How Much Does a Domain Name Cost?
Domain Name Cost, Domain Cost and Domain Price Explained
Registering a new .com costs about $10.46 a year at cost. Buying one that is already taken is a completely different market. Here are the real 2026 numbers for both.
Every listing shows its price. Escrow and transfer included, lease-to-own on most names.
The short answer: a domain name costs about $10.46 a year at cost if nobody has registered it, made up of Verisign's $10.26 wholesale .com fee plus a $0.20 ICANN fee. Registrars mark that up, so retail usually falls between $10 and $22 a year. If the name you want is already registered, you are no longer buying registration, you are buying it from its owner, and that is a different market entirely: Sedo's Global Domain Report 2025 put the median aftermarket sale at $549 and the average around $2,345. Short one-word .com names run far higher, and industry reporting placed the median two-letter .com sale near $30,000 in 2025.
Last updated July 2026
The Three Ways to Get a Domain, and What Each Costs
Almost every confusing answer to "how much does a domain cost" comes from mixing these three up. They are not the same purchase.
| Route | What you are paying for | Typical price | Recurring cost | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Register an unused name | A fresh registration at a registrar such as Namecheap, Cloudflare or GoDaddy | About $10 to $22 a year for a .com. At cost it is $10.46 | Yearly renewal, often higher than the first-year promo price | Only the names nobody has taken, which excludes nearly every good one-word .com |
| Buy a listed aftermarket name | The registration rights to a name its current owner has priced for sale | $549 median sale, $2,345 average (Sedo Global Domain Report 2025) | Ordinary yearly renewal after purchase, at standard rates | Immediate. The name is registered, priced, and transferable today |
| Acquire a name that is not for sale | A broker approaches the owner anonymously and negotiates a price | Negotiated price, plus 10% to 20% broker commission and any upfront fee | Ordinary yearly renewal after purchase | Weeks to months, and the owner can always refuse |
What a .com Registration Actually Costs
The price on a registrar's checkout page is a markup on two fixed, published fees. Knowing them tells you instantly whether you are being overcharged.
| Cost component | Amount | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| .com wholesale registry fee | $10.26 a year, rising to $10.97 on November 1, 2026 | Verisign, the .com registry |
| ICANN fee | $0.20 per domain per year | ICANN, collected by the registrar |
| At-cost total | $10.46 a year | What a zero-margin registrar charges |
| Registrar markup | $0 to roughly $12 a year, often hidden by a cheap first year | Your registrar. Check the renewal price, not the promo |
| WHOIS privacy | Free at most registrars, up to about $10 a year at others | Your registrar |
| Redemption restore, if you let it lapse | Commonly $50 to $250, plus the renewal | Your registrar, during the 30-day redemption period |
Registrars set their own retail prices and run first-year promotions. Always compare the renewal rate, which is what you pay every year after the first.
Why Do Some Domains Cost Thousands of Dollars?
Because a domain is the only thing in your marketing stack that literally cannot be duplicated. Two companies can share a slogan, a logo style, or an office building. Only one can own the .com. Every short, pronounceable, one-word .com was registered decades ago, so the price of the good ones is set by scarcity and by what the name is worth to a business that will use it for twenty years.
Nothing about the underlying registration changes. The owner of a $30,000 two-letter .com pays the same $10.46 registry cost every year that you would pay on a name nobody wants. What you buy on the aftermarket is the registration rights, and the price reflects demand for the string itself: length, whether it is a real dictionary word, how obviously it maps to a category, and whether the .com is the version customers will type without being told.
That is also why aftermarket price data has such a long tail. Sedo's Global Domain Report 2025 put the median sale at $549 and the average at roughly $2,345, a gap that exists because a small number of very large sales pull the mean up while most transactions are modest. Both numbers are useful: the median tells you what a typical name changes hands for, and the average tells you the market has a serious upper end. For a founder, the practical read is that a genuinely good brandable .com usually sits in the low four figures, not five.
How Much Should You Pay for a Domain Name?
Start from what the name has to do rather than from a price. If you are testing an idea and the domain may change in six months, spend $12 on a registration and move on. If you are naming the company you intend to run for a decade, the domain is a one-time brand cost sitting next to incorporation and trademark, and underspending there is the expensive mistake. A common working benchmark among funded founders is one to three percent of first-year budget, which puts most startups between $1,000 and $25,000 for a brandable .com.
