The Question More People Are Asking
With ENS at various stages of saturation and Basenames growing past 750,000 registrations in early 2026, a lot of people are facing the same choice: register on one, the other, or both.
This is not a trick question with an obvious answer. The right choice depends on what you actually do onchain.
Start with ENS if...
You primarily use Ethereum mainnet or want the broadest compatibility.
ENS has been running since 2017. It is supported in essentially every Ethereum wallet, DEX, NFT platform, and social app that displays Web3 identities. MetaMask shows your .eth name in the header. OpenSea uses it on your profile. Farcaster, Lens, and most identity-adjacent apps treat ENS as the default.
If you receive ETH or ERC-20 tokens from people who will look up your name in a wallet, ENS is still the one they will type.
You want to set subdomains for a project.
Because ENS runs on Ethereum mainnet, ENS subdomains (pay.yourproject.eth, app.yourproject.eth) are visible across the widest range of clients. If you are building something public-facing that needs a subdomain tree, ENS's mainnet positioning matters.
The name you want is still available.
Short, common names on ENS are largely gone. But if your target name — a specific personal handle, a brand name, a project acronym — is still available on ENS, registering it is worth prioritizing. ENS scarcity is real and one-directional.
Start with Basenames if...
You use Base and Coinbase products heavily.
Basenames are the native identity layer for Base Account, the smart wallet that Coinbase is pushing as the entry point for new crypto users. If your primary activity is on Base — Aerodrome, Base-native DeFi, Coinbase Wallet — a Basename will display correctly in more places you actually use than an ENS name will.
Gas costs are a meaningful factor.
Ethereum mainnet gas is real money. A Basename registration costs less than a cent in gas. For casual users or anyone registering multiple names, this difference is significant.
The name you want is taken on ENS.
This is probably the most common reason to start with Basenames rather than ENS. Many names are available on Base that have been held on ENS for years. If yourname.eth is taken but yourname.base.eth is free, that is a simple decision.
The Case for Registering Both
At 0.001 ETH per year (roughly $2–5 at typical prices), a 5+ character name on either system is not expensive. If you want the name on both chains, register both. The total cost is still less than most traditional domain renewals.
The main reason to own both is comprehensive namespace protection. If your name is valuable — your real name, a brand, a project — someone else might register it on the chain you skipped. Squatting happens, and it is cheaper to preempt it than to deal with it later.
What to Check Before Deciding
Before spending any time on this decision, check what is actually available. Your preferred names might be taken on ENS but free on Basenames, or vice versa, or available on both. The landscape shifts as names expire and new registrations happen.
This tool checks both chains simultaneously for any list of names you give it. It shows availability, expiry dates, and direct links to register.