How Much Does A Domain Name Cost?

Colleen Branch | February 6, 2020

12 min read

Whether you need somewhere to show off your cafe’s range of gluten-free muffins, or a place to publicize pictures of your prize poodle, creating a website is an ideal way to connect and broadcast to an audience that you want to reach.

One of the first steps to making that website is to acquire a domain name.

So, how much is a domain name?

Sit back, close all those unnecessary tabs, and focus on our handy guide.

What Is a Domain Name? Does a Domain Name Cost Money?

To have a website, you must first own a domain. But… what are they?

Much like your house has a postal address, every website on the internet has a unique IP address made up of numbers. These numbers tell the domain name system (also known as the DNS) where to find each website.

As mere humans, (and not machines), it would be impossible to remember the IP addresses to all of your favorite websites, and so, domain names are used instead.

When starting out, it’s important to select a domain that fits your business or project. Luckily, we live in a time where it’s relatively easy and cheap to create a website.

However, the price of domain names can vary tremendously, depending on:

The type you need (for example, a .inc will typically be more expensive than a .com).
Where you buy it from. Some companies offer discounted and even free domains, depending on the package or service that you require.
The length of time you want to register it for.

What Is the Average Domain Name Price? How Much Does It Typically Cost?

There are hundreds of domains available on the market. A top-level domain (TLD) is the part of a domain that follows the dot, for example, ‘com’ or ‘inc’. A domain will either be a generic top-level domain (gTLD) such as .org and .net, or a country code top-level domains (ccTLD) like .us and .fr.

Hedgehog going to an IP address on a toy unicorn

As the Internet’s popularity grew throughout the years, so did the need for domains. This resulted in the introduction of new gTLDs, such as .blog and .music, which actually help the audience to understand the type of content they are about to see before the website has even loaded.

Due to the variety on offer, it can be difficult to work out a common price for an online domain name, however, there will be a typical price tag for each TLD.

The newer TLDs such as .club, .online, and .site can cost anywhere between $10 and $25, whereas traditional TLDs like .com, .net, and .org are usually priced between $6 and $15.

The most expensive range of TLDs includes .inc, .protection, and .security, which can cost in the region of £2,000. These domains are more expensive due to their keywords and brandability.

So, How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Domain Name?

Prices will vary, depending on where you get a domain from, whether that’s through an auction, or via a registrar.

Registrars look after buying and selling — through them, people pay registration fees, to register and reserve a domain.

When dealing with a registrar, services and products are often offered alongside the initial purchase, such as a site builder to help make your vision a reality, or privacy protection to keep online data safe. Added features like this can help keep down the total outlay of creating a new web domain and building a website.

Every day, previously-owned and unused domain registrations come to an end and become available for purchase (you can read more about how to buy a domain name).

When a domain expires at Namecheap, it enters a grace period, during which it can be renewed at the regular price. After this period has ended, it enters the redemption period where you can renew your domain, but at an extra cost.

Once the redemption period has ended, it goes into a period called ‘pending delete’. Here the domain name will expire, be deleted and then be available as a brand new domain available to be registered by anyone.

After the grace period has ended, a domain may be picked up through an Internet auction such as eBay, Afternic, and Sedo. Here, sellers will be charged a listing fee, and buyers will browse and bid on these listings. Auction sites also include domains that are already active and still owned, and will be set at a high price by the seller. Although you might be able to pick up a bargain through auction sites, don’t expect any extras to be thrown in.

How Much Does a Domain Name Cost Per Year?

They are charged yearly, but the annual fee may be discounted, depending on how long you wish to register your domain.

It’s best to scour the internet (or look at our pricing table) and see if you can find the perfect price for registration per year that suits your needs and budget.

For How Many Years Can I Register a Domain?

This depends entirely on the TLD you wish you register but usually you can register a domain for up to ten years. Visit the individual domain page and take a look at the pricing table to find out.

Whether you’re looking to register for just one year or ten years, it’s important to find out the cost before you commit. Sometimes you may find that you can get a discount on a multi-year purchase, so it’s worth checking!

How Much Is a Custom Domain?

Essentially every domain is a custom domain, as it’s possible to create any name that your heart desires. The only thing stopping you is if it has already been taken! Why not use our domain name search to see if your customized name is available?

The price tag of a custom name depends on the extension you choose and how long you wish to register it. For example at the time of writing, a .com.de could cost you as little as $4.88 a year. However, for business essential .inc domains, come at a fixed price of $1,898 a year.

You may decide to choose a personalized domain name, and pay for your name followed by a .com, a .me or a .biz. This option is ideal for those looking to build a personal brand. Why not find out if your personal domain is available?

How Much Does It Cost to Register a Domain Name for a Business?

As you already know from earlier in this post, the cost of registering depends on the type of extension you choose. If you want to buy a domain for an online business, it’s worth researching into your competitors. What extensions are they using?

