Naming Services evaluated across whether you can lose the name, whether it sits in an onchain registry or a company namespace, whether it resolves without a plugin, and published price and renewal terms.
Ranked here: naming services that let you use a name instead of an address, for a reader who wants to keep the name. Not ranked here: services that have shut down, usernames ranked under SocialFi, namespaces that fail on wallet resolution by design, and services that duplicate one already ranked.
#1 of 6 · published ranking
ENS (Ethereum Name Service)
81ChainChoice Score
4199
Why it leads
ENS (Ethereum Name Service) scores higher than everything else in this ranking on its ownership durability and its registry decentralisation.
Show the arithmetic
Best in this ranking on ownership durability and registry decentralisation
Cost
Not priced· No comparable price is published
ReviewedNext review by Published Methodology v2026.11.1
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means every product ranked on this page was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
No provider can pay for a position in this table. The code that computes this order cannot read which links carry a referral code, and every build proves it. Every score below rebuilds from the published criteria.Ranking v2026.11.1 · 4 criteria · 6 products · same inputs, same order
How we review · 6 ranked of 14 assessed · 4 criteria · 0 sponsor weight
How we review
6ranked
14assessed
4criteria
0sponsor weight
Recommendation first, comparison only if needed.
Reviewed and rechecked on the current cycle.
Commercial relationships disclosed before clickout.
Personal comparison
Naming Services ranked comparison
No comparable price is published; ranking still uses verified product evidence.
RankProviderBest fitScore
1
ENS (Ethereum Name Service)Onchain .eth registry on Ethereum mainn...Top ranked
Does your wallet resolve it without a plugin — 10/10Trade-off: ENS Labs cancelled Namechain — the ZK rollup announced in 2024 specifically to make ....
81score
Check availability for your country
ENS (Ethereum Name Service) · ens.domains. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
2
Base Names (Basenames)ENS-protocol names on Base L2, issued b...
Does your wallet resolve it without a plugin — 7/10Trade-off: Your renewal bill is denominated in ETH, so it re-prices every year with the market —...
64score
Check availability for your country
Base Names (Basenames) · base.org. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
3
SNS (Solana Name Service, formerly Bonfida)Solana name registry migrating .sol to...
Whether you can lose the name — 5/10Trade-off: The no-renewal promise is now qualified: the Migration FAQ says "There are no renewal...
56score
Check availability for your country
SNS (Solana Name Service, formerly Bonfida) · sns.id. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
4
SPACE IDMulti-chain name service issuing .bnb a...
Whether you can lose the name — 4/10Trade-off: SPACE ID's Manage docs state the lapse terms: "You can extend your domain registratio...
52score
Check availability for your country
SPACE ID · space.id. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
5
Lens Usernames (formerly Lens Handles)Onchain usernames inside Lens social pr...
Whether you can lose the name — 4/10Trade-off: This is not really an address-naming service and should not be compared to ENS on pri...
50score
Check availability for your country
Lens Usernames (formerly Lens Handles) · lens.xyz. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
Same score, not joint · ordered by weighted total (36.60 against 36.40)
6
Unstoppable DomainsCompany-issued Web3 TLDs sold as one-ti...
Whether you can lose the name — 4/10Trade-off: You are buying from a company that has also become an ordinary domain registrar. The...
50score
Check availability for your country
Unstoppable Domains · unstoppabledomains.com. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
Ranked on 4 published criteria weighted 40/25/25/10, which set goal alignment — 30 of the 86 points. The rest: regional access 20 (constant here), evidence depth 18 (constant here), ease of use 10 (constant here), institutional trust 8 (constant here). Profile match is shown in breakdowns but carries no weight.
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Control failure: a key or vote changes the rules, freezes or mints.
Scored by Whether you can lose the name · 40% (ENS (Ethereum Name Service) 7/10, Base Names (Basenames) 6/10, SNS (Solana Name Service, formerly Bonfida) 5/10)
Scored by Onchain registry or company namespace · 25% (ENS (Ethereum Name Service) 9/10, Base Names (Basenames) 4/10, SNS (Solana Name Service, formerly Bonfida) 5/10)
Not assessed by this ranking: Contract failure, Regulatory failure, Execution failure, Exit failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means.
Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: Does your wallet resolve it without a plugin (25%), Published price and renewal terms (10%).
Audit
Infrastructure
Methodology
2026.11.1
published 10 November 2026
Providers tracked
860+
across 121 categories
Last verified
3 November 2026
newest dated pricing or sentiment read
Named on the roster
2 people
managing directors · 6 automated processes
Decision guide
What matters most before choosing in this category
The right naming service depends on how you could lose the name, which the two business models in this category answer completely differently. One sells an annually renewed registration that expires if you stop paying; the other sells a 'lifetime, no renewal' domain whose permanence depends on the company continuing to exist and honour it. Both are defensible, and only one matches what most buyers assume they are buying. After that: does your wallet resolve it without a plugin, and can the name be reclaimed on a trademark claim?
