Read this first: what this index actually is
Most "domain price index" pages never tell you when their prices were collected. That omission matters, because first-year domain prices are promotions: they change weekly, and a price that looked like a bargain last month may already be gone. So here is the honest version.
This index is built on Nomlen's own TLD pricing database — 903 TLDs — as captured in its snapshot dated 26 September 2026. Every registration and renewal price in the tables below comes from that snapshot. Treat them as a dated comparison, not as a live checkout quote: always re-check the price at the registrar before you buy, because promos expire and renewal prices move.
Why publish a dated snapshot at all? Because the pattern inside it is stable even when individual prices shift. Across hundreds of extensions, the same story repeats: the cheapest first year is rarely the cheapest domain, and the renewal price — the price you pay in year two, year three, and every year after — is the number that decides what a domain really costs. That pattern is what this index is for.
How to read the index
Each TLD below shows two numbers from the September 2026 snapshot: the cheapest first-year registration price found across registrars, and the cheapest renewal price found across registrars. They are often at different registrars. That is normal, and it is the first lesson of the index — there is rarely one registrar that is cheapest at everything.
Two definitions before the table. The registration price is what you pay for year one, frequently discounted. The renewal price is what you pay to keep the same domain for another year. If you plan to keep a domain for five years, the renewal price matters four times as much as the first-year price. Keep that ratio in mind as you read.
The flagship eight: cheapest registration vs cheapest renewal
These eight extensions are the ones most buyers actually choose, so they anchor the index. Prices are in USD, from Nomlen's 26 September 2026 pricing snapshot.
TLD | Cheapest first-year registration | Cheapest renewal | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
.com | $4.98 — Namecheap | $10.28 — Spaceship | The cheapest renewal is roughly double the promo first year. |
.ai | $54.00 — OVHcloud | $69.00 — Spaceship | Premium-priced at every stage; no cheap entry point. |
.io | $14.98 — NameSilo | $38.95 — Dynadot | Renewal costs about 2.6× the first year. |
.co | $3.98 — Sav | $24.90 — Spaceship | A $4 entry that renews above $24. |
.app | $7.98 — Spaceship | $14.98 — Sav | One of the most honest spreads in the index. |
.dev | $7.98 — Porkbun | $13.98 — Dynadot | Developer favourite, moderate renewal jump. |
.net | $5.98 — Porkbun | $12.48 — Dynadot | Close to .com on both measures. |
.org | $4.98 — Spaceship | $10.98 — Cosmotown | Cheap entry, low-teens renewal. |
Read the .com row carefully, because it contains a warning. The snapshot's cheapest .com renewal, $10.28 at Spaceship, sits below the wholesale floor explained in the next section. That can happen with a promotion or a stale snapshot entry — it is not a price you should assume will still be there when you renew. When a retail price falls below wholesale, treat it as temporary by definition.
The real price is the renewal price
The flagship table already hints at the trap, but it is sharpest outside the famous extensions, where first-year discounts are deepest. Here are four examples from the same September 2026 snapshot:
TLD | First year | Renewal | Renewal multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
.blog | $2.99 — Spaceship | $29.99 — NameSilo | About 10× |
.co | $3.98 — Sav | $24.90 — Spaceship | About 6.3× |
.design | $9.99 — Spaceship | $39.99 — Dynadot | About 4× |
.io | $14.98 — NameSilo | $38.95 — Dynadot | About 2.6× |
Work out a five-year cost before you fall in love with a first-year price. A .blog at $2.99 plus four renewals at $29.99 costs about $122.95 over five years, even if the first year feels almost free. A .co at $3.98 plus four renewals at $24.90 costs about $103.58. Neither figure is a quote — renewal prices will move — but the exercise changes the decision. The question stops being "which extension is cheapest today?" and becomes "which extension can I afford to keep?"
This is also why transferring matters. A transfer usually adds a year at the new registrar's transfer price, which is sometimes lower than staying put and paying the renewal price. Nomlen's earlier guide to transferring a domain to a cheaper registrar walks through the 60-day lock and authorisation-code steps; the index tells you when that effort is worth it — namely, whenever your renewal price is far above the cheapest renewal in the table.
Why the wholesale floor is moving on 1 November 2026
Every retail price above sits on top of a wholesale price — the fee the registrar itself pays the registry. For .com, that wholesale price is set by Verisign under its agreement with ICANN. Verisign is raising the .com wholesale price from $10.26 to $10.97 per year on 1 November 2026, a rise of about 7%, as reported by Domain Name Wire. Add ICANN's $0.20 per-domain-year fee and the all-in wholesale cost moves from $10.46 to $11.17.
