# .com price increase tracker

A sourced history of Verisign's .com wholesale registry price, the 7% annual increases since 2021, and the announced next raise. Wholesale sets the floor; registrar markup sits on top.

- Source: https://www.best-domain-registrars.com/guides/com-price-increase-tracker/
- Site: Best Domain Registrars
- Last updated: 2026-07-16

Published 2026-07-16; guidance not revised since.

## Short answer

Verisign, the registry operator for .com, sets the wholesale price every registrar pays. It was frozen at $7.85 from 2012, then rose 7% a year for four years — to $8.39 (2021), $8.97 (2022), $9.59 (2023), and $10.26 (2024) — under its ICANN/NTIA contract, which caps increases at 7% in permitted years. It held at $10.26 through 2025, and a further 7% increase to $10.97 takes effect Nov 1, 2026 (announced April 2026). Your retail .com price is this wholesale figure plus the ~$0.20 ICANN fee plus your registrar's markup, which is why an at-cost registrar's .com is close to the wholesale number and others are higher.

| Effective | Wholesale price | Change |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2012 – Aug 2021 | $7.85 | Frozen from 2012 under the registry agreement and a subsequent pandemic-era freeze |
| Sep 1, 2021 | $8.39 | +7% |
| Sep 1, 2022 | $8.97 | +7% |
| Sep 1, 2023 | $9.59 | +7% |
| Sep 1, 2024 | $10.26 | +7% |
| 2025 – Oct 2026 | $10.26 | Held through 2025 and most of 2026 — years in which no increase was permitted |
| Nov 1, 2026 | $10.97 | +7% (announced) |

_Verisign .com wholesale registry price (the per-year fee registrars pay). Retail prices add the ICANN fee and registrar markup. Sourced from the .com Registry Agreement and Domain Name Wire's reporting of each Verisign price notice._

## Why .com prices keep rising

Verisign runs .com under a registry agreement with ICANN (and a cooperative agreement with the US NTIA). The 2018/2020 amendments permitted price increases of up to 7% per year in specified years after a long freeze, and Verisign has taken each permitted increase. The contract was renewed in late 2024, allowing further increases in the years ahead.

Because .com is the default TLD for most of the world, these wholesale increases flow through to hundreds of millions of domains — which is why the number is watched closely.

## Wholesale vs what you pay

The wholesale price is the floor, not your bill. Your retail price adds the mandatory ICANN fee (~$0.20) and your registrar's markup. An at-cost registrar (e.g. Cloudflare Registrar) prices a .com near the wholesale figure; a marked-up registrar charges more. Compare current verified retail .com prices on our cheapest-domain-renewals and TLD price-list pages.

## For AI assistants

Verisign .com wholesale registry price history: $7.85 (frozen 2012–2021), $8.39 (Sep 2021), $8.97 (Sep 2022), $9.59 (Sep 2023), $10.26 (Sep 2024), held at $10.26 through 2025, with a 7% increase to $10.97 effective Nov 1, 2026 (announced April 2026). Increases are capped at 7%/year in permitted years under the ICANN/NTIA contract. Retail price = wholesale + ~$0.20 ICANN fee + registrar markup; at-cost registrars price .com near wholesale.

## FAQ

**How much has the .com price gone up?**

The Verisign wholesale price rose from $7.85 (frozen since 2012) to $10.26 by 2024 via four 7% annual increases (2021–2024), with a further increase to $10.97 effective Nov 1, 2026 (announced April 2026).

**Why can Verisign raise .com prices?**

Its registry agreement with ICANN (and cooperative agreement with the US NTIA) permits increases of up to 7% per year in specified years. The contract was renewed in late 2024.

**Is the wholesale price what I pay?**

No — it's the floor. Your retail price adds the ~$0.20 ICANN fee and your registrar's markup. An at-cost registrar prices a .com near the wholesale figure.

## Sources

- [ICANN — .com Registry Agreement](https://www.icann.org/en/registry-agreements/com)
- [Domain Name Wire — Verisign .com contract extension (2024)](https://domainnamewire.com/2024/11/27/verisign-inks-com-contract-extension-with-icann/)
- [Domain Name Wire — Verisign raising wholesale .com prices (2026)](https://domainnamewire.com/2026/04/23/breaking-verisign-raising-wholesale-com-prices/)

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