Gandi

Gandi is one of Europe's oldest and most respected domain registrars, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Paris, France. The company's famous motto, "No Bullshit," reflects its commitment to transparent pricing, ethical business practices, and straightforward service without the upselling and dark patterns that plague many US-based competitors. Over more than two decades, Gandi has built a loyal following among developers, businesses, and privacy-conscious individuals who value a registrar that treats its customers with respect and operates with European values at its core.

Gandi is accredited by ICANN and manages over 2 million domain names across more than 750 top-level domains. The company has grown from a simple domain registrar into a comprehensive web infrastructure provider, offering DNS hosting, email services, SSL/TLS certificates, web hosting, and cloud servers. Despite this expansion, Gandi has maintained its focus on simplicity and transparency, making it a natural choice for European organizations seeking an alternative to GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Google Domains.

Domain Registration and Management

Gandi supports registration across an extensive range of TLDs, from classic extensions like .com, .net, and .org to country-code domains, new gTLDs, and specialized extensions. The registration process is clean and straightforward, without the aggressive upselling, pre-checked add-ons, or confusing pricing that characterize services like GoDaddy. Every domain registered with Gandi includes free WHOIS privacy protection, which many competitors charge extra for or do not offer at all.

Domain management through Gandi's updated interface provides access to DNS configuration, nameserver settings, contact management, and domain transfers. Bulk management tools allow organizations to efficiently manage large domain portfolios. The interface has been modernized in recent years and, while not as flashy as some competitors, it is functional and gets the job done without unnecessary complexity.

LiveDNS and DNS Management

Gandi's LiveDNS service provides authoritative DNS hosting for registered domains. It features a powerful DNS editor with support for all standard record types, including A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SRV, and CAA records. Changes propagate quickly, often within seconds, thanks to Gandi's anycast DNS network distributed across multiple continents. LiveDNS also supports AXFR zone transfers for organizations that want to maintain secondary DNS with third-party providers.

Gandi was among the first registrars to adopt DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions), which adds cryptographic signatures to DNS records to prevent DNS spoofing and man-in-the-middle attacks. DNSSEC can be enabled with a single click for supported TLDs, adding an important layer of security to domain infrastructure without requiring manual key management.

Email Hosting

Gandi offers email hosting services that pair naturally with domain registration. Each domain can be configured with email mailboxes that include standard features like IMAP/POP3 access, webmail, calendar, and contacts. While Gandi's email hosting is not as feature-rich as dedicated email providers like Proton Mail or Tuta, it provides a convenient integrated solution for organizations that want to manage their domain and email in one place.

The email service includes built-in spam filtering, antivirus protection, and support for custom aliases. For organizations with more demanding email requirements, Gandi's platform is compatible with third-party email services through standard MX record configuration, giving users the flexibility to use Gandi for domain management while routing email through their preferred provider.

SSL/TLS Certificates

Gandi provides SSL/TLS certificates from trusted certificate authorities, including free certificates through Let's Encrypt integration and premium certificates from providers like Sectigo. The certificate management interface allows organizations to request, install, and renew certificates directly from their Gandi dashboard. Wildcard certificates and multi-domain certificates are available for organizations with complex infrastructure.

For users who manage their SSL/TLS certificates manually, Gandi's API provides programmatic access to certificate operations, enabling automation through scripts and infrastructure-as-code tools. This is particularly valuable for DevOps teams managing large numbers of certificates across multiple domains and servers.

Web Hosting and Cloud Services

Beyond domain registration, Gandi offers simple web hosting suitable for static sites, CMS-based websites, and small applications. The hosting service includes support for PHP, Node.js, Python, and Ruby, along with Git-based deployment workflows. While Gandi's hosting is not designed to compete with dedicated cloud providers like Hetzner or Scaleway, it provides a convenient option for users who want to manage their entire web presence, from domain to hosting, through a single European provider.

API and Developer Tools

Gandi provides a comprehensive REST API that covers domain registration, DNS management, email configuration, and certificate management. The API enables programmatic control of all Gandi services, making it suitable for automation, integration with infrastructure tools, and building custom management workflows. Official client libraries and community-maintained tools extend the API's accessibility across different programming environments.

The API is particularly popular among developers and DevOps teams who use it with tools like Terraform, Ansible, and custom scripts to manage domain infrastructure as code. This programmatic approach is essential for organizations managing large numbers of domains or requiring automated provisioning of domain-related services.

Privacy, Ethics, and GDPR Compliance

Gandi has been a champion of privacy and ethical business practices since its founding. The company adheres to GDPR, CCPA, and other data protection regulations, and provides free WHOIS privacy for all domains. As a French company subject to EU law, Gandi offers strong data protection guarantees that US-based registrars cannot match. The company has a Certified B Corporation status and is certified Carbon Neutral, demonstrating its commitment to social and environmental responsibility beyond just data privacy.

Gandi's approach to privacy extends to its customer service practices. The company does not sell customer data, does not engage in aggressive marketing, and does not use dark patterns in its user interface. This ethical stance has earned Gandi a loyal following among privacy-conscious users and organizations that take their digital ethics seriously.

Pricing and Value

Gandi's pricing for .com domains starts around EUR 15.50 per year, which is competitive with major registrars. Renewal pricing is transparent and clearly displayed before registration, avoiding the bait-and-switch tactics where cheap first-year pricing is followed by dramatically higher renewals. The inclusion of free WHOIS privacy, DNSSEC support, and basic DNS hosting with every domain registration adds significant value compared to registrars that charge for these features separately.

While Gandi may not always be the cheapest option for a single domain, the overall value proposition, including included privacy protection, ethical business practices, European data protection, and reliable infrastructure, makes it highly competitive for individuals and businesses that look beyond the headline price.

Customer Support

Gandi provides customer support through email tickets, with documentation and knowledge base articles available for self-service. Support is available in multiple languages including English and French. While Gandi has discontinued live chat support in recent years, the quality of technical support through tickets remains solid. Response times can vary, and during peak periods, wait times may extend to several days, which is an area where Gandi could improve compared to competitors offering 24/7 phone or chat support.

Comparison with GoDaddy and Namecheap

Compared to GoDaddy, Gandi offers a dramatically different experience: no aggressive upselling, transparent pricing, free WHOIS privacy, and genuine respect for customer data. GoDaddy's interface is designed to maximize add-on sales, while Gandi's is designed to help customers manage their domains efficiently. Compared to Namecheap, Gandi offers similar transparency and privacy protection, but with the added benefit of being a European company subject to EU data protection laws. For European customers, Gandi's French headquarters and EU data processing represent a meaningful advantage for GDPR compliance.