I get asked about this almost every week. Someone is about to buy hosting, they see “free domain” on the pricing page, and they want to know what that actually means before they type in their card details. Fair question. Free offers in hosting have a reputation, and most of the time that reputation is earned.
So here is the honest version, from someone who actually works on the Bisup side of things and has walked more than a few customers through this exact process. No fluff, just how the offer works, which plans include it, and where people usually trip up.
I am writing this because I have seen both sides of it. I have seen people save real money by buying hosting and a domain together at the right time, and I have seen people get a support ticket surprise six months later because they assumed something the fine print never actually said. A domain name is not a big purchase on its own, usually somewhere between ten and twenty dollars a year for a standard extension, but it adds up when you are also paying for hosting, email, and SSL. Knowing exactly what is and is not covered saves you from doing the math wrong on your first invoice.
How Bisup’s Free Domain Offer Actually Works
When you buy a qualifying Bisup hosting plan, your first year of domain registration is included in the price. You search for the domain you want at checkout, and if it is available and the extension qualifies, the registration cost gets knocked off your total instead of being charged separately.
It is a first-year benefit, not a lifetime one. After year one, the domain renews at the standard registration price, same as it would with any registrar. I will get into exact numbers a bit further down.
Why do hosts bundle a free domain in the first place? Honestly, it is a convenience play as much as a pricing one. Most people starting a website need both a domain and hosting on the same day, and buying them from two different places means juggling two logins, two payment methods, and two support teams if something goes wrong with DNS. Bundling them removes that friction, and the discount is the incentive to get you to do it in one order instead of two.
One thing worth clearing up early: this is not the same as Nepal’s free .np or .com.np registration through Mercantile Communications. That program is a permanent, government-backed offer for Nepali citizens and businesses, and it has nothing to do with hosting purchases. If that is what you are actually after, I would skip ahead to our Nepal domain registration guide instead, since this post is about the hosting-bundled offer, which is open to anyone, anywhere.
Which Bisup Hosting Plans Include a Free Domain
Not every plan carries the free domain, and it is not a flat rule either. Each shared hosting tier needs its own minimum billing term before the domain comes free. Here is exactly how it breaks down:
| Plan | Minimum term required for free domain |
|---|---|
| Starter | 4 years |
| Pro | 2 years |
| Business | 2 years |
| Enterprise | 1 year |
So the cheaper the plan, the longer a term you need to commit to for the free domain to kick in. Enterprise is the only tier where even a 1-year term qualifies. If you pick a shorter term than what your plan needs, for example a 1-year Starter or Pro order, you will still get hosting, just without the free domain attached.
For current pricing on each of these terms, check the live hosting plans page.
This offer is specifically a shared hosting perk. If you are looking at our WordPress hosting, VPS, or reseller hosting lines instead, do not assume the same free domain applies there. Those product lines usually run their own separate promotions, so check the relevant plan page for each one rather than carrying over what you read here.
Which Domain Extensions Qualify
This is where most of the confusion happens, so pay attention here. The free domain offer usually covers the common extensions like .com, .net, and .org. Bisup itself sells over 250 extensions, including newer ones like .ai, .io, .xyz, and .co, but the ones outside the standard set often are not part of the free bundle, or they need you to top up the difference.
So if you are set on a .ai or .co domain for a startup, do not assume it is automatically free just because you are buying hosting. Search your exact domain at checkout first and look at what shows for the price. If it shows as free or fully discounted, you are good. If it still shows a price next to it, that extension is not part of the offer this time around, and you would be paying the standard registration rate, which you can see on our domain pricing page.
Step-by-Step: Claiming Your Free Domain at Checkout
This is the part nobody explains properly, so let me walk you through exactly what to do.
Before you even open the checkout page, have two or three domain name options ready, not just one. Your first choice being already taken is common, and scrambling for a backup mid-checkout is how typos and rushed decisions happen. With that sorted, here is the actual flow.
- Pick a qualifying hosting plan and term. Go to the web hosting page and choose your plan, then select the minimum term it needs for the free domain (Starter needs 4 years, Pro and Business need 2 years, Enterprise needs just 1 year, see the table above). Picking a shorter term than your plan requires means no free domain, even if the plan itself normally qualifies.
- Search your domain before adding hosting to the cart. There is usually a domain search box right on the hosting or domain page. Type in the name you want and hit search.
- Check the price shown next to your chosen extension. If the extension qualifies, you will see it marked as free or with the registration fee struck through. If not, it will just show the normal price.
- Add both to your cart together. The domain and hosting need to go through checkout in the same order for the discount to apply. Adding the domain separately later, after you already bought hosting, will not trigger the free offer.
