Renewal fee

01

Renewal fee, explained

The fee has three layers: the registry's wholesale price, a small ICANN fee on gTLD names, and the registrar's margin. For .com, Verisign's registry agreement with ICANN sets a maximum wholesale price, US$10.26 a year until November 1, 2026 and US$10.97 after the 7% increase Verisign announced for that date, according to Domain Name Wire, and allows increases of up to 7% a year in the last four years of each six-year period (plus narrow, capped cost-recovery increases in other years), with six months' notice. Other registries set their own prices within their contracts. ICANN requires registrars to make their renewal, late-renewal and restore fees available when you register.

Renewals compound. The yearly bill for the whole portfolio has to be covered by sales, and with a low sell-through rate most names cost money every year you hold them. Before registering or buying, check the renewal price, not the promotional first-year price; some new gTLDs and registry premium names renew at many times the standard rate, every year.

Ways to control the cost: compare registrars, since the same extension can renew at very different prices; use volume or membership pricing where it pays; renew for several years when you are sure you will keep a name, which for .com fixes the registry price for up to ten years; and transfer names to a cheaper registrar, which for gTLDs usually adds a year. Review the portfolio once a year and drop names that no longer justify their renewal.

AI tools help most at review time. They can combine each name's inquiries, traffic, comparable sales and renewal price into a keep-or-drop list quickly, but the final call still needs your judgment, because a model does not know which buyer you could reach for a particular name.

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