How to Transfer Domain from GoDaddy to Spaceship (2026 Guide)
⚡ Why Transfer?
GoDaddy charges $21.99/year for .com renewals. Spaceship charges $9.98. That's $12.01 saved per domain, per year. If you have 10 domains, that's $120/year back in your pocket. The transfer takes about 10 minutes of active work and 5 days to complete.
Before You Start
A few things to know: your domain must be at least 60 days old at GoDaddy (ICANN policy). You can't transfer a domain within 60 days of registration or a previous transfer. The transfer adds one year of registration at Spaceship's price, so you're effectively renewing at $9.98 instead of $21.99. Your website and email will continue working throughout the process — a registrar transfer does not affect DNS or hosting.
Step-by-Step Transfer Process
Log into GoDaddy → My Products → Domains → select your domain → Domain Settings → turn off Domain Lock. This allows the transfer to proceed. GoDaddy may ask you to confirm via email.
Same page: scroll to Transfer domain away from GoDaddy → click Continue. GoDaddy will email your EPP/authorization code to the email on file. Copy this code — you'll need it at Spaceship. The code expires in a few days, so use it promptly.
Go to Spaceship.com → create an account if you don't have one → Transfer Domain → enter your domain name → paste the authorization code → pay $9.98 (this adds one year of registration).
You'll receive a confirmation email from both GoDaddy and Spaceship. Approve the transfer when prompted. If you don't respond, the transfer auto-approves after 5 days. You can also log into GoDaddy and manually approve to speed things up.
ICANN requires a waiting period for transfers. During this time, your domain continues working normally — your website stays up, email keeps flowing. After the transfer completes, manage your domain at Spaceship.
What About My Website and Email?
A registrar transfer only changes who manages your domain name. It does not change your DNS records, nameservers, hosting, or email. Everything continues working exactly as before. After the transfer, you'll manage DNS at Spaceship instead of GoDaddy, but the records themselves carry over.
One exception: if you're using GoDaddy's email hosting or website builder, those services are tied to your GoDaddy account, not your domain. Moving the domain won't cancel them, but you'll need to update DNS if you later change those services.
Cost Savings Breakdown
| Scenario | Stay at GoDaddy | Transfer to Spaceship | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 domain, 1 year | $21.99 | $9.98 | $12.01 |
| 1 domain, 5 years | $87.97 | $48.80 | $39.17 |
| 10 domains, 1 year | $219.90 | $99.80 | $120.10 |
| 10 domains, 5 years | $879.70 | $488.00 | $391.70 |
⚠️ Transfer Tip
With Verisign raising .com wholesale prices in November 2026, transfer before November 1 to lock in Spaceship's current $9.98 rate for the added year. After the transfer completes, consider renewing for the maximum term to lock in pre-hike pricing for as long as possible.