A standard domain costs anywhere from a few dollars to about 70 euros per year in 2026, depending on the extension and the registrar. Typical prices (collected in September 2026, re-checked on 29.10.2026): .com $11-19 per year, .net and .org $11-19, .eu from about $6 or €7.49, .pl from €5.99 or PLN 9.90-16.69 for the first year, .com.ua about 713-738 UAH ($15.63-16.19), and .ua about 3,528 UAH (about $77, only for trademark owners). Renewals often cost more than the first year, because registrars discount the first year and registries keep raising wholesale prices.
Domain prices in 2026: summary table
How we checked. Prices come from official registrar price lists collected in September 2026 and re-checked on 29.10.2026: Porkbun (USD), OVHcloud international (EUR, ex VAT) and Poland (PLN) price lists, and the Ukrainian registrars imena.ua and NIC.UA (UAH). Namecheap prices are as of September 2026: its price pages could not be re-checked on 29.10.2026. USD equivalents of UAH prices use the National Bank of Ukraine rate for 29.10.2026 (45.59 UAH per US dollar) and are approximate. Porkbun .com prices and registry wholesale prices were re-checked on 10.11.2026, after the November 1 increase. The same extension can cost several times more at one registrar than at another, so always compare the renewal price, not just the first year.
| Extension | First year | Renewal per year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com | $11.81 (Porkbun, 10.11.2026), $11.28 (Namecheap), €7.99 ex VAT (OVHcloud) | $11.81 (Porkbun, 10.11.2026), $18.48 (Namecheap), €14.29 ex VAT (OVHcloud) | Wholesale price rose on November 1, 2026 |
| .net | $12.52 (Porkbun), $12.48 (Namecheap) | $12.52 (Porkbun), $18.58 (Namecheap) | Wholesale price rises on March 1, 2027 |
| .org | $7.98 (Porkbun sale), $8.48 (Namecheap) | $11.84 (Porkbun), $18.98 (Namecheap) | Wholesale price rose on June 1, 2026 |
| .eu | $5.88 (Porkbun), €7.49 ex VAT (OVHcloud), $6.98 (Namecheap) | $5.88 (Porkbun), €8.59 ex VAT (OVHcloud), $10.98 (Namecheap) | EU/EEA citizens and residents only |
| .pl | €5.99 ex VAT (OVHcloud international), PLN 16.69 ex VAT (OVHcloud Poland), PLN 9.90 ex VAT (cyber_Folks) | €12.99 ex VAT (OVHcloud international), PLN 58.99 ex VAT (OVHcloud Poland) | Open to anyone |
| .com.ua | 712.79 UAH, about $15.63 (NIC.UA); 738 UAH, about $16.19 (imena.ua) | Same | Open registration, no trademark needed |
| .ua | 3,528 UAH, about $77.38 (imena.ua, NIC.UA) | Same | Registered trademark required |
Prices exclude personal discounts and new-customer coupons. Ukrainian registrars often peg their UAH prices to the euro or dollar, so local prices move with the exchange rate. Check the final amount at checkout: what matters here is the ratio between extensions and the gap between the first year and renewal.
What makes up the price of a domain
Every domain passes through a chain. The registry runs the extension’s database and sets a wholesale price, the registrar sells the name to you and adds a margin, and generic extensions also carry an ICANN fee.
- Registry wholesale price. Set by the extension operator: Verisign for .com and .net, Public Interest Registry for .org, EURid for .eu, NASK for .pl, Hostmaster for .ua and .com.ua.
- ICANN fee. $0.20 per registration year for generic extensions (.com, .net, .org and other gTLDs). Country-code extensions such as .ua, .pl and .eu do not pay it.
- Registrar margin. Pays for support, the control panel, DNS servers, WHOIS privacy and marketing.
