1&1 offers over 600 Top Level Domains (TLDs) for purchase. Most companies offer between 100 and 500 domains, which puts 1&1 at an advantage with over 500. These domain names cover a broad spectrum of industries and have discounted introductory prices, some even as low as $0.99 but these prices increase after the introductory term ends.

Bulk Price

For customers wanting bulk pricing, 1&1 offers a bundle package for single domain names. For example, if you purchase a .com domain name, you can purchase all popular TLDs for that name for one bulk price of $29.97/year. You need a minimum of 3 domains to get this discount. 1&1 does not advertise a large scale bulk discount the way a few of their domain competitors do, with a discount pyramid of prices like 100 domains = 10% off, 200 domains = 20% off, 300 domains = $30 off, etc.

Security Features

1&1 offers WHOIS Privacy protection for domain name customers, which hides your personal information contained within the WHOIS database - including name, postal address, email address and phone number - from the general public. The most impressive feature 1&1 offers is free Privacy protection with the purchase of a domain name. Most domain companies charge an annual fee, typically around $9.99. Also impressive is 1&1's free SSL certificate that comes with each newly purchased domain name. Most domain companies charge an additional fee for SSL protection. This makes 1&1 even more competitive in the area of security protection than competitors.

Mobile App

1&1 is one of the few companies that offer mobile customers app availability to manage their domains from a mobile device. The company stands out not only for offering one app but offering up to 5 apps. These include:

An email app, holding a 4.3/5 star Android rating and a current iOS 4/5 star rating.
Online Storage app, holding a 1.5/5 iOS rating and a 4/5 star Android rating
Photo Gallery app with a 4/5 star Android rating and a 1.5/5 star rating in Apple
Music app with a 2.5/5 star iOS rating and no Android app
Blogmywebsite app with a current 3.5/5 star iOS rating and a 3/5 star Android rating
Control panel support app a current iOS 4.5/5 star rating and no app in Android.

1&1 also offers screen shot tutorials on their website showing customers how to use their apps. These apps are free to download, which surpasses a few domain apps that charge a monthly fee. It is slightly confusing trying to find the apps for 1&1 online and it seems that there are certain apps only available in either Android or Apple.

ICANN Accreditation

Yes

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The Bad

Price
Other TLD prices
ICANN fees
Cross selling
Customer support
Simple domain transfer policies

Price

1&1 charges an introductory price of $0.99 for a .com domain name. The actual price is $14.99/year, which is what customers pay once the introductory period expires. This may be unfavorable to some customers who may have purchased the domain for the extremely low price. $14.99/year is on par with the industry average price major competitors charge for a .com domain-although some domain companies offer a lower .com price of $8.99-$9.99/year.

Other TLD Prices

If you want to purchase other Top-Level Domains (TLDs) (.net, .co, .org, .info, etc), 1&1 charges introductory prices ranging from $0.99 to $19.99/year. Once the introductory period ends, annual prices range from $14.99 to $39.99/year. Although the introductory prices are extremely discounted for alternate domain names, the actual prices are less competitive, with many TLD companies charging from $11.99/year to $16.99/year for the most popular extensions.

ICANN Fees

1&1 is one of the very few domain name companies that openly display their added ICANN fees during the checkout process. All Domain name registrars have to pay an 18 cent annual fee to ICANN for each domain name registered through them. Although this is inferior to companies who don't charge customers ICANN fees at all, it surpasses companies who are not transparent with their ICANN fees altogether. These companies don't mention whether or not they have these fees, causing transparency issues for customers. The downside is that customers have to pay slightly more than the price as advertised.

Cross Selling

When checking out on 1&1's website, customers encounter approximately 5 upsells. These upsells appear "in your face" more than many domain registrars, who typically display upsells quietly as itemized additional features with boxes to be checked. Regarding the number of upsells, 1&1's 5 upsells are more than what the average company offers (2 upsells), making 1&1 less competitive in this area.

Customer Support

Similar to the majority of Domain Registrars, 1&1 offers customers a Help Center page with answers to commonly asked questions, such as how to transfer domains, website building tools, updating your domain's IP address, account and billing questions, etc. Other than a Help page, customers appear to be kept at arm's length. There is no phone number or Live Chat for customer support and the email support is "guided", meaning if you have a question, you click on the email icon on their contact us page. They ask "how can we help you today?" by offering a series of icons representing the services they offer: account & billing, email & office, domains, web hosting, mywebsite, servers, ecommerce and online marketing. When you click on the Domains icon, it takes you through a series of predetermined questions with a drop down menu of answers to what question you select. Most companies offer way more customer support than 1&1 with 24/7 support via telephone, live chat and email.

Simple Domain Transfer Policies

With such unavailable customer service, Domain Transfers with 1&1 appear to be straight forward, but customers may have issues if they hit a bump during the process. To transfer a domain away from 1&1, the following conditions must be met:

The domain has not been registered or transferred in the last 60 days.
The domain must have public registration.
The account containing the domain must be in good standing.
The domain's contact information should be updated.
The domain must be unlocked for transfer.
The domain's authorization code is needed (if applicable).

These conditions are standard for most domain transfers to another domain. 1&1 does not appear complicated with a bunch of hoops to jump through. Some registrars are openly known for holding names hostage, making it difficult to switch registrars if you become dissatisfied.

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The Bottom Line

Areas where 1&1 excels are app availability for both iOS and Android and free domain security features (which most companies charge for). They also offer over 500 Top Level Domains and a bundle pricing option. However, pricing may leave customers dissatisfied, since the introductory pricing is as low as $0.99 and jumps to $14.99/year once the introductory period is over. They also add on an ICANN fee during checkout, making the total price increase. Also an issue is 1&1's customer service. They offer no phone support or Live Chat if a customer encounters an issue where a live representative is needed. There is some controversy surrounding the company's current A BBB rating, which was formerly an F rating with over 500 customer complaints. They are, however, ICANN accredited.

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