Examined Sep 25, 2026 New customers only No link needed GoDaddy sells a new customer one .com for $2.99 for its first year, does not say on the page what year two costs, and has a refund policy change dated October 15, 2026.
The whole offer is two lines on GoDaddy's domains page: “Use code GDWELCOME at checkout. Offer valid for one com, net, org, co, us, info, or app domain.” and “1-year term. New customers only. Requires validation at checkout.” No page we read defines a new customer or says what the validation checks. The code is GoDaddy's own and printed for anyone; it is not a referral, and nobody is paid when you use it.
What you pay
| A new customer, one eligible domain, code GDWELCOME, 1-year term | $2.99 for the first year |
|---|---|
| The same domain in year two | Not stated on the page |
| .io or .net at the $0.01 listed price | 3-year purchase required; later years $89.99 (.io) or $24.99 (.net) |
| An annual Web Hosting, Managed WordPress or Website Builder plan | A free domain, whose list price is deducted if you cancel for a refund |
| A business referred to GoDaddy Payments with $100,000 a year of card volume | $100 virtual gift card |
The .net is in both lists: $2.99 for one year with GDWELCOME, or $0.01 for the first year of a 3-year purchase, then $24.99 a year. Two years at $24.99 is $49.98 on top of the cent, so the two deals are not the same price.
Do this, in this order
- Check you are new, and pick one eligible ending. The code covers a single domain on a 1-year term, among com, net, org, co, us, info and app. Premium domain names are never refundable, so do not let the search steer you to one.
- Read the renewal line in the cart. The domains page says a registered domain is yours to use for as long as you continue paying the annual registration fee, and that GoDaddy offers auto-renew for all customers. It does not say what that fee is for the $2.99 domain. If the cart does not show it either, assume you do not know it.
- Do not add the Discount Domain Club to save a dollar. The refund policy lists it among products not eligible for refunds, if used for purchase.
- If you change your mind, act inside 5 days. Delete the domain, then contact GoDaddy by phone, SMS or chat. Cancelling domains again and again inside that window has a name in the policy, and a penalty.
- Watch the renewal date, not only the purchase date. Under the September 14 policy, a one-year auto-renewal is refundable within 45 days (1,080 hours) of being charged; a manual or multi-year renewal within 5 days. If GoDaddy emailed you its September 15 notice, the updated policy gives no renewal refund at all for purchases and renewals from October 15, 2026.
Domain tasting (repeated or high-volume cancellations within the 5-day window) is prohibited. If GoDaddy determines domain tasting has occurred, refunds may be denied in full or reduced by a processing fee.
What GoDaddy does not publish, and a policy about to change
The refund policy has a date on it. The version we read is marked “Last Revised: 9/14/2026” and ends with a notice in capitals: “IMPORTANT NOTICE: OUR REFUND POLICY IS CHANGING, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 15, 2026”. It adds that the change only applies to customers who received GoDaddy's notice email on September 15, 2026, and that anyone who bought or renewed before October 15, 2026 stays on the current policy. The updated version it links to carries the same revision date and ends renewal refunds: “GoDaddy does not offer refunds on renewals (manual or auto-renewal), unless expressly stated otherwise in section 3 below or unless a refund is required to be provided upon renewal as per applicable law.” Its domains table keeps the 5-day window for a new registration and gives none for any renewal, so the 45-day auto-renewal refund ends for anyone it covers. The other windows on this page come from the September 14 policy, which still applies to anything bought or renewed before October 15, 2026 and to customers who did not get the notice email.
The referral reward says two things. The GoDaddy Payments Referral Program terms say a referred business gets a one-time $100 virtual gift card, then in the same paragraph that only one Referral Reward will be paid per Valid Referral, and that GoDaddy may allocate it in its sole discretion, so it may not go to you. The link must come from a business already transacting on GoDaddy Payments, the business must contact the GoDaddy Payments sales team and start transacting, you pay any taxes on the card, and it arrives within 30 days of the end of the month in which GoDaddy receives payment from the new merchant.
The pages that blocked us earlier. GoDaddy's Website Builder referral rules page opens with a title and no rules on it. The affiliate programs page is for site owners and offers buyers nothing. The Universal Terms of Service, last revised June 3, 2026, answer year two only in general: “RENEWALS WILL BE CHARGED AT GODADDY'S THEN CURRENT RATES, WHICH YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE MAY BE HIGHER OR LOWER THAN THE RATES FOR THE ORIGINAL SERVICE PERIOD.” They do not define a new customer. The Web Pro affiliate program gives a designer's client nothing.
Is it worth your time?
For one domain you want to hold for a year, yes: $2.99 is a real price, the code is public, and the 5-day window gives you a short way out. The catch is the second year. A domain is a thing you keep paying for, and GoDaddy's offer page tells you the first year's price and not the rest, so read the renewal figure in the cart and decide on that number.
Skip the referral hunt entirely. The only GoDaddy program that pays a newcomer is for businesses processing $100,000 a year in card payments, and the Web Pro affiliate program gives a designer's client nothing.
