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Preview data. Pricing is verified from the registrar's own source for 6 of 20 registrars (fetched live where the registrar publishes one); the remaining registrars' prices, plus all scoring and country recommendations, are illustrative placeholders pending verified testing. See data sources for a row-by-row breakdown, the methodology, or fetch /data/verification-status.json for a machine-readable view.

Public Interest Registry (PIR)

Last updated 2026-08-19Prices checked monthly1 of 9 scored reviews with published testing notes6 registrars with primary-source pricingTransparent methodology
Short answer

Public Interest Registry (PIR) is the registry operator for 2 of the top-level domains we track, including .org, .foundation. It runs the authoritative registry for those extensions and sets the wholesale price registrars pay; it does not sell domains to the public. The cheapest verified renewal we hold for .org is $11.59 a year.

Registry facts

Registry operator facts
IANA TLD ManagerPublic Interest Registry (PIR)
Tracked extensions2
IANA classificationgeneric
Extensions with a verified price2
Extensions where a flat price exists1 of 2

The operator name is the exact TLD Manager string from IANA's root database, which is a registry record rather than a corporate hierarchy. We do not merge strings that may belong to the same company, because merging would assert a relationship the record does not state.

What these extensions cost

This operator runs 2 tracked extensions, which is too few to characterise as a portfolio. The prices below are stated per extension rather than summarised.

Extensions run by Public Interest Registry (PIR), cheapest verified renewal first
ExtensionCheapest renewalVerified sellersFlat option
.org$11.5961 of 6
.foundation$22.663None

"Flat option" counts the verified sellers charging the same price in the first year as at every renewal. Prices last checked 2026-08-19, all-in including any fee a registrar itemises separately. How we check prices.

FAQ

Who runs .org?+
.org is operated by Public Interest Registry (PIR). That is the TLD Manager string published in IANA's root database, which is the authoritative record of who runs each top-level domain. The registry operates the extension; the company you buy a domain from is a registrar, and many registrars sell the same extension at different prices.
Can I register a domain directly with Public Interest Registry (PIR)?+
Generally no. Registry operators sell wholesale to ICANN-accredited registrars rather than to the public, and registrars set their own retail prices on top. That is why the same extension costs different amounts at different registrars, and why the cheapest registrar for one extension is often not the cheapest for another.
How much do Public Interest Registry (PIR) extensions cost?+
Across the 2 of its extensions we hold verified prices for, the cheapest renewal is .org at $11.59 a year and the dearest is .foundation at $22.66. Those are the cheapest verified all-in renewals at the registrars we check, not the wholesale price the registry charges — registries do not publish that.
Do these extensions get more expensive after the first year?+
Often, and this portfolio's steepest example is .foundation: a first year of $5.99 against a renewal of $22.66, which is 3.8 times as much. The discount is set by the registrar rather than the registry, so it varies between sellers of the same extension. Judge any of these on the renewal column.

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