Renewal, not the first year, decides what a domain costs

The domain market is priced to be compared on the wrong number. Registrars advertise the first year, because that is the figure a buyer sees at checkout, and the first year is the one line item they can discount to almost nothing without losing money.

Our own tables show how wide the gap gets. A .com sold for about one dollar in the first year at one registrar renews near eighteen; another registrar asks a little over eleven dollars up front and renews under twelve. Over three years the cheap headline loses.

What we publish instead

Every row on this site carries four numbers: first year, renewal, transfer and a three-year total that is simply the first year plus two renewals. Promotional first years are labelled as promotions so they cannot be mistaken for a standing price.

The three-year total is deliberately dull. It is the closest honest approximation of what a domain costs a business that intends to keep it, and it is the number that reorders almost every table on this site.

How to use the tables

Sort by renewal when the domain is for a business you expect to still be running in five years. Sort by first year only when the name is speculative and you may drop it. Where the two orders disagree — which is most of the time — the renewal order is the one that reflects what you will actually pay.

Transfers are the release valve. A domain can be moved after the first year, and the transfer price generally includes a further year of registration. That makes an expensive renewal survivable, but it costs administrative time, and registrars know it.