**Exhibit      31.1**

**Certification      of CEO Pursuant to**

**Securities      Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14**

**as      Adopted Pursuant to**

**Section 302      of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 **

| 1. | I                have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Bankrate, Inc.                (“Bankrate”); |
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| 2. | Based                on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue statement                of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to                make the                statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements                were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this                annual report; |
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| 3. | Based                on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information                included in this annual report, fairly present in all material respects                the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of                Bankrate                as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report; |
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| 4. | Bankrate’s                other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing                and                maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange                Act                Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial                reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f))                for                Bankrate and have: |
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|   | (a) | Designed                such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure                controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to                ensure                that material information relating to Bankrate is made known to us,                particularly during the period in which this annual report is being                prepared; |
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|   | (b) | Designed                such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal                control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision,                to                provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial                reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external                purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting                principles; |
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|   | (c) | Evaluated                the effectiveness of Bankrate’s disclosure controls and procedures and                presented in this annual report our conclusions about the effectiveness                of                the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period                covered by this annual report based on such evaluation; and |
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|   | (d) | Disclosed                in this annual report any change in Bankrate’s internal control over                financial reporting that occurred during our most recent fiscal quarter                that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially                affect, Bankrate’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
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| 5. | Bankrate’s                other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most                recent                evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to our auditors                and the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors: |
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|   | (a) | All                significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or                operation of internal control over financial reporting which are                reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record,                process, summarize and report financial information; and |
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|   | (b) | Any                fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other                employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control                over financial reporting. |
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| March                16, 2006 |   | By: |   | /s/                THOMAS R. EVANS Thomas                R. EvansPresident                and Chief Executive Officer |
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