How to choose a domain name
Short, sayable, spellable from hearing it once, and free of someone else's trademark — that part of the advice is universal and correct. What almost nobody tells you is that the extension you choose moves the cost more than any other decision, including which registrar you buy from. Across the 279 extensions we hold verified prices for, the median cheapest renewal is $29.35 a year; a `.com` is $10.18, which puts it in the cheapest twenty of all 279. So the conventional choice is also, unusually, the cheap one — and a 'cheaper' alternative extension is usually only cheaper in year one.
The naming part, briefly
This advice is well covered elsewhere and it is right, so here it is compactly rather than padded out.
- Say it out loud to someone — if they need it spelled, it will cost you every time it is spoken
- Avoid hyphens and numbers, which survive neither dictation nor memory
- Shorter is better, but clarity beats brevity: a name people can guess the spelling of is worth more than one two characters shorter
- Check trademarks before you fall in love with it — a name that infringes can be taken from you through a dispute regardless of who registered it first
The extension decides the cost, not the registrar
Choosing between registrars might move a .com by eight dollars a year. Choosing between extensions moves it by a great deal more, and in the direction people rarely expect.
Across every extension we hold verified prices for, the median cheapest renewal is $29.35 a year. A .com renews from $10.18. Put another way: of 279 extensions, .com is the twentieth cheapest — it sits in the cheapest seven per cent of the market. The extension marketed as the premium default is one of the least expensive things you can hold.
Why the alternatives look cheaper and usually are not
Because you are being shown the first year. Of the 856 verified price rows on this site, 76% charge less in year one than at renewal and only 23% are flat, and the discounts are deepest exactly on the newer extensions marketed as affordable alternatives.
The arithmetic that matters is the whole holding period. A domain you register for a business is one you expect to keep, so multiply the renewal by the years you intend to hold it and compare that number. Our cost calculator does it for you, and the ranking it produces is frequently the reverse of the checkout page's.
When a different extension is genuinely the right call
Three cases, and they are real rather than consolation prizes.
- A country extension when your customers are in that country — a local ccTLD signals locality in a way a .com cannot, and several are cheaper than .com
- An exact-match name you can actually get, when the .com equivalent is taken or priced as a premium — a memorable name on a dearer extension can beat a forgettable one on a cheap extension
- A technical or community fit, such as the Google-run extensions that enforce HTTPS across the whole zone — but check the renewal first, not the launch price
Before you buy: the three checks
Each takes under a minute and each prevents a problem that is expensive to fix later.
- The renewal price, not the first-year price — this is the single highest-value check on the page
- A trademark search for the name in your market, because a dispute can take the domain regardless of registration date
- Whether the extension carries registration restrictions — some require a local presence or a qualifying nexus, and the requirement is enforced at the registry rather than the registrar
Choosing a domain name: prioritise names that are sayable, spellable from hearing, free of hyphens and numbers, and clear of third-party trademarks. The larger cost lever is the extension rather than the registrar. Across 279 extensions with verified pricing on this site the median cheapest renewal is $29.35 a year, while .com renews from $10.18 — the twentieth cheapest of 279, placing the conventional choice in the cheapest seven per cent. Alternative extensions frequently appear cheaper only in the first year: 76% of 856 verified price rows charge less in year one than at renewal and only 23% are flat. Compare the total over the intended holding period. Legitimate reasons to choose another extension include country targeting via a ccTLD, obtaining an exact-match name unavailable in .com, and technical fit such as HTTPS-enforcing zones — each judged on the renewal price.