNS (A/AAAA/CNAME/MX/NS), Cloudflare compatible
- Pitfall: may require UA phone for account (5sim solves)

### .eu.org — European free TLD since 1996
- Site: https://nic.eu.org
- Free forever, full DNS control
- Pitfall: MANUAL review by moderator — 2 weeks to 3 months wait
- Max 2 zones per person. Don't spam registrations (ban risk)

### .nom.za — South African personal TLD
- Site: https://secure.nom.za
- Free, 19 years active
- Status Sep 2026: ad-supported trial
- Pitfall: personal use only, may be geo-restricted to ZA residents

### .eu.cc — NEW Sep 2026 (GNAME + Rayname)
- GNAME: https://www.gname.com/tld-eu-cc.html — 3 domains FREE, instant
- Rayname: https://www.rayname.com — also free .eu.cc registration
- Not ICANN-approved TLD but functionally identical: DNS, renewal, transfer
- Combined: 6+ free domains from two registrars

## Premium Domains FREE for 1 Year

### iFreeDomains
- Site: https://ifreedomains.com
- FREE gTLDs: .online, .blog, .bio, .link, .info — 1 year
- Flow: register → profile → cart shows $0.00 → may ask card for verification
- After 1 year: standard renewal pricing applies

### Wix Free Domain
- Site: https://wix.com/domain/
- Create trial site → get free domain for 1 year

### GitHub Student Pack
- https://education.github.com/pack
- Namecheap .me domain free 1 year + .tech/.live domains
- Requires edu email or SheerID bypass
- Also includes: Azure $100, JetBrains, GitHub Pro

## Nodeloc (domain.nodeloc.com)
- .loc.cc and .rr.kg domains: 10 years
- Promo "FREEJUL" expired 2026-07-16
- API flow documented in skill; watch forum for new coupons
- DNS must be configured manually (domain resolves only after adding records)

## Subdomain Services (not TLDs but useful)

### FreeDNS (afraid.org)
- https://freedns.afraid.org
- 6.7M users, 21,462 domains — largest shared domain registry
- Top domains: mooo.com (867k hosts), chickenkiller.com (444k), strangled.net (118k)
- your_account.any_domain.com, full DNS, active since 2001

### Cloudflare Pages (100 custom domains!)
- https://pages.cloudflare.com
- FREE: 100 custom domains per project (official docs confirmed)
- pages.dev subdomain, auto-SSL, unlimited traffic

### Vercel / Netlify / GitHub Pages
- vercel.app / netlify.app / github.io — all free with auto-SSL
- Custom domains supported on free tiers
- Vercel: personal use only (commercial = Pro $20/mo)

### DuckDNS / dynv6 / No-IP / DNSExit
- DDNS services for dynamic IPs
- DNSExit: 20+ free subdomain zones (.ipq.co, .linkpc.net, etc.)

## Tunnels (instant public domain, no registration)
- Cloudflare TryCloudflare: `cloudflared tunnel` → random trycloudflare.com with HTTPS
- nip.io: `<IP>.nip.io` resolves to IP — no DNS, no registration
- srv.us / ngrok / localhost.run — SSH-based tunnels

## ICANN Add Grace Period Abuse
- Register any gTLD → use 4 days → cancel within 5 days → full refund
- gTLD registrars MUST honour AGP (ICANN policy)
- Risk: account ban if abused. Use for short-term tests/KYC only.

## "Almost free" TLDs ($0.80-$2/year)
- .xyz: $1/year promotions (Porkbun, Namecheap)
- .link/.click: $0.80-1.50 (Spaceship, Porkbun)
- .ovh: $3/year
- .ru: 199₽/year (~$2)