Who has the Lowest Domain Price

Recently, domain registries VeriSign, Afilias, and Public Interest Registry (PIR) notified all ICANN-accredited registrars that they will be raising their wholesale prices. As a consequence, consumer domain prices will increase about 50 cents at most public domain registries such as Enom and Godaddy.com. Who has the lowest domain prices? We checked 10 different ICANN approved registrars in the US and got the following results -

Registrar, .com Price/yr, .net Price/yr:
BestBulkRegister.com, $7.60, $6.49
1&1, $6.99, $6.99
Estdomains, $7.19, $5.89(promo)
Domain Name Superstore, $7.85, $9.45
Hostway, $7.95, $7.95
aPlus, $8.40, $7.95
NameCheap, $9.29, $9.29
Yahoo! Domains, $9.95, $9.95
Active Domain, $9.95, $9.95
Go Daddy, $9.99, $10.99

Depending on what services you want, what extension you are looking for (.com, .net, .org, country extensions, etc.), and what domain name you wish to register, the prices will vary among registrars. The prices listed are for registering one .com and .net domain name for one year. Some registrars provide different services which means a variation in prices. For example, buying more than one domain name at a certain site can give you a special deal on prices. Some sites, such as Go Daddy, offer domain names for as low as $1.99 if you purchase a non-domain product or service from them (i.e. web hosting, SSL Certificate). Certain extensions will cost more than others, with .tm and .travel on the pricey side as you can see in the chart below. Registrars also often have sales and promotions on domains. Search around and see what services and sites best fit your needs.

The table below shows average prices for various TLDs

Extension, Average Price:

.WS, $14.11
.SH/AC/IO, $61.64
.TM, $157.53
.US, $16.24
.HK, $24.66
.INFO, $7.67
.NAME, $8.63
.WS, $14.11
.TW, $30.14
.TV, $40.55
.CC, $35.34
.MOBI, $15.48
.TRAVEL, $177.53
.ASIA, $18.95

Some sites cater specifically to those looking to buy in bulk, such as eNom.com and BestBulkRegister.com. At BestBulkRegister.com (www.bestbulkregister.com), you will find the lowest non-promotional price for a .net domain at $6.49 each. eNom.com offers different packages for those looking to resell domain names. eNom.com’s setup fees range from $195 to as much as $1,595 depending on the level of reselling. The sites listed above also have different prices for buying in bulk, but may not offer reselling tools and services.

Claiming and registering domain names can be inexpensive, and as the availability of domain names becomes more limited, the price of domain names on the resale market can be huge. JupiterRealEstate.com, a relatively ordinary domain name, recently sold for $17,500. Investors have taken note of the potential ROI on reselling domain names as some companies now offer financing for domain name purchases. Domain Capital, for example, claims to be “the first and only financial services company to offer financing to businesses based on the inherent and recognized value of premium domain names.” Financing is extremely helpful for those without the resources to buy high-priced domain names or a large number of domain names in bulk to resell. Scott Fish writes a good blog about reselling different types of domain names (http://www.scottfish.com/domain-prices-are-going-up-and-down/). In his article he explains his take on the market for Generic Domain Names, International Domain Names, Typo Domain Names, and other factors such as financing and the dissemination of knowledge.

Most .com domain names that have potential for high value, however, have already been registered. But there are other potential markets for investment, such as the new .asia TLD. Experts predict that the Asia-Pacific region will soon be the largest Internet market in the world, and the .asia TLD gives access and exposure to that market. As opposed to country code domains, the .asia is a TLD that gives exposure to the general region as a whole and separates country and political associations, thus making the domain generally more appealing for businesses. Prices are relatively cheap for .asia domains. BestBulkRegister.com (www.GoBBR.com), mentioned earlier, sells the .asia extension for $18.95 or less depending on volume. As such, .asia has the promise that .com’s previously had, but more knowledgeable investors and the option of financing blows the game wide open.

Author from the Silicon Valley. Name