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Cheapest Domain Extensions: First-Year Price vs Renewal Price
Written by Liam Campbell ·
The short answer
The cheapest domain extensions start under US$5 for the first year, but the price that decides what you really pay is the renewal. Of the 1,175 extensions we sell, 314 renew for more than their first-year offer – some of them many times more: .bond costs US$2.99 to register and US$81.00 to renew. Before you pick a cheap TLD, look at the second-year price, not the headline.
This guide shows both prices side by side for the extensions people ask about most, explains why the gap exists, and gives you a one-line rule to work out the real cost before you buy. All prices verified on 23 August 2026 and reviewed monthly; the live price for any extension is always on its own page.
📋 Table of Contents
1. First-year price vs renewal price
These are the low-cost extensions we are asked about most often, with .com at the top as a reference point. The first column is what you pay to register the domain today; the second is what you pay every year after that.
| Extension | First year | Renewal (every year after) | Renewal vs first year |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com | US$11.99 | US$14.99 | 1.3× |
| .icu | US$3.99 | US$20.00 | 5.0× |
| .info | US$5.99 | US$21.00 | 3.5× |
| .xyz | US$12.70 | US$18.00 | 1.4× |
| .biz | US$19.98 | US$19.98 | 1.0× |
| .website | US$21.00 | US$30.00 | 1.4× |
| .space | US$27.50 | US$32.00 | 1.2× |
| .online | US$30.25 | US$34.00 | 1.1× |
| .shop | US$33.00 | US$39.00 | 1.2× |
| .site | US$30.25 | US$40.00 | 1.3× |
| .store | US$46.20 | US$56.00 | 1.2× |
Verified 23 August 2026. Prices change: we review this table every month, and the live price of any extension is on its own page. For the full list see gTLD prices and country domain prices.
Read the table by the second column. .icu is the cheapest domain on the list to register and one of the most expensive on the list to keep. .biz is the only one here that costs exactly the same every year.
2. Why the first year is cheap and the second one is not
A domain price has two parts: what the registry charges the registrar, and what the registrar charges you. New extensions compete for market share, so registries fund first-year promotions – sometimes below their own wholesale cost – and then charge the standard price from the second year on. Nothing is hidden and nothing is irregular: the offer simply applies once.
Two consequences worth remembering:
- Any price you see advertised as "domains from US$1.99" is a first-year price. It is never the price you pay in year two.
- A promotion applies to the registration, not to the domain. Moving the domain to another registrar does not reset it: you will be quoted that registrar's standard renewal, plus a year.
Of the 1,175 extensions we sell, 696 have a first-year promotion right now. That is why comparing registrars by their headline price tells you almost nothing.
3. The renewal trap: where the price multiplies
In most cases the gap is small – a couple of dollars. In 314 extensions the first-year offer is US$25 or less and the renewal is higher, and in a few dozen the difference is dramatic:
| Extension | First year | Renewal | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| .bond | US$2.99 | US$81.00 | 27× |
| .digital | US$2.99 | US$43.00 | 14× |
| .life | US$2.99 | US$40.00 | 13× |
| .casino | US$18.99 | US$177.00 | 9× |
| .guru | US$4.99 | US$40.00 | 8× |
| .pro | US$3.99 | US$29.00 | 7× |
| .cheap | US$10.99 | US$38.00 | 3.5× |
Verified 23 August 2026. The last row is not a joke: .cheap is one of the extensions where the renewal is more than three times the first year.
None of this makes those extensions a bad choice. It makes them a decision: a US$2.99 domain you plan to keep for five years is not a US$2.99 domain.
4. What "cheapest" means over five years
The rule fits in one line: first-year price + (renewal × the years you plan to keep it). Applied to the cheapest extension on the table above, against .com:
| Extension | Year 1 | Years 2–5 | Five-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| .icu | US$3.99 | 4 × US$20.00 | US$83.99 |
| .com | US$11.99 | 4 × US$14.99 | US$71.95 |
The domain that costs three times less to register ends up costing more than a .com over five years – and a .com is the extension people trust most. That is the whole argument of this article in two rows.
If the domain is for a test, a campaign or a project with an end date, the cheap first year is exactly the right choice. If it is for a business you expect to still exist in five years, compare renewals.
5. Cheap extensions that are actually worth it
Low price is not the only reason to choose one of these. What each is good at:
- .xyz – the general-purpose alternative when the .com is taken. Widely recognised and cheap to renew.
- .info – informational sites, documentation, landing pages. One of the original gTLDs, so it reads as established.
- .biz – B2B and commercial use, and the only one on the list with no renewal surprise.
- .online – services and portfolios; the word works in Spanish, Portuguese and French too.
- .site – short, neutral, and available in names that are long gone in .com.
- .store and .shop – e-commerce; the extension itself says what you do.
- .tech – software and hardware companies. Not the cheapest, but the most specific.
- .space and .website – communities, personal sites, anything that does not fit a category.
- .icu – the cheapest way to get a name online for one year. Check the renewal before you build on it.
6. How to check today's price
Prices move, promotions start and end, and a table published in August is not evidence about December. Three ways to see the current number:
- gTLD prices – the full, live list of generic extensions.
- Country domain prices – the same for country extensions.
- Domain search – type the name you want and the price shown is the one that applies to that registration, promotion included.
Each extension page also states the renewal price and any registration requirement, which is the other thing a cheap price can hide: several country extensions ask for a local address or company before they let you register at all.
7. FAQs
What is the cheapest domain extension?
For the first year, extensions such as .icu, .info or .xyz start under US$13. Measured over five years, a .com at US$14.99 a year works out cheaper than several of them – the answer depends entirely on how long you keep the domain.
Why is my renewal more expensive than what I paid?
Because the first year was a promotion funded by the registry, and the renewal is the standard price. It is a normal practice across the industry; the only defence is to check the second-year price before registering.
Can I avoid the higher renewal by transferring to another registrar?
No. A transfer adds a year at the new registrar's price, and first-year promotions apply to new registrations. Transferring can still make sense if that registrar's standard renewal is lower – compare renewals, not offers.
Can a registrar raise the renewal price?
Yes, within what the registry charges. Registry price changes are announced in advance and passed on. Registering for several years at once fixes the price for that period, which is worth doing when an extension has a history of increases.
Does a cheap extension hurt my SEO?
The extension itself is not a ranking factor. What can hurt is reputation by association: extensions heavily used for spam are treated with more suspicion by spam filters, which affects email delivery more than search rankings.
Check the renewal price before you register. Every extension page on Register.Domains shows the first-year price, the renewal price and any requirement, side by side.