If you’re working in the finance industry, it may be wise to consider a .finance, .financial, or a .accountant. Actors, however, may feel that registering a .actor, .film or .movie is more eye-catching.

There are so many options to choose from, whatever the industry you’re in, so why not try our domain suggestion tool today?

The Cost of Private Domain Registration

Domain Privacy is privacy protection for your domain and comes free for life when you register an eligible domain with Namecheap. This service also extends to existing domains.

This service protects people from discovering personal information such as your name, address, phone number, and email.

Domain Privacy contact information is provided instead of your own, meaning that you’re protected from telemarketers or identity thieves. For more information on private registration, check out our Domain Privacy page.

Buying a Domain in the USA

If you’re a U.S. citizen or own a business that operates out of the United States, you’ll want to register a .us. It’s the best way to serve your U.S. visitors or customers and create a web presence with a trusted extension.

However, some requirements must be met:

You must be a citizen or permanent resident with a primary residence in the United States of America or
Your organization is incorporated within one of the 50 US states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or
Your organization has a bona fide presence in the United States

If you would like to learn more about buying domains in the USA, visit the .US Registry FAQ section for further information.

How to Check How Much a Domain Costs, and Its Availability

So, you’ve found a great domain that’s perfect for your needs. Now what? If you’re wondering how to know if a domain is even available for you to secure, (and you’re buying it through Namecheap!) here are three easy steps that you can follow:

Decide on the perfect name
Check if your domain is available (and see prices)
Register it

First, conduct a brainstorm to discover and determine the perfect name for your needs.

Next, search for your domain and to find out the availability of your chosen name, as well as view alternative domain extensions that you may want to use instead. As soon as you have entered your chosen domain name into the search bar, you will see how much it will cost per year.

Finally, once you’ve found your dream domain, it’s time to register and checkout. It’s that simple.

Can Domain Registration Costs Rise?

You may be wondering if the domains you own can go up in price. In short, yes, registration costs can rise.

As a registrar, it is our job to communicate with registries and tell them to reserve the domains that you want to purchase.

If an increase in price occurs on the registry side, that means we may raise our prices to help cover costs.

But don’t forget, that here at Namecheap, we also provide expert customer support, helpful features and account management — everything you need to build your online presence.

Another external factor to consider is ICANN — the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which announced last year that it would remove historical price caps for the .org top-level domain (TLD) from the Public Interest Registry (PIR) contract.

Our concern is that removing the price cap for these legacy (pre-2012) TLDs could lead to large and unpredictable price increases that would harm Internet users and stifle innovation. It’s worth checking out our CEO’s blog post on how we’re standing up to ICANN.

Are There Additional Costs for a Domain?

Now that you’ve found a domain for an incredible price — is it too good to be true? When purchasing anything, both online and offline, it can be annoying when hidden costs show up right at the end when you’re checking out.

chicken in front of graph with prices increasing over time

When it comes to domain purchasing, consider:

Are you being charged for extra features or add-ons that you don’t need?
If you want to change registrars, will be you charged a transfer-out fee?
Do you have to pay for privacy protection?

If you’re buying a domain, be sure to ask yourself the questions above, to help work out the total price of your dream domain. Here at Namecheap, we don’t charge for any of them!

How Much Does It Cost to Own a Domain?

Once you’ve purchased your domain and happily growing your online web presence, there are upkeep costs to consider when it comes to owning.

Registration period costs – If you’re wondering “How often will I pay?”, it will depend entirely on how long you decide to register your domain. Once this time is up, you then need to renew it for it to remain active.

Renewal costs – If you wish to continue using your domain after your initial registration period, a renewal fee will be charged. Most registrars will send out reminders so that you don’t miss the deadline. The renewal price is usually the same as the registration price for a total of 30 days after the expiration date.

Redemption period costs – If you are not able to renew your domain in time, it enters the Redemption Grace Period. During this time, the domain will stop working and no changes can be made. To restore it from Redemption, depending on the domain in question and the upstream registry involved, you will be charged a fee that can range between $88 and $250. On top of this, you will also be charged the regular renewal fee.

To keep costs down, it’s important to renew your domains on time. At Namecheap, we offer auto-renewal to help you avoid surprise payments.

How to Achieve Low-cost Domain Registration

Good news, it’s easy to buy a cheap domain name! It’s all about knowing where to look.

Domain providers will offer discounts and promotions throughout the year. Here at Namecheap we offer great savings, so check out our current deals page to see what’s available. It’s your chance to get good prices on domains, hosting and beyond!

Where Can I Buy a Domain Name at a Cheap Cost?

Now that you have reached the end of our blog post, let us tell you where to find your next domain… you guessed it, we’re going to recommend Namecheap. Visit our domain name search page now to get started.

As well as domain registration, we also offer other great services such as: