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How much does a domain cost? First year vs every year after

A .com renews at $9.98 to $22.99 a year at the 9 registrars we track; .org, .io and .co cost more after a cheap first year. Ten-year totals inside.

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A standard .com domain costs $8.88 to $18.99 for the first year at the registrars we track, without promo codes or multi-year conditions, and renews at $9.98 to $22.99 a year, as of October 2026. You pay every year: a domain is rented for a term, not bought once. Other extensions spread much wider after year one. At Porkbun, a .org renews at $11.84, a .co at $31.20, a .io at $51.80 and a .ai at $82.70 a year.

How this guide was put together: the .com prices for nine registrars come from AskGPU’s own registrar data, checked October 18, 2026. Prices for other extensions come from Porkbun’s public price list and Dynadot’s price table, and the registry and ICANN fees from ICANN and Verisign documents, all read on October 29, 2026. We haven’t bought these domains for this guide. All prices are in US dollars, per year, before tax.

How much does a .com domain cost per year?

The .com at the nine registrars we track:

Registrar First year Renews at Transfer in Privacy Notes
Spaceship $8.88 (sale) $9.98 $9.48 (sale) Free on eligible domains $0.20 ICANN fee added: $9.08, then $10.18
Cloudflare Registrar $10.46 $10.46 Not in our data Free WHOIS redaction At cost, ICANN fee included
Dynadot $10.88 (sale) $10.88 $10.88 Free Regular first-year price $11.62
Porkbun $11.08 $11.08 $11.08 Free Same price every year
Namecheap $11.28 (25% off) $18.48 $11.48 (sale) Free on eligible domains ICANN fee added; $6.48 first year for new customers with a code
Squarespace Domains $14 (discount) $20 Not in our data Free Taxes and fees in the price
NameSilo $17.29 $17.29 $10.80 Free $11.05 in its free Discount Program
Hover $18.99 $18.99 $18.99 Free on supported domains
GoDaddy $0.01, only with a 3-year purchase ($45.99) $22.99 Not in our data Free (some domains excluded) ICANN fee and taxes added

All prices checked October 18, 2026. Two things stand out:

  • The renewal price is the real price. The first year is often discounted; you pay the renewal price every year after. Dynadot’s own FAQ puts it plainly: “In many cases, the first-year registration price is discounted, while the renewal price reflects the standard ongoing rate.”
  • The spread is more than double. The cheapest renewal here ($9.98 at Spaceship, $10.18 with the ICANN fee) is less than half GoDaddy’s $22.99.

Every registrar’s .com page, with free extras, is on our domains page, and pairs are compared side by side, for example Cloudflare Registrar vs Porkbun.

Why does a domain cost what it does?

Three layers make up the price of a domain:

  1. The registry’s fee. Each extension is run by a registry that charges registrars a wholesale fee per year. For .net, Verisign’s fee is $10.91 a year, plus a $0.75 ICANN registry-level fee, so a registrar pays $11.66 a year for each .net, per the fee schedule in effect since February 1, 2024.
  2. ICANN’s registrar fee. Some registrars add it as a separate line; our data shows Spaceship adding $0.20 to its .com prices. Others, such as Cloudflare, include it.
  3. The registrar’s margin and promotions. Porkbun and Dynadot both sell .net at $12.52, which leaves $12.52 − $11.66 = $0.86 above the registry’s charge for everything else, including the $0.20 ICANN fee. Registrars with higher renewal prices keep a bigger margin. Cloudflare sells at cost with no markup, so its $10.46 .com price is, per our data, what the registry and ICANN charge for a year of .com.

That is also why the cheapest registrars can’t go much lower, and why prices move together when a registry raises its fee. Porkbun explains that registries “increase their wholesale prices from time to time,” and that the changes “affect every registrar that offers the domain, not just us.”

Domain prices are rising

Announced increases worth knowing before you renew:

Extension What changes When Source
.com Porkbun estimates $11.81 a year, up from $11.08 November 1, 2026 Porkbun’s price-change page
.net Verisign’s fee rises from $10.91 to $12.00; Porkbun estimates $13.65 retail March 1, 2027 Verisign’s notice to ICANN; Porkbun
.io Porkbun estimates $60.00 a year January 19, 2027 Porkbun’s price-change page

Verisign’s August 27, 2026 notice says the new .net fee covers “each annual increment of an initial and renewal .net domain name registration and for each transfer.” Porkbun’s figures are its own estimates; other registrars’ new prices will differ. We cover the .net change in more detail in our news post.

How much do other extensions cost?

First-year and renewal prices at two registrars that publish full price tables, read October 29, 2026:

Extension Porkbun first year Porkbun renewal Dynadot first year Dynadot renewal
.com $11.08 $11.08 $10.88 $10.88
.net $12.52 $12.52 $12.52 $12.52
.org $7.98 $11.84 $7.99 $11.64
.co $15.76 $31.20 $15.50 $31.20
.io $28.12 $51.80 $28.89 $53.50
.xyz $2.04 $14.21 $1.99 $14.45
.dev $8.75 $12.87 Not read Not read
.app $8.75 $14.93 Not read Not read
.ai $82.70 (2-year minimum) $82.70 See our .ai guide See our .ai guide

The pattern: .com and .net cost about the same every year, while .org, .co, .io and .xyz have a cheap first year and a much higher renewal. A .xyz at $2.04 renews at $14.21, seven times as much. A .co renews at about double its first-year price.

.ai has its own rules, including a two-year minimum term; see is a .ai domain worth it.

What does a domain cost over 10 years?

