The wholesale price of a .com domain is rising from $10.26 to $10.97 on 1 November 2026. Here is why the price can keep increasing, how Verisign’s registry agreement works, and why a new antitrust lawsuit is putting .com pricing back under scrutiny.
Ech’s short answer
Verisign operates the .com registry and charges registrars a wholesale fee for every new registration and renewal. That fee is currently $10.26 per year and will rise to $10.97 on 1 November 2026. Verisign’s agreements allow increases of up to 7% in eligible pricing years. Registrars set the price you actually pay, so retail renewal prices can be higher and do not all move by exactly the same amount.
If your .com renewals feel more expensive than they used to, there is a clear reason. The underlying wholesale price charged by Verisign has been rising, and another increase is due this year.
Verisign announced in April that the annual registry-level wholesale fee for each new and renewed .com domain will increase from $10.26 to $10.97 on 1 November 2026. Registrars then build their own retail prices around that underlying cost.
The timing is especially notable because a new antitrust lawsuit has now been filed against Verisign and ICANN over .com pricing. The case alleges that the structure surrounding the .com registry restricts competition and allows prices to remain above what a competitive market would produce. Those claims are allegations and have not been proven in court.
Domain registrars decide what customers pay for registrations and renewals. A registrar can pass through the wholesale increase directly, absorb part of it, add its own margin or change prices at a different time. UK customers may also see VAT included in the final checkout price.
Verisign has already confirmed the next increase, which applies to both new .com registrations and renewals from 1 November 2026.
Verisign announced on 23 April 2026 that its annual registry-level wholesale fee for .com will rise from $10.26 to $10.97. That is an increase of 71 cents per domain per year, or just under 7%.
The change affects the price registrars pay Verisign when a .com is registered or renewed. It does not mean every registrar will charge customers exactly $10.97; retail prices also reflect each registrar’s own business model, margin, promotions, taxes and other costs.
The longer-term trend is more significant than the 71-cent increase on its own. Before the recent cycle of increases, the .com wholesale price was $7.85. It rose to $8.39 in 2021, $8.97 in 2022, $9.59 in 2023 and $10.26 in 2024. Once the November 2026 increase takes effect, the wholesale fee will be about 40% higher than $7.85.
The price on a registrar’s website is not the same thing as the registry wholesale fee.
The easiest way to understand .com pricing is to separate the registry from the registrar. Verisign operates the central .com registry. Companies such as domain registrars sell registrations to the public and send the registry-level transaction through to Verisign.
Verisign therefore sets the wholesale registry fee within the limits of its agreements, while the registrar sets the retail price shown to customers. That is why two registrars can charge very different amounts to renew the same type of .com domain even though the underlying Verisign fee is identical.
Under the current .com Registry Agreement, Verisign remains the sole registry operator through 30 November 2030. Its pricing terms allow the maximum price to rise by up to 7% in each of the final four pricing years of each six-year period. The current six-year pricing period began on 26 October 2024.
Runs the .com registry and charges registrars the registry-level wholesale fee for registrations and renewals.
The contractual framework governs Verisign’s operation of .com and the circumstances in which wholesale pricing can increase.
Sets the retail registration and renewal price you actually see and can add its own margin or discounts.
Pay the registrar’s retail price, which may change before, on or after the date of a registry-level increase.
Registrars compete with each other and use different pricing models. Some sell domains close to cost, some rely on first-year promotions, and others charge substantially more on renewal. Comparing renewal prices is therefore more useful than looking only at a registrar’s headline first-year offer.
The new case puts the lack of competition for the .com registry and the price-increase mechanism back in the legal spotlight.
Domain Name Wire reported on 4 September that a California .com registrant has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Verisign and ICANN. The plaintiff owns six .com domains and is seeking to pursue the case on behalf of broader groups of .com registrants.
The complaint alleges that Verisign’s position as the exclusive .com registry operator, together with the contractual renewal and pricing arrangements surrounding the registry, has restricted competition and allowed wholesale prices to remain higher than they would be in a competitive market.
That does not mean a court has found .com pricing unlawful. The lawsuit is at an early stage, the allegations have not been proven, and Verisign and ICANN will have the opportunity to contest the claims.
The case is not simply about one registrar charging too much. It challenges the structure behind the wholesale price paid across the .com namespace. If that structure were ever changed through litigation, regulation or future contract negotiations, the impact could eventually be felt by millions of .com registrants. There is no immediate change to the November 2026 price increase, however.
Verisign remains the sole operator of the .com registry under the current agreement.
The agreement allows increases of up to 7% in eligible pricing years.
The lawsuit alleges those arrangements prevent market competition from constraining prices.
Verisign’s announced move to $10.97 remains scheduled for 1 November 2026. A newly filed lawsuit does not by itself change the registry agreement or suspend the increase.
For one domain the difference is small, but recurring increases become much more noticeable across a large portfolio.
The immediate wholesale difference is $0.71 per .com per year. Someone holding a single domain may barely notice that increase once it is folded into a registrar’s normal retail pricing. Portfolio owners can feel it much more quickly.
For example, a portfolio containing 300 .com domains would see the underlying registry cost rise by $213 per year if every domain were renewed for a year after the new wholesale price takes effect. That is before any registrar margin, VAT or other retail pricing differences.
It is also worth remembering that the 2026 rise does not necessarily mark the end of the cycle. The agreement permits further increases in eligible pricing years, although Verisign is not required to use the full amount every year.
.com registrations can generally be extended up to the registry’s maximum registration term. Whether this saves money depends on the registrar’s current retail price and how it handles future pricing, so check the total before renewing several years at once.
The contract gives Verisign pricing flexibility within defined limits. It does not mean the maximum increase must be taken in every eligible year, and future contractual, regulatory or legal developments could alter the picture.
Bottom line
Verisign’s wholesale .com fee increases to $10.97 on 1 November 2026, and registrars will decide how much of that higher cost reaches customers. The bigger question is whether the contractual system that allows recurring increases should continue in its current form. A newly filed antitrust lawsuit now puts that question before a court, but for domain owners the November increase remains the practical change to plan for today.
