How Much Will .com Domains Cost by 2030? The Verisign Price Hike Roadmap
📈 The Short Version
Verisign can increase the .com wholesale price by up to 7% every year through 2030. If they exercise every increase, the wholesale price goes from today's $10.26 to approximately $13.44 by 2029. That means your registrar's renewal price will follow. Renewing at today's rates for the maximum term is the cheapest thing you can do right now.
How Verisign's Pricing Power Works
Verisign is the sole operator of the .com registry. Every .com domain in the world — all 176+ million of them — pays Verisign an annual wholesale fee. Your registrar (Spaceship, GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.) then adds their margin on top.
Under their contract with ICANN and the NTIA (a U.S. government agency), Verisign can increase the wholesale price by up to 7% per year in four of every six contract years. The current six-year period started in October 2024, meaning 2025 was a freeze year, and increases are allowed from late 2026 through 2029.
Verisign's Q1 2026 earnings confirm they will exercise this right: the wholesale price rises from $10.26 to $10.97 on November 1, 2026. Their gross margin is 88% and operating margin is 68% — among the highest in the S&P 500. There is no economic pressure for them to not raise prices.
Projected Wholesale Prices Through 2030
| Date | Wholesale Price | % Change from Today | Annual Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current (through Oct 2026) | $10.26 | — | — |
| November 1, 2026 | $10.97 | +6.9% | +$0.71 (confirmed) |
| ~October 2027 (projected) | $11.74 | +14.4% | +$0.77 |
| ~October 2028 (projected) | $12.56 | +22.4% | +$0.82 |
| ~October 2029 (projected) | $13.44 | +31.0% | +$0.88 |
These projections assume Verisign exercises the maximum 7% increase each year. They've done exactly this in every eligible year since 2021, so there's no reason to expect restraint.
What This Means For Your Renewal Bill
Here's what .com renewals could look like at various registrars by 2029, assuming each passes through the wholesale increase proportionally:
| Registrar | 2026 Renewal | Projected 2029 | 10-Domain Annual Cost (2029) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spaceship | $9.98 | ~$13.10 | ~$131 |
| Cloudflare | $10.44 | $13.44 (at-cost) | ~$134 |
| Dynadot | $10.86 | ~$14.04 | ~$140 |
| Namecheap | $16.98 | ~$20.16 | ~$202 |
| GoDaddy | $21.99 | ~$25.17 | ~$252 |
The gap between budget and premium registrars widens over time. By 2029, the difference between Spaceship and GoDaddy on 10 domains is roughly $121 per year. Over a decade, that's $1,200+ in pure waste.
The 10-Year Renewal Strategy
Most registrars allow renewal for up to 10 years at a time. If you renew today at current rates, you're locking in a price that will never be this low again. Consider the math:
Renewing 10 .com domains for 10 years at Spaceship's current $9.98/year costs $998 total. If you wait and pay year-by-year with annual 7% wholesale increases, those same 10 domains cost approximately $1,217 over the same period. That's a $219 savings for doing nothing more than clicking "renew" today instead of next year.
Why This Keeps Happening
Verisign's monopoly on .com is effectively permanent. Their Cooperative Agreement with the NTIA includes "presumptive renewal" rights — meaning the contract renews automatically unless Verisign fails to meet its obligations. In 28+ years of operation, they've maintained 100% uptime. The contract was last renewed in November 2024 and extends through 2030.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and others have called this "predatory pricing" given Verisign's 88% gross margins. The infrastructure cost of operating the .com registry doesn't come close to justifying the price. But the regulatory structure gives them the legal right to increase prices, and they use it.
The April 2026 ICANN new gTLD application round may eventually create more competition (new extensions like .shop, .app, etc.), but .com remains the default — 176.1 million registrations and growing. Competition from alternative TLDs has not reduced .com demand in any measurable way.
💡 What You Should Do
If you own .com domains: Renew for the maximum term at today's rates. If you're at an expensive registrar: Transfer to a budget option before November 1. If you're planning to register new domains: Do it now — first-year prices will also increase. The math is clear: .com domains will never be cheaper than they are today.