.com Price Increase November 1: What Owners Should Do Now

The wholesale price of a .com goes up 7% on November 1, 2026. That is a small amount per name. It is not small for anyone who holds hundreds of names they do not use. Here are the facts, the math and our view as brokers.

How much is the .com price increase?

Verisign, the registry operator for .com, raises the wholesale price from $10.26 to $10.97 a year. That is a rise of $0.71 per name. ICANN adds its own 20-cent fee on top, according to Domain Name Wire.

Verisign announced the change on April 23, 2026, and its last increase was in September 2024. Wholesale is what registrars pay Verisign. What you pay at the checkout is the registrar’s retail price.

Is this the first .com price increase?

No. Verisign raised the price by 7% each year on September 1 from 2021 through 2024, according to Domain Name Wire. The 2026 rise follows a pause in 2025. It comes on a contract that, as Domain Name Wire explains, allows increases in the last four years of each six-year period.

The base is large. Verisign reported 166.6 million .com registrations on June 30, 2026. Even a small rise per name moves a lot of money across that base.

When does it take effect?

November 1, 2026. Domain Name Wire reported on October 9 that registrants can renew or transfer existing domains this month to postpone the increase. Many registrars are also running transfer specials below the current Verisign renewal fee.

Registrars set their own cutoffs. Do not wait for the last day of October. Renewals can fail on card checks or processing delays.

Should I renew early, and for how long?

Renew early only the names you plan to keep. Renewing before November 1 locks the current price for the years you add. Domain Name Wire notes you can renew for up to 10 years, and that Verisign can raise prices another 7% in each of the next three years.

This is a cost decision, not financial advice. A multi-year renewal ties up cash and does not guarantee a higher price later.

Will my registrar raise prices too?

Most likely, if it sells close to cost. Domain Name Wire says at-cost registrars such as Cloudflare, and many low-cost ones such as Porkbun, NameBright and Spaceship, will pass on the rise. GoDaddy’s Domain Discount Club Pro is also on its list. A registrar with a higher retail price may decide differently.

Check the renewal price in your account, not the sign-up price. They are often different. Our domain transfer process guide shows how to move a name if you decide to switch.

Can Verisign raise prices again?

Yes. Verisign’s contract lets it raise the maximum price by up to 7% in each of the final four years of every six-year period. Domain Name Wire reports that Verisign could raise prices in each of the next three years, and that it must give at least six months’ notice before any increase.

Domain Name Wire’s April article says that if Verisign takes the full 7% each year, the wholesale price reaches about $13.42 by the end of this contract cycle. That is a projection, not an announced price.

Does this change the math on domains I do not use?

Slightly. The wholesale rise is small, but it adds up across a portfolio. These figures are our own arithmetic on wholesale prices only. Retail prices are higher.

The bigger cost is not the fee. It is a name that sits for years with no buyer. That is the carrying cost of a portfolio, and it grows with each renewal fee.

A good name with real demand is worth holding. A name with no search interest, no brand fit and no inquiries may not be. Our guide to domain name valuation shows how to tell the difference.

This is why we sell names for owners instead of waiting for inbound offers. Our team of researchers finds companies that could use a name, and our brokers contact them directly. Read how that works in how to sell a domain name.

Next step

Own names you no longer use, or a premium .com that costs more each year to hold? Tell us what you have and we will say honestly whether it can sell. Start at sell your domains or see our selling domains page.