--- id: "wholesale-price" kind: "glossary-term" title: "wholesale price" language: "en" category: "Pricing and business" updated: "2026-10-10T10:28:55Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/wholesale-price/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/precio-mayorista/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/grosshandelspreis/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/prix-gros/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/prezzo-ingrosso/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/preco-atacado/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/optovaya-tsena/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/pifa-jiage/" --- # wholesale price The price a registry charges a registrar for each registration, renewal or transfer of a domain name. Registrars add their own costs and margin to set the retail price. A few registry contracts limit price rises. Many others have no cap but require advance notice of increases. A domain name is priced twice. The registry that runs the extension charges the registrar a wholesale price, and the registrar then sets the price its customers pay. This explainer shows how the first price works, what limits it and why the final price varies. ## What the wholesale price is The wholesale price is what a registry charges an accredited registrar for each domain year: one name registered, renewed or transferred for one year. A five-year renewal costs five times the yearly fee. Some operations are priced separately: as of October 2026, restoring a deleted .com name costs the registrar US$40.00. In gTLDs, the registry must use one uniform contract with all registrars, the RRA. The .com and .net contracts also require the same price for every registrar, and allow volume discounts and incentive programs only if every registrar can qualify. ccTLDs follow national rules, not ICANN contracts. For .es, as of October 2026, Red.es charges EUR 4.09 a year, plus value added tax (VAT), for each name requested through an accredited registrar, and may apply temporary discounts. Registering directly with Dominios.es costs more than this fee. ## From registry to registrar to customer: how the price is built The customer's price is built in layers: the registry's wholesale fee, ICANN's fees for gTLD names, the registrar's costs and margin, a reseller's margin if there is one, and taxes. ICANN's fees depend on the contract. As of October 2026, the .com registry pays ICANN US$0.25 per domain year, outside the .com price, while the .net price includes ICANN's US$0.75 as a separate part. Registries under the base Registry Agreement pay US$0.2575 per transaction once a TLD passes 50,000 transactions (amount as of 1 January 2025). Registrars also paid ICANN US$0.20 per domain year in ICANN's fiscal year 2026, and its budget for fiscal year 2027 keeps US$0.20, subject to registrar approval (as of October 2026). ### Caps and notice periods Only a few older contracts cap the wholesale price. As of October 2026: - **.com:** the cap starts at US$10.26. Verisign may raise it by up to 7 % a year, only in the last four years of each six-year period counted from 26 October 2018, with six months' notice. The price has been US$10.26 since 1 September 2024; a rise to US$10.97 is scheduled for 1 November 2026. - **.net:** the registry's service fee may rise by up to 10 % a year, with six months' notice. The schedule effective 1 February 2024 set US$10.91 plus ICANN's US$0.75 (US$11.66); the schedule effective 1 March 2027 sets US$12.00 plus US$0.75 (US$12.75). - **.org:** its cap was removed when the contract was renewed in 2019. The base Registry Agreement (also in its 2026 version) sets no cap, only notice: at least 30 days before a higher price for new registrations and, with some exceptions, 180 days before a higher renewal price. Before a renewal increase, registrars may renew names for one to ten years at the current price. The .org contract has the same rules. ### A worked example A registrar renewing example.com for one year from 1 November 2026 pays Verisign US$10.97 and ICANN US$0.20, about US$11.17 before its own costs if that fee stays. Five years count as five domain years: about US$55.85. ## Registrar margins and at-cost pricing ICANN tells registrants that each registrar sets its own prices. The registrar's margin is the retail price minus what it pays the registry and ICANN. At-cost pricing means a retail price equal to the registry fee plus ICANN's fee, with no markup. Such a registrar earns its income elsewhere, and its customers see every registry increase in full: for .com, the change scheduled for 1 November 2026 adds US$0.71 per domain year. Many registrars offer new customers a cheaper first year, so a renewal can cost more than the initial registration. That is a retail decision, separate from the wholesale price. ## Premium tiers and promotions Registries may place names in price tiers, each with its own fee. Registrars can query a name's tier and fee through EPP before selling it, using an extension defined in RFC 8748; names at the default fee are "standard". Under the base Registry Agreement, all renewals must have one uniform price. A higher renewal price is allowed only if the registrant expressly agreed to it at registration, after clear disclosure. This is how premium names can renew above the standard price, so the registrar must disclose that renewal price clearly at registration. Registry incentive programs lower what registrars pay, through rebates, discounts or marketing support. A renewal discount that does not apply to all renewals must be a Qualified Marketing Program: at most 180 days, open to all registrars on the same terms. Ending a discount counts as a price increase and needs notice, unless a discount on new registrations was clearly disclosed as temporary. ## Why the same domain costs differently at each registrar Within a gTLD or .es, every registrar pays the registry from the same price list. Differences come from each registrar's margin, first-year promotions, services sold with the name, reseller margins and taxes. ICANN does not set retail prices. ## Sources - [2026 Base Registry Agreement - Approved 12 March 2026](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-agreements/base-registry-agreement-12-03-2026-en.pdf) - [.COM Fee Schedule, effective November 1, 2026](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-agreements/com/com-fees-01-11-2026-en.pdf) - [.NET Fee Schedule, effective 1 March 2027](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-agreements/net/net-fees-01-03-2027-en.pdf) - [FAQs for Registrants: Domain Name Renewals and Expiration](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/domain-name-renewal-expiration-faqs-2018-12-07-en) - [Instruction on applicable fees (.es)](https://www.dominios.es/en/sobre-dominios/normativa/instruccion-director-general-tarifas-aplicables) ## related terms - [retail price](https://tldlog.com/glossary/retail-price/) - [price cap](https://tldlog.com/glossary/price-cap/) - [registry](https://tldlog.com/glossary/registry/) - [RRA](https://tldlog.com/glossary/registry-registrar-agreement/) - [end user](https://tldlog.com/glossary/end-user/)