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Author: Jenna Vasquez
LAST UPDATED: June 27th, 2019
Founded by Jeremy Hitchcock, Dyn (Dynamic Network Services) is a cloud-based Internet Performance Management (IPM) company whose platform monitors, controls and optimizes applications and infrastructure through Data, Analytics, and Traffic Steering. Dyn is a leading IPM provider to the largest enterprises and web properties in the world, including 8 of the top 10 Internet Services and Retail companies, six of the top 10 Entertainment Fortune 500 companies. Dyn helps companies of all sizes, from startups to companies like Pfizer, Visa, Netflix and Twitter. They solve the challenges associated with Internet scale, complexity and volatility.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Price
- Other TLD prices
- Security features
- Mobile app
- ICANN accreditation
Price
Anyone looking to register a .com domain with Dyn can expect to pay $15.00/year. Pricing for .com domains typically run between $13 and $15/year, so Dyn is on par with the industry average. There are some domain companies who offer less than the average price range at $8.99 to $10.99/year, which is more competitive.Other TLD Prices
Dyn offers all its domains at the same pricing. Customers seeking to purchase additional Top-Level Domains (TLDs) such as .net, .org, .co or .info will also be charged $15.00/year. This is an advantage for customers, since there are domain name companies who offer additional TLD prices at a higher rate than .com domains.Security Features
When purchasing a domain, Dyn offers customers what they call a 'Secret Registration Service' which hides your personal information on the public WHOIS online database for an additional $10.00/year. Compared to most companies, this fee is on par with the industry average, which typically comes to $9.99/year. However, there are a number of popular domain companies that offer domain privacy WHOIS protection for free, making purchasing a Dyn domain name more expensive and less advantageous to domain name customers.Mobile App
Dyn is one of the few domain companies that offer mobile apps to manage domains. They have one called the Dyn Dig app for both Apple and Android. Dyn Dig is a utility application that allows users to query a specified DNS server or their carrier's DNS servers for common DNS records. The full query results are returned to the user and may be copied to the clipboard. The app is free. Dyn Dig holds a 4+ rating in iOS store and a 4.1 rating in the Android store. They also offer an app called Dyn Whois. This free utility app allows you to query the global and various country code WHOIS servers for domain name contact information. Currently, all its versions hold a 4+ rating on iOS and a 4.3 Android rating. Another app they have is DynDNS Client. It assigns a fixed domain name to your Android phone, even though the IP address can change. This app is designed specifically for Dyn.com. It has a current 3.9 Android rating but does not have an iOS version. Lastly, Dyn offers an app called Dyn Updater. This is a free desktop app keeps your hostname's IP address in your Dyn account up-to-date by checking your network's IP address. Aside from being in the minority of domain companies who offer apps, Dyn also offers all of their apps for free. Some of the companies that do offer apps require a monthly subscription fee.ICANN Accreditation
YesThe Bad
- Number of TLDs available
- ICANN fees
- Bulk price
- Cross selling
- Simple domain transfer policies
- Customer support
Number of TLDs Available
If you're interested in purchasing a large volume of Top Level Domains, Dyn's checkout process does allow for bulk purchasing, but they appear to only let you add domains one at a time. This is much less compared to companies offering up to 50, 100 or even over 500 domains.ICANN Fees
When it comes to additional fees like the mandatory ICANN fee that all domain registrars have to pay annually (18 cents), Dyn is not transparent. Some companies add the 18 cent fee to the domain price at checkout, others have fine print on the bottom of their web pages stating the fee and its details while others factor the ICANN fee into the advertised domain price beforehand. It is unclear which avenue Dyn has chosen to take or if they absorbed the annual cost themselves. Either way, customers should be made aware of any fees and how they're used.Bulk Price
For those interested in purchasing large amounts of domains (100 or more), Dyn does not advertise any bulk pricing. Since purchasing in mass bulk does not appear to be an option during the checkout process, large volume discounts are not available. Dyn offers domains, but they don't specialize in domains the way some companies do. Their wheelhouse is cloud-based services.Cross Selling
When purchasing a domain name, customers encounter 2 upsells: one is for DNS (Domain name server) option and the other is for domain privacy protection. Customers may be confused by the DNS option, since most domain companies have DNS already and customers only pay for the domain registration. With Dyn, the DNS option is $60.00/year or you can opt to use another DNS if applicable. Most customers who are non-technical may not know what a DNS is and why they have to purchase one with their domain name. This may be related to Dyn being a cloud-service provider for large businesses with internal digital networks, but the cost for a .com name ends up being $85.00/year instead of $15.00/year (if upgrading to privacy protection as well). This is a big disadvantage for everyday customers.Simple Domain Transfer Policies
Dyn does not offer a lot of information regarding how to transfer a domain away from them to another registrar. The question was finally located on their knowledgebase page, but nothing helpful was provided. All that Dyn offers is to visit Dyn's domain registration Contol panel to unlock the domain and to obtain the auth code. This comes up short to other domain name companies who offer easy to find transfer instructions with steps and screenshots.Customer Support
Dyn offers customers phone and email support, live chat and a knowledgebase page. Phone support for sales inquiries are in 4 countries: United States, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Sydney and Singapore. Dyn's customer support is structured into what they call "service levels". These levels are tiered depending on what membership fees you pay as a Dyn customer. Their service levels include:- Basic: The "Basic" support level applies to Dyn's Remote Access, Standard DNS and Domain Registration products. Their Phone and Email support is Monday to Friday 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern time
- Express: Phone and Email Support is Monday to Friday 8 AM to 8 PM EST; Response Time to email inquiries is 4 Business Hours
- Standard: Phone and Email Support is 24/5 Sunday 8 PM EST to Friday 8 PM EST; offers Weekend Support by Phone Only at $200/hr (1 hr minimum); Response Time is 4 hours
- Gold: 24/7 Phone and email Support; Weekend Support by Phone Only; customers also get Gold Escalated Support Queuing and a Response Time of 1 Business Hour
- Platinum: 24/7 Phone and email support; 24/7 Phone & Email Weekend Support; Platinum Escalated Support Queuing and 30 Minute Response Time
The Bottom Line
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