- Taxes and currency. VAT (OVHcloud lists prices without it) and exchange rates.
| Extension | Registry | Old wholesale | New wholesale | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .com | Verisign | $10.26 | $10.97 (+7%) | November 1, 2026 |
| .net | Verisign | $10.91 | $12.00 (almost +10%) | March 1, 2027 |
| .org | Public Interest Registry | $9.93 | $11.00 | June 1, 2026 |
Wholesale prices: registry announcements as reported by Domain Name Wire (.com, .net, .org), checked on 10.11.2026. Since November 1, 2026, the .com wholesale price has been $10.97. Porkbun’s $11.81 for .com (checked on 10.11.2026) is close to cost: $10.97 wholesale, $0.20 ICANN fee and a small margin. Cloudflare Registrar sells at cost with no markup at all, but it does not support every extension and requires the domain to use Cloudflare’s nameservers.
Why domain renewal costs more than registration
It is a business model, not a pricing mistake. Registrars sell the first year cheaply to win the customer and earn on renewals, because few people move a domain to another registrar even when renewal is expensive.
Promotional first-year pricing
As of September 2026, Namecheap sells .com for $11.28 in the first year and renews it at $18.48; .org costs $8.48 and then $18.98. The gap is wider on newer extensions: .xyz is $2.00 to register and $21.48 to renew, and .online is $0.98 and then $35.68, a 36x jump. At OVHcloud, a .pl domain costs PLN 16.69 ex VAT for the first year and PLN 58.99 to renew, about 3.5 times more.
Registries raise wholesale prices
Verisign’s agreements with ICANN and the US government allow .com price increases of up to 7%, and the company uses them regularly. The .net limit is 10% per year, and .org price caps were removed in 2019. Registrars pass these increases on, so renewal prices creep up even without any promotions.
Currency, premium names and extras
Registries bill in dollars or euros, so local-currency prices change with exchange rates. NIC.UA, for example, registered .com for 913.97 UAH (about $20.05) but renewed it for 940.09 UAH (about $20.62) as of September 2026. Short dictionary words are often flagged as premium, and some premium names renew at a premium price every year. WHOIS privacy, DNS hosting or email forwarding may also be billed separately. The same “cheap start, pricier later” logic shows up in hosting plans too; see our breakdown of hidden hosting fees.
How much a domain costs over 5 years
The only fair comparison is the total cost of ownership. Here are five years at current list prices, before any future wholesale increases:
| Scenario | Year 1 | Years 2-5 | 5-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| .com at Namecheap | $11.28 | 4 × $18.48 | $85.20 |
| .com at Porkbun | $11.81 | 4 × $11.81 | $59.05 |
| .pl at OVHcloud | PLN 16.69 | 4 × PLN 58.99 | PLN 252.65 ex VAT |
| .com.ua at imena.ua | 738 UAH | 4 × 738 UAH | 3,690 UAH (about $80.93) |
The cheap first year at Namecheap becomes $85 over five years versus $59 at Porkbun. The Namecheap prices date from September 2026, before the .com wholesale increase of November 1, 2026; the Porkbun price was checked after it, on 10.11.2026. If a registry has announced a price increase, paying for several years in advance locks in today’s price: for .com, .net and .org the registry charges the full term upfront.
Extension specifics: .com, .eu, .pl, .ua and .com.ua
- .com, .net, .org. The default choice for international projects, priced at roughly $11-19 per year. The .com wholesale price rose by $0.71 on November 1, 2026, .org went up in June 2026, and .net goes up on March 1, 2027.
- .eu. Available to EU citizens wherever they live, and to people and companies residing or established in EU or EEA countries. A Ukrainian citizen living in the EU qualifies as a resident; a company registered only in Ukraine does not.
- .pl. Open to anyone. The first year is PLN 9.90-16.69 ex VAT at Polish registrars, renewal at OVHcloud is PLN 58.99 ex VAT (PLN 72.56 incl. VAT). At the Ukrainian registrar imena.ua, .pl costs 2,058 UAH (about $45) per year (checked on 10.11.2026), noticeably more than buying directly in Poland. You can also register a .pl domain at RichHost.
