If you’re new to domain drop catching then this post is an important one for you. Before you can start trying to catch domain names you need to decide which registrar you are going to catch them into. There are only certain registrars out there which have an API and allow drop catching, so your choices will be limited. Lets look over the registrars that come with our Desktop Catcher software.

GoDaddy – GoDaddy is a top pick for drop catching domain names. Although the GoDaddy/WildWestDomains API is not free to use it comes with benefits you won’t find in any free drop catcher API. GoDaddy has no limits on how quickly you can check domain availability. They also allow you to pass multiple domains in each request, unlike registrars like DynaDot or NameSilo whom only allow one domain to be checked at a time.

DynaDot – DynaDot is probably the most popular drop catching domain registrar. Since they are the most popular their API gets allot of activity during COM and NET drop times. Sometimes DesktopCatcher may spit out an error saying “The system is busy” during these drop times because there are so many people checking domains on their network. You can create an account at DynaDot completely free and get instant access to their API. You must pre-add funds into your account before drop catching any domains. Also, the DynaDot API will only allow one domain check request at a time. This means our software cannot send another domain check until the current request is finished. Checking more frequently than this will result in a ten minute ban on your IP. Our software will automatically check domains as quickly as DynaDot allows.

OnlineNIC – OnlineNIC has been around for a while, but they are a little less popular online compared to ResellerClub and DynaDot. They allow more API calls compared to DynaDot, but less compared to ResellerClub. This is why we still recommend using ResellerClub over both DynaDot and OnlineNIC. OnlineNIC will allow Desktop Catcher to automatically check domains once every three seconds. Signing up with OnlineNIC is completely free just like the other two. However, once you create your OnlineNIC account you will need to upgrade it into reseller status. Similar to ResellerClub – the money you pay to become a reseller also goes into your account so it can be used for registering domains.

NameSilo – As with the other three that are listed above, NameSilo allows you to create a free account with them. Aside from that, the NameSilo API is most similar to DynaDot. There is no fee to access the NameSilo API which means the only money you need to pre-deposit will be whatever funds you want to have for registering domains. One downside to using NameSilo is that they currently only allow you to register .COM or .NET domains through their API. NameSilo will allow you to check two domains every second when using their API.

If you are using Desktop Catcher to snatch deleting domains then you will need to choose from one of the registrars above. We’ve now gone through and highlighted the ups and downs for each and you should be able to pick which one is right for you. Some cost money to get your account going and some don’t. The benefit of going with a registrar that requires pre-payment such as ResellerClub or OnlineNIC is that they allow faster domain checks. When it comes to drop catching you need to be the first one who see’s that the domain is available and catch it. Seconds and Milliseconds are precious when you are drop catching and getting faster checks means increasing your odds of getting the domain! On top of that, the money you are depositing will be available to use for registering domains with anyways. If you are serious about drop catching an initial deposit such as $99 is small and will only cover about ten domain registrations. Compare the drop catching registrars above and choose which one is right for you!