- Review your cart before paying. Look for a line item showing the domain at $0.00 or with the registration fee removed. This is your confirmation that the offer applied correctly.
- Complete payment and set your nameservers. Once the order goes through, your domain gets registered under your account. You will still need to point it to your hosting through DNS, which is usually handled automatically if you bought both together, but it is worth checking your client area to confirm.
- Watch for your registration confirmation email. This usually arrives within a few minutes and confirms the domain is active under your account. If it does not show up, check your client area directly before assuming something failed. Registrar confirmation emails occasionally land in spam folders.
If at any point the domain is not showing as free and you believe it should be, do not just complete the order and hope support fixes it later. Reach out to us before paying, since domain registrations are not always reversible once claimed.
What Happens After Year One: Renewal Pricing
Your domain renews at the standard rate once the free first year ends. This is normal across the entire hosting industry, not a Bisup-specific catch. Shared hosting plans generally follow the same pattern, where you get a lower promotional price up front and a higher renewal rate afterward.
I already went deep into why this happens and how to plan your budget around it in a separate post, Web Hosting Renewal Price Increase: Why It Happens and Fixes, so I will not repeat all of that here. Short version: check the renewal price for both your hosting and your domain before you buy, not after your first invoice shows up.
Free Domain vs. Nepal’s Free .com.np Registration: What’s the Difference
I want to be very direct about this one, because I still see people mix the two up.
The offer in this post is a first-year discount bundled with paid hosting, available to anyone in the world, on standard extensions like .com and .net. It is a business promotion, plain and simple.
Nepal’s .np and .com.np registration is a completely different thing. It is run by Mercantile Communications, it is free every year for as long as you keep it, and it is restricted to Nepali citizens and registered businesses with proper documentation. It also has nothing to do with buying hosting at all.
If you are in Nepal and want the local, permanently free option, go read our full domain registration in Nepal guide. Those cover the actual application process, required documents, and common rejection reasons in detail. This post is about the hosting-bundled global offer, so I am not going to repeat that content here.
Common Mistakes That Void the Free Domain Offer
From handling support tickets, these are the mistakes I see most often:
- Not matching your term to your plan. Each plan has its own minimum term for the free domain, Starter needs 4 years, Pro and Business need 2 years, Enterprise needs 1 year. Picking a shorter term than your plan requires is the single most common reason people miss the free domain.
- Downgrading your plan soon after signup. If you move to a lower plan before your domain’s first renewal, the offer can be voided and you may get charged the standard registration fee.
- Cancelling hosting inside the refund window, then trying to keep the domain. Once a domain is claimed under the offer, cancellations and refunds generally do not undo that registration. Read the terms before you cancel.
- Assuming every extension is included. As I covered above, premium and newer TLDs often are not part of the bundle. Always check the price shown at checkout, not what you assume.
- Adding the domain in a separate order. The domain and hosting purchase need to happen together for the discount to apply.
- Rushing the spelling at checkout. A domain typo is not always fixable for free once it is registered. Double check the name before you confirm the order, especially if you typed it on your phone.
- Letting WHOIS privacy expire unnoticed. Free WHOIS privacy is included with Bisup domains, but if you ever move the domain to another registrar, confirm whether privacy carries over, since not every registrar includes it by default.
None of these are traps set on purpose. They are just standard terms that people skip past because nobody reads the fine print at checkout. I am telling you now so you do not have to learn it the hard way.
Getting Your Free Domain Set Up
If you are ready to go, head to the hosting plans page, pick a plan that shows the free domain badge, and search your domain before you add anything to the cart. That is really the whole process.
And if you are in Nepal and actually want the government-run free-forever option instead of the hosting-bundled one, go straight to our .com.np cover letter guide, since that is the better fit for what you are looking for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Just year one. After that, it renews at the standard registration price for whatever extension you picked. Check current renewal rates on our domain pricing page before you buy so there are no surprises later.
Yes, once it clears the standard registrar lock period after registration (this is an industry-wide rule, not a Bisup-specific one). You will need to unlock it and get an authorization code from your account first.
No, and it is not just about picking the right plan, the term matters too. Starter needs a 4-year term, Pro and Business need a 2-year term, and Enterprise qualifies from a 1-year term. Match your plan to the right term at checkout, or you will get hosting without the free domain.
The domain registration itself is not automatically cancelled with your hosting, since it is registered separately in your name. But cancelling inside the refund window can affect whether the free discount stays applied, so it is worth reading your order terms or asking support before you cancel.
If you are ready to go, head to the hosting plans page, pick a plan that shows the free domain badge, and search your domain before you add anything to the cart. That is really the whole process.
