How Much Does a Domain Name Cost per Year? Look at the Renewal, Not the Sale

Key takeaways

• A .com costs about $11 to $23 a year to keep. Porkbun charges $11.81, Namecheap renews at $19.98, and a third-party comparison lists GoDaddy's renewal at $22.99.
• Nobody can go far below the floor. Verisign's wholesale price for a .com rose from $10.26 to $10.97 a year on 1 November 2026, and it may rise again.
• Judge a registrar by its five-year total. A .com comes to $59.05 at Porkbun and $92 at Namecheap at today's prices, though Namecheap's first year is close to Porkbun's.
• Cheap endings can be the dearest to keep. On Porkbun, a .store is $2.57 for year one and $43.77 a year after that, so it costs more over three years than a .com by a long way.
• A "free domain" usually means free for a year. Wix and Squarespace both offer one on yearly plans, then it renews at their price.
• Register it in your own name. A domain held in someone else's account is the hardest part of leaving a supplier.

The short answer

Every published guide we read agrees on the first line, roughly. GoDaddy (11 Jun 2026, search result) and Squarespace (14 Oct 2025, search result) both say $10 to $20 a year. Network Solutions (21 May 2026, search result) says $10 to $50. They all sell domains, and few of them show a renewal table for the whole market.

The November 2026 .com price rise

Every .com is sold through Verisign, which runs the registry. Domain Name Wire reported on 23 April 2026 that the wholesale price would rise 7%, from $10.26 to $10.97 a year, from 1 November. Under its agreement with ICANN and the US government, Verisign may raise it by up to 7% in each of the last four years of its six-year contract. If it does so each year, Domain Name Wire's figure is $13.42 by the end of the current cycle.

So a .com can't stay under about $11 a year for long, whoever you buy from. Registrars also pay a small fee to ICANN, the body that oversees domain names. Any price well below the floor is a promotion paid for by the registrar, and it ends at renewal. Reddit threads from the past month show customers noticing higher prices, and the wholesale rise applies to every registrar.

If you own a .com you mean to keep, renewing for several years before a rise can lock in today's price. Most registrars let you register or renew for up to 10 years. Check whether the multi-year price is the renewal rate or the sale rate first. Free hosting plans rarely include a domain for good, as our free website hosting guide explains.

What a .com costs over five years

These are the registrars we could read or find figures for. The five-year total is our arithmetic: year one, then four renewals, at the prices shown today, ignoring future rises and tax.

Sums: 11.81 x 5 = 59.05. 12.08 + (19.98 x 4) = 92.00. 22.99 x 5 = 114.95.

A few honest notes on this table. Cloudflare's FAQ says every domain it registers must use Cloudflare's nameservers, so you would run your DNS there. Namecheap also advertised a first-year .com at $6.48 for new customers on the day we looked, which would take its five-year total down to $86.40 ($6.48 + $79.92). Prices shown to you may differ by location or by the offer running. We did not buy a domain from each to test them, and this table only compares prices and not support.

The difference over five years is small next to a website budget. So if you already have a domain at a registrar you like, moving it to save $8 a year may not be worth an afternoon of your time. Our guide to connecting a domain in Framer shows the kind of steps involved.

Why cheap endings can cost the most

Sale prices are largest on the newer endings, and that's where people get caught. Here is what Porkbun's list showed on 5 November 2026, in US dollars. The three-year total is year one plus two renewals.

Look at the .store line. It's the cheapest thing on the page in year one, and over three years it costs about 2.5 times as much as a .com. For most small businesses a .com remains the sensible default if you can get a name you like, since it's what people type by habit.

What a "free domain" means on a website plan

Website builders often include a domain. Read the terms.

• Wix. Its plans page says most Premium plans include a one-year voucher, valid only for a new domain bought from Wix.
• Squarespace. Its plan guide says annual plans get a free custom domain for one year.
• Framer. Its pricing page shows one included with its paid plans.

None of that is a trap. It's a useful saving of one year's fee. Just budget for the renewal at that provider's rate from year two, or move the domain at that point. Check also what happens to the domain if you cancel the plan. Our website cost per month guide puts the domain alongside the other running costs.

Other costs that can appear

• Privacy. Your registration details would otherwise appear in public records. Many registrars now include privacy protection, and some charge for it, so check before you pay.
• Email. A domain doesn't include a mailbox. Business email is usually a separate subscription, and Squarespace, for one, bills it apart from your plan. Our business email cost guide shows what one, three or ten people pay a year.
• Add-ons at checkout. Registrars often offer protection packs, site builders and SEO tools at the point of sale. You rarely need them to own a name.
• A late renewal. If a domain lapses, your site and email stop working, and you may pay extra to recover it, or lose it. Turn on auto-renew and keep the card up to date.
• Buying from an owner. A taken name can cost hundreds or thousands, and brokers add a fee. Use an escrow service for anything large.

How to buy one sensibly

1. Start with the name. Short, easy to say on the phone, and with no hyphens if you can help it.
2. Look up the renewal price before the sale price. On any registrar's list, check the renewal column.
3. Put it in your own name and your own account, using an email address you'll still have in five years, and not one on the domain itself.
4. Turn on auto-renew and two-factor sign-in. A domain is worth guarding.
5. Keep it separate from your supplier. If a designer buys it for you, make sure it's transferred to you. Our offshore agency guide covers why accounts should stay in your name.

Does the domain affect search rankings?

Hardly at all. Google's SEO starter guide says keywords in a domain name alone have hardly any effect, and that the ending only matters if you target a specific country, and even then usually with low impact. So choose a name that people can remember and find again. If your site isn't appearing at all, our guide on why a website isn't showing on Google is a better place to start. If you serve one country, a country ending like .co.uk or .com.au can still reassure local buyers, and our Australian guide has more on .au names.

How we help at Amariq

Part of every site we build is making sure the address stays yours. We can guide you through buying the right name, set it up in your own account and connect it, along with hosting and email. Website work is quoted from the scope and isn't charged by the hour, with 40% due to begin, 30% when you've approved the design and 30% as launch approaches. Once that's paid, you own the design, copy and code, and the domain, hosting and analytics sit in your accounts. There's more on our web design services page.

Once you own the name, pointing it at a new site can take a few minutes or a day, depending on one setting; see how long DNS propagation really takes.

If you find a cheaper registrar, how to transfer a domain name without downtime sets out the order of steps that keeps your site and email working.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a domain name cost per year?

For a .com, about $11 to $23 a year to keep, depending on the registrar. Other endings range from around $12 to more than $80 at renewal, on Porkbun's list.

Can I buy a domain name permanently?

No. You register it for a period of up to 10 years, and then renew it. Keep renewing and it stays yours. Buying from another owner transfers the registration to you, and you still pay the yearly fee.

Is it worth paying for a domain?

Yes, for any business. It costs roughly $1 a month, gives you an address you control, and lets you use your own email and move between website platforms without changing where customers find you.

Can I buy a domain for 3 years?

Yes, most registrars offer terms from one to ten years. Check whether a sale applies to the first year only, since later years are usually at the renewal rate.

Why did .com prices go up in November 2026?

Verisign raised the wholesale price from $10.26 to $10.97 a year from 1 November 2026, as Domain Name Wire reported. Registrars pass that on, and it can happen again under the current contract.

Is a free domain with a website plan a good deal?

It saves about a year's fee, and that's all. Renewal after that is at the builder's price, so compare that with a registrar, and check that you can move the domain away.

How much do a domain and hosting cost together?

A domain at about $11 to $23 a year, plus hosting at a few dollars a month or more. Our hosting cost guide shows first and renewal prices, and how much a website costs gives the wider picture.