How much does a domain name cost?

What is the average cost of a .com domain name?

• The wholesale price every registrar pays Verisign for a .com is currently $10.26 per year, plus a mandatory $0.20 ICANN transaction fee for each annual registration, renewal, or transfer increment.
• That wholesale rate is set to rise to $10.97 on November 1, 2026, the first increase permitted since September 2024.
• Cloudflare sells at registry and ICANN cost with no markup, which works out to about $10.46 a year at both registration and renewal.
• First-year pricing varies widely, from GoDaddy’s current $0.01 new-customer promotional rate to Namecheap’s $11.28 standard first-year rate.
• Renewals are where the real cost lands, reaching about $18.48 at Namecheap and $21.99 at GoDaddy.

So there is no single price for a .com. The wholesale cost is the floor, the first-year rate is a promotion, and the renewal rate is what you actually pay year after year. Judge a registrar on its renewal price, not its teaser.

How much does domain registration cost versus renewal?

• Registration is the discounted first-year price, while renewal is the standard rate, and the gap can exceed $15 on a single .com.
• At Namecheap, a .com currently runs $11.28 to register and $18.48 to renew, roughly a 64% increase.
• At GoDaddy, a .com can be advertised at a very low first-year promotional rate and renew near $21.99, so the renewal price matters more than the teaser price.
• At-cost registrars remove the gap entirely, since Cloudflare charges about $10.46 in year one and every year after.
• Most registrars advertise the first-year price, which makes renewal the most overlooked line in the whole purchase.

The takeaway mirrors web hosting, where intro and renewal rates diverge sharply. For the hosting side of that same pattern, see our research on how much web hosting costs.

How much does a domain cost by extension (.com, .net, .org, .io)?

• Legacy extensions are usually cheaper than specialty TLDs, but renewal prices still vary by registrar. Current examples include Namecheap at $18.48 for .com, $18.58 for .net, and $18.98 for .org, while GoDaddy lists higher renewal prices for several legacy extensions.
• Developer-favorite .io is one of the priciest mainstream options, registering near $35 and renewing around $50 to $76.
• The AI boom made .ai a premium extension, often around $70 to $115 per year, and some registrars require a 2-year minimum registration or renewal.
• .co looks cheap at signup, near $8, then renews steeply at about $40.
• .info shows a wide promo-to-renewal gap, with first-year pricing around $4 at some registrars and renewal examples ranging from about $29 to $38.

Figures reflect mid-2026 registrar pricing and shift with promotions, so confirm the live rate before buying. The price gap between extensions comes from the registry, since each operator sets its own wholesale rate that registrars pass through.

How much do premium domain names cost?

Note: premium and aftermarket pricing is market-set and highly variable, so treat this section as directional.

• Premium domains are short, memorable, or keyword-rich names priced far above standard registration, often from hundreds to millions of dollars.
• Two pricing types exist: registry premiums set by the TLD operator, and aftermarket names resold by their current owner through marketplaces like GoDaddy and Sedo.
• Many aftermarket sales land in the three to five figure range, while the rare blockbuster names reach the millions.
• Registry premium names also carry higher recurring renewals, not just a one-time purchase price.

For the headline numbers behind the biggest deals, see our dedicated research on the most expensive domain names ever sold. For most businesses, a standard registration is all that is needed, and a premium name is a branding decision rather than a hosting requirement.

Which registrars offer the cheapest domains?

• Cloudflare is a transparent at-cost option, charging registry and ICANN cost with no markup, about $10.46 a year for a .com.
• Spaceship currently lists .com at $8.88 for registration, $9.98 for renewal, and $9.48 for transfer, before any applicable ICANN fee.
• NameSilo says its retail .com pricing is $17.29 for registration and renewal, while its Discount Program can reduce .com pricing to $11.05 or lower depending on account volume.
• The lowest first-year promos can dip below $1, but those teasers usually renew at full standard rates.
• The cheapest first-year price is rarely the cheapest over five years, since renewal pricing decides the true total cost.

Budget shoppers should compare the five-year total, not the signup price. An at-cost or flat-renewal registrar usually wins once the promotional year ends.

How much does domain privacy / WHOIS protection cost?

• Domain privacy hides your name, address, and phone number from the public WHOIS database, and a growing share of registrars now include it free.
• Namecheap bundles WHOIS privacy free on every eligible domain through its Withheld for Privacy service.
• Cloudflare also provides WHOIS privacy free by default on supported extensions.
• Registrars that still charge for privacy typically bill $8 to $15 per year as an add-on.
• A mandatory $0.20 ICANN fee applies to registrations, renewals, and transfers regardless of the registrar.

Privacy protection has shifted from a paid upsell toward a free default. If a registrar still charges for it, factor that recurring fee into the true annual cost of the domain.

How much does it cost to transfer a domain?

• A transfer usually costs about one year of registration, since the move includes a mandatory one-year extension on the domain.
• A .com transfer currently runs $11.48 at Namecheap and $9.48 at Spaceship, with prices varying by registrar.
• Under ICANN’s transfer policy, a domain cannot be transferred within 60 days of registration or a prior transfer.
• Moving to an at-cost registrar means you pay only the renewal year, then keep paying wholesale rates with no markup afterward.
• The ICANN fee of $0.20 also applies to transfers, on top of the registrar’s transfer price.

For the full set of timing rules that govern transfers, renewals, and expirations, see our research on domain registration terms and rules.

How much does a domain plus hosting bundle cost?

• Many hosts bundle a free domain for one year with eligible annual or longer hosting plans, which can remove the first-year domain cost.
• Bluehost and Hostinger both include a free domain for the first year on annual or longer plans.
• The bundle saves roughly $10 to $22 in year one, the typical cost of a separate .com registration.
• After year one the domain renews separately, usually $15 to $22 per year, on top of the hosting renewal.
• Bundling simplifies management by keeping the domain and hosting under one provider and one login.

A bundle is the cheapest way to launch in year one, but the savings are front-loaded. Plan for both the domain renewal and the hosting renewal when you budget for year two. For the hosting half of that math, see how much web hosting costs.

Sources & additional resources

• “Verisign Reports First Quarter 2026 Results.” Verisign Investor Relations.
• “Verisign Raising Wholesale .com Prices.” Domain Name Wire.
• “ICANN-Accredited Registrars Approve Registrar-Level Fees for Fiscal Year 2026.” ICANN.
• “Transfer Policy.” ICANN.
• “Buy .com Domains at Wholesale Cost.” Cloudflare Registrar.
• “.com Domain Registration.” Namecheap.
• “Full TLD List.” Namecheap.
• “.com Domain Registration, Renewal and Transfer Pricing.” Spaceship.
• “Cheapest .com Domain Registrars in 2026.” NameSilo.
• “Domain Names and Pricing.” GoDaddy.
• “Plans and Pricing for all Businesses.” GoDaddy.
• “Comparing the Best Domain Registrars of 2026.” GoDaddy.
• “Compare Domain Extension Prices Across Registrars.” TLD-List.

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