A domain is not a one-time purchase. You pay for the first year when you register, then a renewal price every year you keep it. NameFlow shows both, so you can see the real cost before you decide.
The two prices on every result
| Price | What it covers |
|---|---|
| First year | Registering the domain for its first year |
| Renewal | Each following year you keep it |
For many extensions the two are the same or close. For others, especially extensions on promotion, the difference is large.
All prices are in US dollars. They come from the registrar and refresh about every 30 minutes, so the price you see is current.
Promotional pricing
Registries sometimes discount the first year of an extension to attract new registrations. NameFlow marks these with a PROMO badge.
The catch: the discount applies to the first year only. From the second year you pay the regular renewal price.
Work out the real cost
Compare the total over the time you expect to keep the domain, not the first-year price:
| Extension | First year | Renewal | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promo extension | $1.35 | $32.20 | $65.75 |
Flat-priced .com |
$10.99 | $10.99 | $32.97 |
The "cheap" domain costs twice as much by year three. Promotions are a great deal for short-lived projects (an event, a campaign, an experiment). For a long-term brand, the renewal price matters more.
To see every extension currently on promotion, open the TLD directory and use the Promo filter.
Why extensions cost different amounts
Each extension is run by a registry that sets its own wholesale price. Some examples of what drives the price:
- Volume.
.comhas a huge number of registrations and a low, regulated price. - Demand.
.ioand.aiare popular with tech companies and cost more. - Country-code policy. Country extensions are set by their country's registry, and some are priced high on purpose.
- Positioning. Some newer extensions are priced as premium products from the start.
The same name can cost $11 on one extension and $85 on another. If your budget is tight, compare a few extensions before deciding. See Choosing a TLD.
Premium names
Some individual names, such as very short names or common words, are classed as premium by the registry and cost far more than the standard price for their extension, sometimes thousands of dollars. Premium names often renew at a premium price too. NameFlow shows the actual price for the specific name. See Checking Domain Availability.
The ICANN fee
ICANN, the organization that coordinates domain names, charges a fee of $0.20 per registration year on generic extensions such as .com, .net, .org, .app, .dev and .xyz (and a few others, such as .io). Many country-code extensions, such as .co, .ai and .me, do not have it.
- The fee is added at checkout, on top of the price shown in search results.
- It applies per year: a 2-year registration carries $0.40.
Multi-year registration
Most extensions let you register for more than one year at a time, often up to 10 years. The minimum and maximum periods differ by extension and are listed on each extension's page in the TLD directory. Registering for several years locks in the domain for longer, but you still pay the renewal rate for years after the first.
Buying
At checkout you see the full price before you pay. Your card is only charged once the domain is registered. See Buying a Domain.