How to Read a Registrar Price Table Without Being Misled
· Pricing · Data quality
Quick answer
How do you read a registrar price table without being misled?
Read the renewal column, not the first-year promo. A registration price is often discounted for year one, while the renewal price is what you pay every year afterwards; transfer, redemption and privacy add-ons are separate line items. A comparison table should also tell you when each quote was collected and whether it came from a registrar’s own price list or from an older snapshot.
Four prices that are easy to confuse
Registrar price lists mix several different charges. Comparing the wrong two columns is the most common reason a "cheapest registrar" table looks wrong a year later.
- Registration (first year): frequently discounted by promo codes or bundles.
- Renewal: the recurring yearly fee, usually at standard retail price.
- Transfer: moving to another registrar; normally extends the expiry by one year.
- Redemption / restore: recovering a domain after expiry, typically far more expensive than renewal.
Check the evidence date, not just the number
A price is a statement about a point in time. On this site each offer carries its own provenance: First-party means it was read from a registrar’s published price list, Snapshot means it comes from a dated open dataset, and Stale means the evidence is more than 30 days old and should be treated as a historical reference rather than a current quote. Offers past their evidence window are marked with a down arrow instead of being quietly shown as current.
If a comparison site shows a single "from $X" figure with no date, no currency and no renewal column, you cannot tell what you are buying.
A five-minute verification routine
Use a comparison table to shortlist, then verify the two or three finalists on the registrar’s own site. Prices change, promotions expire, and taxes or local-currency billing can move the effective total.
- Open the registrar’s published price list and confirm the renewal price for the exact TLD.
- Check whether WHOIS/RDAP privacy is included or billed separately.
- Check transfer-out conditions and any minimum-term commitment.
- Multiply the renewal price by the number of years you expect to hold the name.
- Note the date you checked it — that is your own evidence date.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the first year so much cheaper than the renewal?
Introductory pricing is a customer-acquisition discount. The recurring renewal price is the registrar’s standard retail rate, so a five-year comparison should be built mostly from renewals.
What does a "stale" price mean on TLD List?
The evidence behind that offer is more than 30 days old. It is kept visible as a historical reference and marked with a down arrow, but it is not presented as a current quote. The exact rule is documented on the data sources page.
Do you receive commission from registrars?
No. Rankings on this site are computed from published prices alone, and the site is not affiliated with ICANN, any registry or any registrar.
Sources
Primary sources for the claims above.