How Much Does a Domain Name Cost in 2026?

Are you launching your business and getting ready to create your website? One of the first questions that arises is: how much does a domain name cost? Well… it depends.

On one hand, you can register a .UK for less than €20 per year. On the other, some domain names are snapped up for several thousand euros. In between, there is a whole pricing mechanism that is better understood before making a decision.

Here, we reveal the true costs of a domain name to help you budget for your online presence without any nasty surprises.

Domain name price: the factors that vary the bill

The role of the registrar

If you wish to register an availablen domain name, you must go through a registrar, such as Netim for example.

Registrars are companies accredited by ICANN, the body that regulates domain names globally, and by the registries in charge of extensions (for example, Nominet is the registry for .UK, Verisign is the registry for .COM).

When you buy a domain name, you are essentially paying for two things:

• the registrar’s fee to the registry,
• the service (meaning the margin) of the registrar.

Each registrar applies its margin based on the included services, but also the support offered, the interface, and the available security measures. This is why the price of an extension can vary from one provider to another.

The extension: the number one price criterion

Although 45% of domain names worldwide are registered in .COM or .NET, note that there are around 1,600 active extensions. Two main families stand out:

• country code extensions, known as ccTLDs (Country Code Top-Level Domains): .UK for United Kingdom, .DE for Germany, .CN for China…
• generic extensions, linked to sectors or themes, known as gTLDs (Generic Top-Level Domains): .COM, .NET, .ORG, .APP, .SHOP…

Your domain name extension is the primary price variation criterion. Here is an overview of the average price ranges (excl. VAT) observed in 2026 for the most popular extensions on the market:

Premium domain names: a category of their own

There is a category of domains that is often misunderstood: Premium domain names. These are names that, combined with their extension, are identified by the registries (extension managers) as having a high perceived value.

Registries may choose to reserve some of these names and put them up for sale during specific launches, sometimes by auctions. But most of the time, Premium domain names are simply available for registration at registrars, marked as premium, and at higher rates.

Prices can vary considerably from one name to another within the same extension. For example, pizza.paris is a premium name that exceeds €1,200  excl. VAT per year. Other Premiums are available at €20, while others can exceed €10,000, depending on the term and its extension.

Domain name secondary market: when second-hand is more expensive than new

If the name you want is not available through classic registration, it may be available on the secondary market. Just like in real estate, some owners resell their domain names. These sales are centralized on specialized platforms such as Sedo.

The price then depends on the “perceived value” of the domain: its length, memorability, the keywords it contains, its extension, and its SEO potential (history, age, past traffic, inbound links).

On the secondary market, prices are freely set by the sellers. Some names can reach tens of thousands of euros, and the most spectacular transactions exceed one million.

“Free” domain names: beware of the trap

A subdomain, not your domain

Online website creation platforms (Wix, WordPress, Squarespace…) often offer a free address such as yourbrand.site.com.

Let’s take Wix as an example. Technically, the domain wix.com belongs to Wix: not to you. You are simply hosting your project in their space, on a subdomain: this is not a domain name.

This type of address has several drawbacks:

The hosting pack “gift”

Some hosting providers offer “free” domain names for the first year with a hosting subscription.

On one hand, the domain name is not truly “free”, as the real cost will reveal itself the following year; check the conditions carefully before committing. On the other hand, this pack ties you to the host for a minimum period: even if the offer no longer suits you, it will be very difficult and costly to detach yourself from it.

Hidden or additional costs not to be forgotten

Renewal: read the small print

As explained above, promotions for the first year of registration are common. Renewal, however, for subsequent years, is at the standard rate. An extension discounted to €1€ can thus cost you €15 to €20 from the second year.

However, beware of certain practices: an attractive price at registration, then a rate multiplied by two or three at renewal, with automatic renewal activated by default. By the time you discover it, it’s when you receive the charge… meaning it’s too late to compare, decide, and transfer your domain name elsewhere calmly.

Furthermore, note that if you forget to renew your domain name, it expires and becomes available again. It can then be registered by anyone, including companies whose business is precisely that: recovering expired names to sell them back to their former owner, often at a high price. A highly criticized practice, but one that is better to know about.

To minimize the risk of forgetting to renew, some registrars, like Netim, offer an automatic renewal option.

Complementary services: included or not

Registering a domain name is not limited to reserving an address. It is also choosing a pack of services, which may or may not be included in your price. Depending on your needs, activating these options can considerably vary your final domain price from one provider to another:

• Personalised email address and mailbox
• Web redirections and email redirections
• WHOIS Privacy protection (data confidentiality)
• Anycast DNS
• DNSSEC
• SSL Certificate
• Blocking services (for brand protection)

Note that all these options are included at no extra cost at Netim ✅

Finally…

To properly anticipate your domain name price, before deciding, ask yourself three simple questions:

1. What will be the real cost of my domain name over 3 years (registration and renewals)?
2. What are the essential services for me, and are they included in the price or not?
3. And finally (and above all), to whom am I going to entrust my domain name?

Because the choice of registrar matters as much as that of your domain name. A trustworthy registrar is a provider that is transparent about its rates, with responsive human technical support, serious about security issues (theft protection, DNSSEC, private WHOIS), and who lets you remain free in your hosting choices. Take the time to choose wisely: they hold the keys to your online presence.[/box]

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