Hmm, it made me thinking that there is one more way to get it cheaper than $8 - use "value of the currency". There are many EU countries with inflation problems, where you can buy domains using their local currency - for example PLN. Currently, 8 USD is worth 32.56 PLN [0]. There are few registrars where you can get .com for 30.99 PLN [1], which is a bit cheaper than $8.
If their DNS service goes down, I can transfer to another DNS in about 2h. I tested that. The bigger problem is if Cloudflare's AI bans my account and I lose access to their Registrar.
My hope is that Cloudflare is small enough that it still has human beings in control of their AI. Unlike Google's AI which can’t be bargained with, can’t be reasoned with, which doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or sympathy. I have friends at Google, but I don't have any confidence that they will be able to help when their Terminator strikes.
I'm in the process of de-Googlifying my digital life as much as possible. Getting out of Google Domains into Cloudflare was the first step. Setting up backup accounts and workflows that will continue work after a catastrophic Google AI termination can be a bit tricky.
[0]: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=8+USD+to+...
[1]: https://www.ovhcloud.com/pl/domains/tld/com/