Porkbun’s prices, first year plus nine renewals, at today’s prices:

Extension Arithmetic 10-year total
.com 10 × $11.08 $110.80
.org $7.98 + 9 × $11.84 $114.54
.net 10 × $12.52 $125.20
.xyz $2.04 + 9 × $14.21 $129.93
.co $15.76 + 9 × $31.20 $296.56
.io $28.12 + 9 × $51.80 $494.32
.ai 10 × $82.70 $827.00

These are floors, not forecasts: Porkbun already lists higher estimated prices for .com, .net and .io. A .io costs more than four times as much as a .com over a decade, which matters more than the first-year price when you choose an extension.

The same .com over 10 years at each registrar in our data:

Registrar Arithmetic 10-year total
Spaceship $8.88 + 9 × $9.98 (plus $0.20 a year ICANN fee) $98.70 ($100.70 with the fee)
Cloudflare Registrar 10 × $10.46 $104.60
Dynadot 10 × $10.88 $108.80
Porkbun 10 × $11.08 $110.80
NameSilo 10 × $17.29 $172.90
Namecheap $11.28 + 9 × $18.48 (plus ICANN fee) $177.60
Hover 10 × $18.99 $189.90
Squarespace Domains $14 + 9 × $20 $194.00
GoDaddy $45.99 for 3 years + 7 × $22.99 (plus ICANN fee) $206.92

Worked example: the one-cent GoDaddy .com vs Cloudflare

GoDaddy’s $0.01 first year only comes with a three-year purchase at $45.99. Over five years:

  • GoDaddy: $45.99 + 2 × $22.99 = $45.99 + $45.98 = $91.97, plus the ICANN fee.
  • Cloudflare: 5 × $10.46 = $52.30.
  • Difference: $91.97 − $52.30 = $39.67 more at GoDaddy, despite the one-cent offer.

Over 10 years the gap grows to $206.92 − $104.60 = $102.32.

Can you buy a domain forever, or is it a one-time cost?

No. A domain is registered for a term and renewed, so it’s never a one-time cost. Porkbun says you can renew “to the maximum (usually 10 years)” in advance, which is the closest you can get to owning a name outright, and it locks in today’s price for those years if a price rise is coming. When the term runs out and you don’t renew, the name lapses.

If you miss a renewal, you may still get it back, at a price. Dynadot’s table gives a 30-day renewal grace period for .com, .net, .org, .co, .io and .xyz, after which a domain moves to restore, where Dynadot charges $100.92 for a .com, $100.26 for a .org, $103.72 for a .net, $170.00 for a .io and $260.00 for a .co. That’s about 3 to 9 times the yearly renewal price, so turn on auto-renew.

Can you buy just a domain name? Yes. Every registrar in the table above sells domains on their own, without hosting. You can point the domain at any web host, builder or email service later; our guide to domain vs hosting explains how the two connect.

Is it worth paying for a domain? If you want an address that is yours and that you can move between hosts, yes; free addresses on a builder’s subdomain stay tied to that builder. At $10 to $11 a year for a .com at the cheapest registrars, it’s the smallest line in a website budget; see how much it costs to build a website.

How do you pay less for a domain?

  • Compare renewal prices, not first-year prices. Spaceship, Cloudflare, Dynadot and Porkbun renew a .com at $9.98 to $11.08. Namecheap, NameSilo, Hover, Squarespace and GoDaddy charge $17.29 to $22.99.
  • Renew for several years before an announced increase. Porkbun recommends renewing “to the maximum (usually 10 years) before the date shown” to hold the current price.
  • Transfer to a cheaper registrar. At Porkbun and Dynadot a .com transfer costs the same as a year’s renewal, and Porkbun says that when you transfer, “you keep every year you have already paid for.” At Porkbun, moving a .com renewing at $22.99 elsewhere saves $22.99 − $11.08 = $11.91 a year.
  • Watch the “free domain” offers. Builders and hosts often include a domain free for the first year with a yearly plan, then renew it at their own price. Our domain vs hosting guide works through what that free year is worth.
  • Skip paid privacy. All nine registrars in our data include WHOIS privacy or redaction free, at least on eligible domains.

What to watch for

  • Renewal jumps on new extensions. .xyz, .co and .io have the biggest gaps between first-year and renewal price in the tables above.
  • ICANN fees shown at checkout. Spaceship, Namecheap and GoDaddy add the ICANN fee on top of their listed price; Cloudflare and Squarespace include it.
  • Multi-year conditions. GoDaddy’s $0.01 price needs a three-year purchase. .ai needs at least two years.
  • Restore fees. Missing the grace period can cost $100 or more to recover a .com at Dynadot.
  • Registry increases. .com, .net and .io all have increases listed by Porkbun for the coming months.
  • Lock-in with bundles. Cloudflare Registrar requires you to use Cloudflare’s nameservers, per our data. A domain bought with a builder plan may be harder to move later.

Which registrar should you choose?

  • Lowest long-run .com cost: Spaceship ($9.98 renewal, plus $0.20 ICANN fee) or Cloudflare Registrar ($10.46 at cost, if you’re happy using Cloudflare’s DNS). See Cloudflare Registrar vs Spaceship.
  • Same price every year with no fine print: Porkbun at $11.08 or Dynadot at $10.88, both with free privacy.
  • Already at Namecheap or GoDaddy: check your renewal price ($18.48 and $22.99 for a .com); a transfer to a cheaper registrar pays for itself in the first year.
  • Choosing an extension: a .com or .net costs about $11 to $13 a year; a .io or .co costs $31 to $54 a year after the first, so price the renewal before you fall for the name.

For every registrar’s current .com price, see our domains hub.

Sources