Would you rather renew annually and keep control, or pay once and trust a company to persist?
Which chain and wallet must resolve this name without the user installing anything?
Is your next step about using naming services, or do you still need a wallet, exchange, or bridge decision first?
Current engine lead
The #1 overall and the scoring weights
ENS (Ethereum Name Service)Data checked Nov 2026
Onchain .eth registry on Ethereum mainnet; annual renewal required
Onchain .eth registry on Ethereum mainnet; annual renewal required. Strongest on does your wallet resolve it without a plugin (10/10): Competing registries build on ENS: Base states that Basenames are built on the open-source ENS protocol, and SPACE ID's docs say the BNB Domain Name Service is built on the foundation of ENS, so ENS-aware wallets and apps resolve .eth names without a plugin. Weakest on whether you can lose the name (7/10): .eth names are rented: after expiry a grace period (28 days on ENSv2, 90 on ENSv1) lets anyone renew, then 21 days of Price Cooldown open the name to anyone at an extra fee falling from $100 million to $0. ENS states it cannot forcibly transfer a name. Published price: ENS support page "Pricing, fees and multi-year discounts" (support.ens.domains, read 3 November 2026), after ENSv2 went live on Ethereum mainnet on 27 October 2026: "A .eth name costs from $8 a year, plus the network fee (gas).
Best forDoes your wallet resolve it without a plugin — 10/10
Main tradeoffENS Labs cancelled Namechain — the ZK rollup announced in 2024 specifically to make .eth registration cheap — on 6 February 2026, and moved ENSv2 to Ethereum mainnet only (theblock.co/post/388932). Registration therefore stays a two-transaction L1 operation with L1 gas indefinitely. Separately, the $5/year headline is per-year and the clock does not stop: an .eth name is rented, and a 90-day lapse plus a 21-day auction is all that stands between you and someone else owning your payment address.
Verify before signupENS support page "Pricing, fees and multi-year discounts" (support.ens.domains, read 3 November 2026), after ENSv2 went live on Ethereum mainnet on 27 October 2026: "A .eth name costs from $8 a year, plus the network fee (gas). Add two or more years at once and every year costs less, up to about 44% off." Per year: 5+ characters "$8", 4 characters "$160", 3 characters "$640"; "Names of 5 or more characters cost $8 a year, up from $5, upgraded or not. 3- and 4-character prices are the same." Multi-year per-year rates (5+ / 4 / 3 characters): 2 years "$7.00" / "$140" / "$560"; 3 to 5 years "$5.50" / "$110" / "$440"; 6+ years "$4.50" / "$90" / "$360". "The discount goes by the years you add in one go, and covers every one of them. It is the same when you register and when you renew, at every name length." Worked example, quoted from the page: "Example: 3 years for a 5+ character name costs $16.50, or $5.50 a year, before the network fee." Payment: "You pay the price in USDC from your wallet, on Ethereum." Lapse: "For its grace period (28 days for an ENSv2 name, 90 days for a name still on ENSv1), anyone can still renew it at the normal price, and nobody else can register it. After that comes Price Cooldown" (21 days, a temporary extra fee on top of the price; its opening level is quoted on a separate ENS support article, not here). Gas is not quantified.
Weighted criteria
Whether you can lose the name40%
Onchain registry or company namespace25%
Does your wallet resolve it without a plugin25%
Published price and renewal terms10%
Methodology
How this category is reviewed
Reviewed on how you could lose the name, whether the registry is onchain or a company namespace, whether your wallet resolves it without a plugin, and published renewal terms.
The order on this page is the published ranking for this category. Every criterion, weight and source behind it is on the methodology page.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask before choosing naming services
What counts as a naming service?
A naming service maps a human-readable name to an address. The differences that matter are not the suffix but the ownership model: whether the registry is a permissionless onchain contract or a company database, and what mechanism could take the name back.
When should I explore naming services instead of another crypto category?
It matters most when the name carries value — a brand, a payment handle, an identity. At that point 'lifetime' versus 'renewable' stops being a pricing detail and becomes the whole question.
What matters most when choosing a naming service path?
How you could lose it, and whether the registry is onchain — 65% of the weight between them. Wallet resolution follows, because a name nothing resolves is a collectible rather than an address.
Reviewed3 November 2026Method4 criteriaCategorynaming_services
Not financial advice · For informational purposes only · Always do your own research
