The second year is the real price
A domain is not bought. It is rented, one year at a time, for as long as the business uses the name. The number on the checkout page is usually the first year only, and quite often it is the cheapest year you will ever pay. The cost that matters is renewal, every year for a decade or more, and it is printed much smaller.
Every name has a registration price (year one), a renewal price (every year after) and a transfer price (moving it to another registrar, which for generic TLDs normally adds a year). Registrars compete hardest on the first, which is the one that matters least over the life of a business.
Trap one: the introductory price
First-year discounts are the most visible pricing in the market. A new extension at a token price for year one and several times that on renewal is entirely normal. It is not a trick in the legal sense, because the renewal price is disclosed somewhere. It is a trick in the practical sense, because nobody budgets for year two when year one costs less than lunch.
Before you register, find the renewal price, not the sale price. Most registrars publish a full price list. If one does not show renewal prices before checkout, that tells you something about the registrar.
Trap two: premium names that stay premium
Registries can classify individual names as premium and charge more for them. Short words, common terms and two-letter strings are typical. Some registries charge the premium only in the first year, then renew at the standard rate. Others charge a premium renewal every year for as long as you hold the name.
The ICANN base registry agreement that governs most newer gTLDs requires renewal prices to be uniform across a TLD, with an exception that matters here: a registry can charge a higher renewal price if the registrant expressly agreed to it when the name was registered, after clear and conspicuous disclosure (section 2.10(c)). In practice, that disclosure is a line in the checkout flow. A four-figure renewal on a premium name is lawful if you clicked through it, and it will still be four figures in year seven.
A lookup does not tell you any of this. As explained in what a lookup actually tells you, a premium name reports as unregistered just like any other free name. The price only appears at the registrar.
Trap three: the registry raises the price
Registry operators set the wholesale price, and under the base agreement they can raise it, subject to notice:
| Change | Notice the registry must give registrars |
|---|---|
| Increase in the initial registration price | At least 30 calendar days |
| Increase in the renewal price | At least 180 calendar days, with some exceptions where the price returns to an earlier noticed level |
| Renewals bought ahead of an increase | Registrars must be offered renewals of 1 to 10 years at the current price |
The base agreement does not cap the size of an increase. It only requires notice. Some legacy agreements did have caps. The .org and .info caps were removed when those agreements were renewed in 2019, after a public comment period that drew substantial objections. The .com agreement is a special case. Under a 2018 amendment to Verisign's cooperative agreement with the US Department of Commerce, the .com wholesale price may rise by up to 7% in each of the last four years of every six-year period.
Two practical consequences follow. First, the price you see today is not guaranteed for the life of the name. Second, the notice rule gives you a defence: when a registry announces an increase, you can renew for up to ten years at the old price before it takes effect. For a name your business depends on, that is often worth doing.
Trap four: the registrar's own margin
Registrars set the retail price above the registry's wholesale price, and their renewal margins vary widely. A name that is cheap to register at one registrar can cost noticeably more to renew there than elsewhere. Add-ons are common too: privacy services, email forwarding and “protection” bundles that renew automatically alongside the name.
Moving a generic domain to a cheaper registrar is usually simple, and for most gTLDs the transfer adds a year to the registration. Two restrictions apply. Under the Transfer Policy currently in force, a registrar may refuse a transfer within 60 days of the name's registration or its last transfer. ICANN has been revising that policy, and the revised version shortens these locks, so check the policy page for the current period. And a transfer started in the last weeks before expiry can get caught up in the registrar's own renewal processing. Move well before the renewal date, not the week before.
Trap five: the redemption fee
Letting a name lapse by accident is the most expensive mistake on this page. If it reaches the 30-day redemption grace period, the registrar can charge a restore fee on top of the renewal, often many times the annual price. If it gets past redemption, the name is released to whoever catches it. The expired-domain lifecycle covers each stage.
Doing the arithmetic
Compare names on total cost over ten years, not the price at checkout. For each candidate, write down:
- The first-year price, and whether it is a promotion.
- The standard renewal price at your registrar, and at one competitor.
- Whether the name is premium, and if so whether the premium applies to renewals.
- Ten times the renewal price, plus any add-ons you will actually keep.
That figure is the real price of the name. It is usually still small next to everything else you will spend on the brand. The point of the exercise is to catch the one candidate where it is not.
Questions
Should I register for ten years to lock the price?
For a name the business depends on, multi-year registration is cheap insurance against both price rises and accidental expiry. The ten-year maximum is set by contract. The trade-off is cash up front and less flexibility if you rebrand. It makes the most sense straight after a registry announces an increase, when you can still renew at the current price.
Can a registrar refuse to tell me the renewal price?
A registrar that hides renewal pricing until after you have paid is one to avoid. For premium names on base-agreement TLDs, a higher renewal price only binds you if it was clearly disclosed and you agreed to it at registration. Keep a screenshot of the checkout page whenever you buy a premium name.
Do country-code domains follow these rules?
No. ccTLD registries set their own pricing policies outside ICANN's registry agreements. Many are stable and cheap, and some are not. Check the registry's published fees, and remember that some ccTLDs restrict who can register at any price.
Related
- Choosing between TLDsTrust, typing errors and renewal risk
- Expired domains and backordersThe lifecycle after the renewal you missed
Published 2026-10-18 and checked against ICANN's base registry agreement (21 January 2024 version) and the published terms of the .com amendment. Prices and agreements change. Confirm any figure with the registry or registrar before relying on it. General guidance, not advice about any particular name.