That explains two things in the index. First, why no registrar can sustainably sell .com renewals far below about $11: below that line, the registrar is losing money or running a promotion. Second, why the timing of a multi-year renewal matters. Renewing a .com for several years before 1 November 2026 locks in the pre-increase wholesale rate for those years at most registrars — a point Nomlen covered in detail in its guide to the 2026–2027 domain price hikes. Verisign has also announced a .net wholesale rise from $10.91 to $12.00 effective 1 March 2027, so .net owners face the same decision a few months later.
None of this means you should panic-buy domains you do not need. For one domain kept for a few years, the November increase is worth about $0.71 per year — real money across a portfolio, pocket change for a single site. The rational move is narrower: for the domains your business actually runs on, check whether a multi-year renewal before the increase beats your registrar's current renewal price.
Three rules for using this index
1. Compare five-year costs, not first years
Add one registration year plus four renewal years, using the cheapest renewal you can find — not the registrar you registered with. If the cheapest renewal lives at a different registrar, factor in a transfer. The cheapest five-year domain is usually not the one with the cheapest first year.
2. Separate the extension's price from the name's price
This index covers standard registration prices. Premium names — short, dictionary-word, or high-demand domains — are priced individually by registries and resellers and can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars regardless of extension. If a name you want shows a price wildly above the table, you are almost certainly looking at a premium listing, not the standard rate.
3. Re-check before checkout, and check the renewal page specifically
Registrars advertise first-year prices loudly and renewal prices quietly. Before paying, open the registrar's renewal or transfer price page for your exact TLD and confirm three numbers: the first-year price, the renewal price, and whether privacy protection is included or billed separately. A "cheap" domain with paid privacy and a high renewal is often the most expensive option in the table.
What this index cannot tell you
Honest limits matter as much as the data. First, the snapshot is dated 26 September 2026: promos listed here may have ended, and prices quoted in late October 2026 should be verified live. Second, the index compares standard prices only — it does not include premium names, aftermarket purchases, or auction prices. Third, it does not rank registrars on support, interface, or DNS quality; the cheapest registrar that frustrates you for an hour a year is not necessarily the best value. Finally, country-code extensions in the database sometimes carry residency or documentation requirements that no price table can capture — check the registry's rules before buying a ccTLD for a market you do not operate in.
Used with those limits in mind, the index does something no single registrar's pricing page will do: it shows you the whole board. The cheapest first year is marketing. The renewal price is the product. Buy accordingly.
To browse the full extension list behind this index, visit Nomlen's TLD pricing list. For a plain-English breakdown of what a domain should cost in the first place, see how much a domain name costs in 2026. And if you are weighing .io specifically, the cheapest .io registrar comparison goes extension-deep on the same renewal-trap problem.
Frequently asked questions
How many TLDs does this index cover?
903 TLDs, from Nomlen's TLD pricing database snapshot dated 26 September 2026. The tables in this post highlight the most-bought extensions; the full list is browsable on Nomlen's TLD pricing page.
Why do renewal prices differ so much from first-year prices?
First-year prices are often discounted to win new customers, while renewal prices are closer to the registrar's standard rate plus the registry wholesale fee. The gap is largest on extensions where registries allow deep first-year promotions, such as .blog and .co in this snapshot.
What is the cheapest TLD in the index?
On first-year price alone, extensions such as .club at $1.99 (Spaceship) and .co at $3.98 (Sav) look cheapest in the snapshot — but neither is cheapest over five years once renewals are counted. Judge by five-year cost, not by year one.
Is .com still the best value?
For most projects, yes: .com pairs a low-teens renewal with universal trust and memorability. But its wholesale price rises to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, so multi-year renewals bought before that date can lock in today's rate at most registrars.
Should I switch registrars to get the cheapest renewal?
Often, yes — a transfer adds a year at the new registrar's transfer price and can beat a high renewal. Check the 60-day transfer lock, unlock the domain, and get your authorisation code first, and never transfer a domain close to expiry without confirming the process with the gaining registrar.
Are these prices guaranteed?
No. They are a dated snapshot (26 September 2026) of promotional and standard prices that change frequently. Always confirm the live first-year, renewal, and transfer prices at checkout.
Does this index include premium domain names?
No. Premium and aftermarket names are priced individually and are excluded. If a name costs far more than the standard price for its extension, it is a premium listing.
Sources: Nomlen TLD pricing API snapshot, 26 September 2026 (903 TLDs); Verisign .com/.net wholesale increases as reported by Domain Name Wire (November 2026 and March 2027 effective dates); ICANN per-domain-year fee of $0.20.