- .ua. Only for owners of a trademark registered in Ukraine or an international mark protected in Ukraine under the Madrid system. The domain must match the mark in Latin letters, and the first registration is for one year only. About 3,528 UAH (about $77) per year. You can also register a .ua domain at RichHost.
- .com.ua. Open to anyone, no trademark needed, 1 to 10 years, 713-738 UAH ($15.63-16.19) per year. The most popular choice for Ukrainian businesses.
Once you have the name, point it to your hosting and set up DNS records; our guide to DNS records and domain management covers the essentials, and our step-by-step guide shows how to change domain nameservers.
What happens if you don’t renew on time
For .com, .net and .org the cycle is standard. After the expiry date there is a grace period: the registry allows renewal for up to 45 days, but the registrar sets the actual window and terms, and your site and email may already be down. Next comes a 30-day Redemption Grace Period, when the domain can only be recovered with a separate restore fee. Then 5 days of Pending Delete, when recovery is impossible, after which anyone can register the name, including drop-catching services.
Country-code extensions have their own rules. For example, Ukrainian registrar ukraine.com.ua states that .ua and .com.ua domains can be renewed at the normal price within 30 days after expiry, and OVHcloud charges PLN 58.99 ex VAT to restore a .pl domain. The cheapest option is always the same: renew before the expiry date.
How to avoid overpaying: checklist
- Compare renewal prices, not first-year prices.
- Calculate the total cost over 3-5 years.
- Prepay several years if the registry has announced an increase (for example, .net from March 1, 2027).
- Turn on auto-renewal and keep the contact email on the domain up to date.
- Transfer to a cheaper registrar. A transfer usually costs about the same as a renewal and adds a year. For .com, .net and .org, transfers are blocked for 60 days after registration or a previous transfer.
- Don’t pay for WHOIS privacy if another registrar includes it for free.
- Check whether the name is premium with a higher renewal price before you buy.
FAQ
Can I buy a domain forever?
No. Domains are registered for 1 to 10 years and then renewed. The closest thing to “forever” is registering for the maximum term with auto-renewal on.
Is it cheaper to register a domain for 10 years?
The yearly price is usually the same, but you are protected from future wholesale increases and can’t forget a renewal. The downside: if you transfer a domain that already has the maximum term, the extra year is not added, because the term cannot exceed 10 years.
How much does a domain transfer cost?
Usually about the same as a renewal, and the registration is extended by one year. Porkbun charges $11.81 to transfer a .com (checked on 10.11.2026); NIC.UA charges 605.89 UAH (about $13.29) for a .com.ua. You need an authorization (EPP) code from your current registrar.
Why is .ua so expensive?
It is a restricted extension: names are issued only for trademarks, so volumes are small and documents are checked manually. Major registrars charge about 3,528 UAH (about $77) per year, compared with 713-738 UAH ($15.63-16.19) for .com.ua.
Can I get a domain for free?
Real .com, .ua or .pl domains are not free. Some hosts include a domain for the first year with a hosting plan (OVHcloud does this with .pl, for example), but renewals are charged at the normal price. At RichHost, a .com, .org or .info domain is free when hosting is paid for a full year at once (that payment is non-refundable); the domain then renews at the zone’s standard price: $21.07 per year for .com, $20.46 for .org and $36.66 for .info.
Conclusion
A domain’s price is the registry’s wholesale price plus the ICANN fee, the registrar’s margin, taxes and exchange rates. Look at the renewal price and count several years: for the same .com, the difference between registrars can exceed 50%. For an international project .com is the practical default, for a Ukrainian business .com.ua, and .ua makes sense if you own a trademark.
At RichHost you can register a domain and host your site on NVMe storage with our own control panel and its AI assistant and free Let’s Encrypt SSL. See current extension prices when you register a domain with RichHost, and use our breakdown of website maintenance cost per year to plan the full budget of your site. If this is your first project, our practical guide on how to buy hosting walks you through choosing a plan.
