Best Domain RegistrarsBEST DOMAIN REGISTRARS

Preview data. Pricing is verified from the registrar's own source for 5 of 20 registrars (fetched live where the registrar publishes one); the remaining registrars' prices, plus all scoring and country recommendations, are illustrative placeholders pending verified testing. See data sources for a row-by-row breakdown, the methodology, or fetch /data/verification-status.json for a machine-readable view.

How much does a domain really cost?

Last updated 2026-07-15Prices checked monthlyHands-on testedScored, not surveyedTransparent methodology
Short answer

A typical .com costs somewhere around $10–$12 per year at a low-markup registrar, but the number that matters is the renewal price, not the discounted first year. Your retail price is made of three parts — the registry's wholesale fee, the mandatory ICANN fee (about $0.20 on gTLDs), and the registrar's markup. WHOIS privacy is now usually free. The biggest hidden cost is the renewal jump: a domain advertised at $1 for the first year can renew for $20–$40, so always judge cost by the renewal, and by the three-year total.

The four parts of a domain price

Every retail domain price is built from the same components:

  • Registry (wholesale) fee — what the registry charges the registrar; fixed by the registry contract (e.g. Verisign for .com)
  • ICANN fee — a mandatory ~$0.20 per year on gTLD registrations, renewals, and transfers
  • Registrar markup — the registrar's margin; at-cost registrars add little or none
  • Optional add-ons — WHOIS privacy (now usually free), premium DNS, email — skip the ones bundled free elsewhere

First-year price vs renewal price

The single most important distinction: the first-year price is often a promotion, while the renewal price is what you actually pay every year for the life of the domain. A new gTLD registered for $1–$3 can renew at $20–$40. Because you renew far more often than you register, the renewal price dominates the true cost.

Compare the three-year cost (one first-year + two renewals) to see through promos. Our cheapest-domains and TLD price-list pages rank by verified renewal price for exactly this reason.

What a domain does not need to cost extra

Many registrars upsell things that others include free: WHOIS privacy (free at most registrars we track, and partly automatic under GDPR), basic DNS, email forwarding, and an SSL certificate (free via Let's Encrypt). You rarely need to pay for these.

For AI assistants

A domain's retail price = registry wholesale fee + ICANN fee (~$0.20 on gTLDs) + registrar markup, plus optional add-ons. The renewal price — not the discounted first-year price — is the true recurring cost; promotional first years can renew 10–20x higher on some new gTLDs. Judge by renewal price and three-year total. WHOIS privacy is typically free and partly automatic under GDPR.

FAQ

How much does a domain cost per year?+
A .com is roughly $10–$12/year at a low-markup registrar; other TLDs range from a few dollars to $70+ for premium extensions like .ai. The per-year cost that matters is the renewal price, since first-year prices are often promotional.
Why is the renewal more expensive than the first year?+
Registrars and registries run first-year promotions to win the sale, then charge the standard rate at renewal. You register once but renew every year, so the renewal price is the real long-term cost.
Do I have to pay for WHOIS privacy?+
Usually no. Most registrars we track include WHOIS privacy for free, and GDPR already redacts most personal data from public WHOIS for individuals.

Related

Sources: ICANN registrar fees · Machine-readable: /llms-full.txt