The renewal-price trap in cheap domains

A $1 domain is a first-year promotion paid for by the registrar. The renewal price is set by the registry, and for many extensions it is ten to thirty times the promo. Before you buy on price, look at the renewal.

01Loss leaders

Why is the first year so cheap?

Registrars buy a name from the registry at wholesale and sell it to you. In year one they’ll often sell below cost to win the customer, because they expect to earn it back on renewals, hosting, email and everything else. The promotional price tells you nothing about what the name costs.

02Where renewals come from

Who sets the renewal price?

The registry sets wholesale, and the registrar adds a margin.

.com is the one extension where the ceiling is public. Verisign charges registrars $10.26 a year, going to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, and its agreement with ICANN and the US government lets it raise that by at most 7% a year, only during the last four years of each six-year contract term.

Most newer extensions have no equivalent cap. Their registries can change wholesale pricing with advance notice to registrars, and the renewal on a promotional .xyz or .site is whatever the registry decided this year, plus margin. It might be $12. It might be $40.

03Before you buy

How do I check the renewal before buying?

Every registrar shows the renewal price somewhere on the product page or at checkout. Find it before you add to cart.
Compare renewal, not registration, across registrars. Two registrars can be $1 and $9 in year one and $14 and $13 in year two.
For newer extensions, search the registry’s name plus “price increase”. A registry that has raised prices before can do it again.
For premium names, check whether the premium applies at renewal. For registry tiers it usually does.

04Protection

How do I protect against increases?

Register for multiple years at today’s price if you’re sure of the name. Increases apply at the next renewal, not retroactively.
Prefer extensions with price caps or a long stable history for names you can’t afford to lose.
Set auto-renew and keep a working card on file. Losing a domain to a lapsed card costs far more than any increase.

05The usual suspects

Which extensions are the usual traps?

Any extension promoted at $0.99 or $1.99. The promo exists because the registry wants volume and the registrar wants customers; the renewal is where both make their money.

That doesn’t make those extensions bad. It makes them mispriced in year one. A $2 first year on an extension that renews at $35 is a $35 extension, and the only sensible way to compare it against a $12 .com is to put both renewal figures side by side. See how Webault shows prices.

PlainlyQuote this

First-year domain prices are promotions set by registrars. Renewal prices are set by registries, and most newer extensions have no cap on how far they can rise. Buy on the renewal price, not the promo.

WebaultHow it works

What Webault does about this

Webault shows the registrar’s price for each registrable name, so an extension’s cost is visible next to the name rather than at checkout. It isn’t a registrar and earns nothing from what you register.

QuestionsAll questions

Questions

Can a registrar raise my renewal price mid-term?

Not for years you’ve already paid for. Increases apply when you next renew.

Is .com safer than newer extensions on price?

On price stability, yes. Verisign’s wholesale increases for .com are capped at 7% a year, and only in the last four years of each six-year contract term. Most newer extensions have no cap at all.

Do I lose the domain if I miss a renewal?

Not immediately. There’s a grace period, then a more expensive redemption period. But don’t rely on either.

By YBM Labs. Last reviewed 25 September 2026. Terms used here are defined in the glossary.

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