For a detailed explanation pricing, we have this guide: Why domain prices can vary among registrars.
This article may also be of interest: If you've been wondering about increasing domain prices.
Below is a summary of much of the first article's content, but in short, no, we do not engage in price matching.
Loss leader pricing
When domain prices are set very low – lower than many other registrars and a lower price than the registrar actually pays the registry – the registrar is actually losing money on every domain. This encourages registration of lots of that type of domain.
But often the renewal price for those domains is much higher than the registration price. (This is perfectly legal.) We recommend always checking the renewal price for domains with very cheap registration prices.
Volume pricing
Some very large registrars can negotiate volume discounts with registries because they manage millions of domains and generate big profits all around. They can also have marketing agreements with registries to get cash back for promoting registrations of specific types of domains.
In these cases, registration and renewal prices may be low, but a major focus on profits can mean cutting corners on quality, like in the usability of the website, or in support training. High volumes of registrations also tends to mean high volumes of support requests, which slows down response times.
Other sources of revenue (like customer data)
Companies need to make money to survive, and they can make money from you in more than one way. If you're not paying much directly, companies can make money by using your data or selling your customer information.
Sometimes this is marketed to you as communications or offers from "trusted partners" or in other ways. It can be built right into your customer agreement with the company, even if you weren't aware of it.
Do your research
If domains seem "too good to be true" cheap, they very well might be. If domains are a bit more expensive sometimes, see what that means in terms of the renewal pricing, the company you're doing business with, their policies, and other things that may be important to you.
Never be afraid to ask questions of the companies you're considering giving your money to, and be skeptical if they seem reticent to answer, or really slow to respond.
We can't and won't do price matching. We do our best to keep prices as competitive as possible, but in some cases we'll never be able to match super-low prices from big registrars for the reasons listed above. We'll also never sell your data or pull other tricks to make up revenue from low registration/renewal pricing.
If you have questions, let us know. We're happy to help.