Under $500 you are choosing from longer names, compound words, and alternative extensions, and there are still good options if you are willing to be specific rather than generic. Our domains under $500 and domains under $1,000 pages exist for exactly that budget. Above a few thousand, you are buying the short, obvious names, which is where premium .com domains and one-word domains live.
Cash flow matters more than the sticker price for most early businesses, which is why lease-to-own exists: you take control of the name immediately and pay monthly, so a $9,000 domain becomes a manageable line item instead of a launch-blocking cheque. And if the name you want is registered but not listed anywhere, that is not a dead end. It is a negotiation, and a domain broker handles it for a commission rather than you emailing the owner from your company address and watching the price triple.
The Costs Nobody Quotes You Upfront
The renewal, not the promo
A $0.99 first year is marketing. What matters is year two, which is the registrar's real price. Check it before you register, because moving a domain later costs time even when the transfer itself is free.
Escrow and broker fees
On a private sale, escrow starts around 0.89% of the price at Escrow.com, and a broker takes 10% to 20%. Both are worth paying on a large deal. On a listed marketplace name, escrow is already in the price.
Letting it lapse
Miss the renewal and restoring the name during redemption commonly costs $50 to $250 on top of the renewal. Miss redemption and it goes to auction or drops, where buying it back as an expired domain is a race you may lose.
Premium Domains With the Price on the Listing
or $124,168 down, $41,389/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $780 down, $260/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $240 down, $80/mo
or $314 down, $105/mo
or $560 down, $187/mo
or $360 down, $120/mo
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a domain name cost per year?
An unregistered .com costs about $10.46 a year at cost: $10.26 to the Verisign registry plus a $0.20 ICANN fee. Registrars add a markup, so retail commonly lands between $10 and $22 a year, with a discounted first year and a higher renewal. Verisign raises the wholesale .com fee to $10.97 on November 1, 2026.
How much does a .com domain cost?
If the .com is unregistered, roughly $10 to $22 a year depending on the registrar's markup. If someone already owns it, you are buying it on the aftermarket instead, where price is set by the owner. Sedo's Global Domain Report 2025 put the median aftermarket sale at $549 and the average around $2,345 across roughly 350 extensions.
Why do some domain names cost thousands of dollars?
Because only one person can own a given name, and every good one is already registered. Price reflects scarcity, not hosting or upkeep. Short, pronounceable, one-word .com names that match a real category command the most, since they are the names customers type, remember, and trust. A domain is bought once and used for the life of the business.
Do you have to pay for a domain every year?
Yes. Domains are leased from the registry, not owned outright, and the registration must be renewed. Most gTLDs allow registration up to ten years in advance, which locks in the price and removes the risk of forgetting. If you let it lapse, restoring the name during the redemption period typically costs $50 to $250 on top of the renewal.
How much should a startup pay for a domain name?
A common benchmark is one to three percent of first-year funding or budget, and most funded startups land somewhere between $1,000 and $25,000 for a brandable .com. Below $500 you are usually choosing from longer or less obvious names. The name outlives the product, so treat it as a one-time brand cost rather than a recurring expense.
What is a premium domain name and why does it cost more?
A premium domain is a name someone already holds and is selling on the aftermarket, or one a registry has priced above standard registration. It costs more because it is short, memorable, keyword-relevant, or already carries brand recognition. You still pay the ordinary yearly renewal to the registrar after you buy it, on top of the one-time purchase price.
What are the hidden costs of buying a domain name?
Yearly renewal at retail rather than the promotional first-year rate. Escrow on a private sale, starting around 0.89% of the price at Escrow.com. Broker commission of 10% to 20% if you hire someone to acquire it. A redemption restore fee of $50 to $250 if it lapses. WHOIS privacy, though most registrars now include it free.
Can you buy a domain name permanently?
No registry sells a domain forever. You register it for one to ten years at a time and renew it, and as long as you keep renewing, nobody can take it. The purchase price you pay on the aftermarket buys the registration rights from the current owner. The yearly renewal to your registrar continues after that, at ordinary registration rates.
See the Price Before You Ask
Every domain on BoldDomains is listed with its price. No offer forms, no negotiation theatre, no surprise commission. Escrow and transfer included, lease-to-own on most names.