Domain renewal cost: what a .com costs to keep, by registrar

The first year of a domain is often a promotion. The renewal price is what you pay every year after, so it is the number to compare.

We.Inc is free to start, no credit card. AI building from $20/mo.

How much does it cost to renew a domain?

A .com usually costs about $10 to $24 a year to renew. On October 28, 2026 the renewal prices listed were $10.88 at Dynadot, $11.08 at Porkbun, $13 at WordPress.com, $19.99 at Hostinger and at Name.com (which says its renewal rises to $21.99 on October 31, 2026), $20 at IONOS and $23.99 at Bluehost. Cloudflare charges the registry's cost with no markup but shows prices only inside an account.

First-year deals can be far lower, such as Hostinger's $0.01 .com on a three-year term, so always check the renewal line before you buy.

.com prices on each registrar's own page (October 28, 2026)

	Register (year 1)	Renew (per year)	Transfer in
Dynadot	$10.88	$10.88	$10.88
Porkbun	$11.08	$11.08 (same price every year, per Porkbun)	Not shown
Name.com	$12.99 sale ($17.99 normal)	$19.99, rising to $21.99 on Oct 31, 2026	$17.99
WordPress.com	$13.00	$13.00 (same price, per its help page)	Not shown
Hostinger	$0.01 with a 3-year term	$19.99	$9.99
IONOS	$1 welcome offer ($10 in its price table)	$20	Pages disagree
Bluehost	$12.99	$23.99	$12.99
Cloudflare	At registry cost	At registry cost, no markup	At registry cost
GoDaddy, Namecheap	Page blocked our check	Page blocked our check	Page blocked our check

Prices as listed on each registrar's own page on October 28, 2026, in US dollars, for a standard .com. Premium domains cost more. Confirm on the registrar's page before you buy.

Pros and cons

Low flat renewal (Dynadot, Porkbun)

Best for: Anyone who wants the renewal to cost the same as year one

Price: .com $10.88 (Dynadot) or $11.08 (Porkbun) a year to renew, checked Oct 28, 2026

Pros: Renewal equals the first-year price; No upsell needed to keep the price

Cons: You manage DNS and email yourself; Fewer bundled extras

Promotional first year (Hostinger, Name.com)

Best for: Buyers who will move the domain before renewal, or who value the bundle

Price: Hostinger .com $0.01 for year one on a 3-year term, renewing at $19.99; Bluehost renews .com at $23.99; checked Oct 28, 2026

Pros: Cheap or free first year; Often bundled with hosting or a builder

Cons: Renewal is the real price and is higher; Moving later takes a transfer

We.Inc

Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it

Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $50/mo, Max $99/mo.

Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter

Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform

Why renewals cost more than the first year

Every .com renewal carries a wholesale fee charged by Verisign, which runs the .com registry, plus a small ICANN fee. Registrars add their margin on top. Many sell the first year at or below cost to win the customer, then recover it at renewal, which is why a $1 first year can be followed by a $20 renewal.

Registrars that keep the same price every year, such as Dynadot and Porkbun in the table, simply do not run that first-year discount. Cloudflare takes no margin at all, so its price moves only when the registry's fee changes.

How to check what your own domain will cost

Log in to your registrar and open the domain's renewal or billing settings: the renewal price shown there is the one that applies to you, including any premium pricing. Check whether auto-renew is on, and whether privacy protection or email is renewed alongside it, since those can double the bill.

Ways to pay less at renewal

Transfer the domain to a registrar with a lower renewal price. A .com transfer adds one year to the registration, so you pay the new registrar's transfer price instead of the old renewal, and you lose no time. You need the domain unlocked, an authorization code, and the domain must be more than 60 days past registration or a previous transfer.

Renewing for several years at once locks today's price, which helps if your registrar raises prices often. A .com can be registered for at most ten years ahead.

What happens if you do not renew

When a domain expires, the website and email on it stop working. Most registrars give a grace period, often around 30 days, when you can still renew at the normal price; after that comes a redemption period with a much higher restore fee, such as the $100.92 Dynadot lists for a .com. Then the domain can be released for anyone to register.

Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $50 and Max is $99.

Who wrote this and how

We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.

Start from a template

Sources

Dynadot: Domain prices (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
Porkbun: .com domain (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
Name.com: Pricing (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
Hostinger: Domain name search (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
Hostinger: Domains (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
WordPress.com Support: Domain pricing (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
IONOS: Domain name prices (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
Bluehost: Domains (Checked Oct 28, 2026)
Cloudflare Registrar (Checked Oct 28, 2026: at-cost policy, no figure shown)
GoDaddy: .com domain (Checked Oct 28, 2026: price not shown to us)
Namecheap: .com domain (Checked Oct 28, 2026: price not shown to us)
We.Inc: Pricing (Checked Sept 25, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

How much should a domain renewal cost?

For a .com, around $10 to $24 a year at the registrars we checked on October 28, 2026. Much more than that usually means a premium domain or bundled extras.

Why are domain renewals so expensive?

Many registrars discount the first year and make their margin on renewals. The registry's wholesale fee is the same either way, so a registrar with flat pricing renews for close to its first-year price.

Who has the cheapest domain renewals?

Of the registrars whose .com renewal prices we could read, Dynadot ($10.88) and Porkbun ($11.08) were lowest. Cloudflare sells at registry cost but did not show its price to us without an account.

Can I renew my domain for 10 years?

Yes. A .com can be registered or renewed for up to ten years ahead, which fixes the price for that period at most registrars.

How much does Bluehost charge to renew a .com?

$23.99 a year, as listed on bluehost.com/domains on October 28, 2026. A plan includes the first year free.

How much does GoDaddy charge to renew a domain?

GoDaddy's page blocked our check on October 28, 2026, so we do not quote a figure. Your exact renewal price is shown in your GoDaddy account under the domain's renewal settings.