.com Domain Price: What You Pay the First Year and at Renewal

When you think about the most popular top-level domains (TLDs), .com is probably the first that comes to mind. That’s because there are more .com web addresses than any other and that volume is growing all the time.

That popularity could make them expensive — however, .coms are more affordable than most people realize.

Average Prices of .com Domains

There are over 155 million websites with a .com TLD, more than nine times the number of the nearest contender, the .de ccTLD. Searching for the right domain name often starts with [your brand].com, with people often opting for alternatives because their preferred .com choice is taken. They may also choose to say no to .com because they assume it’s more expensive.

However, prices for .com have remained relatively stable despite their consistent popularity. Many .com domains are available for around $10, although some go for incredible rates. Recently, IPL.com was sold for an astonishing $265K. If there’s a known demand for certain brand names, this can cause prices to rise. But most unique .com domains are inexpensive.

Verisign Fees Explained

The reason .com domains cost anything at all is because fees go to certain organizations that help maintain the infrastructure of the internet. One such organization is Verisign, an American firm dedicated to online infrastructure and security.

Verisign is also the registry for both .com and .net domains. Any registrar that sells them pays Verisign a wholesale fee for every year of registration, and that fee is part of the price passed on to customers.

Wholesale .com and .net Increases: What Changes and When

The wholesale fee is going up for both extensions:

Extension	Verisign wholesale fee per year	Effective	Applies to	Source
.com	US$10.26 → US$10.97	1 November 2026	New registrations and renewals	Verisign first-quarter 2026 results, filed with the US SEC (April 2026)
.net	US$12.00	1 March 2027 (05:00 UTC)	New registrations, renewals and transfers	Verisign notice to ICANN, 27 August 2026

Verified on 22 October 2026. These are the fees Verisign charges registrars, not retail prices: what you pay depends on each registrar, and our current price is always on the .com domains page.

The new fee applies to registrations and renewals made from the effective date. If you already own a .com, renewing it for several years before 1 November 2026 means those years are processed under the current wholesale fee. The same window is open for .net until 1 March 2027.

ICANN Fees Explained

ICANN stands for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and it’s the non-profit responsible for the allocation and maintenance of website addresses. ICANN manages top-level domains as well as the domain name system (DNS). The DNS translates your website address into an IP address that an internet-connected device can understand.

ICANN charges domain name registrars for each registration, renewal or transfer year of a generic TLD (gTLD). However, it’s only a few cents: since 1 July 2025 it has been USD 0.20 per transaction, up from USD 0.18 (ICANN Registrar Billing FAQ, May 2026). This cost is part of any charge you receive when registering a .com domain.

.com Prices vs. Other TLDs

With all these fees in place, it’s easy to assume that .com domains are more expensive than alternatives. However, that’s not always the case.

There are 1,437 extensions in the internet’s root zone to compare it with; our domain extensions list breaks them down by type and shows which ones you can register.

Country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) range in price from $10 to thousands of dollars per registration. A .na domain that indicates a presence in Namibia, Africa, for example, could set you back nearly $7,000.

A .net is often seen as a cheaper alternative to a .com that’s also widely trusted around the world. However, most .net prices are at least a dollar more expensive than most .com domains.

Many businesses or online entrepreneurs love to opt for one of the new gTLDs on the market. These can show what type of business you’re in, for example, .law or .travel. They can also be a geographical alternative for ccTLDs, such as the .asia gTLD.

However, these newer gTLDs aren’t always a cheaper option. If you run a radio station, you might want a .radio web address. This will certainly provide you with a strong online presence that stands out from the crowd. Just be prepared to pay over $240. Similarly, .game domains can cost around $350 and some adult-themed domains can set buyers back over $12,000.

For most buyers, if the domain is available, the .com choice is often the cheaper option.

What a .com Costs With Us: First Year vs. Standard Price

The price of a .com has two parts that people often mix up: a first-year price, which registrars often discount to win new customers, and the standard yearly price, which is what you pay once the first year is over. When you compare offers, compare both, not just the first year. These were our .com prices when we last checked them:

Case	Price (USD)
Your first .com as a new user, first year	$6.99
Additional .com domains, first year	$11.99
Standard price per year	$14.99

Verified on 12 October 2026 on our .com domains page. Prices change: that page always shows the current ones, and the gTLD price list compares .com with every other generic extension.

If you’ve been on the fence about buying a .com domain, check whether your name is available on the .com page. Remember, you always get free web redirection and email forwarding with all domains you register with us, and you can transfer an existing domain with ease. Find out just how simple the process is online.