Pricing Methodology
How domain prices are compared and calculated
This page documents the price fields, ownership-cost formulas, data sources, and limitations used by TLDScope. Every required fee that changes a comparison should be explainable.
Maintained by TLDScope Editorial · Official sources last reviewed: 2026-08-14
Registration, renewal, and transfer are different prices
First-year registration
The amount paid to register an available standard domain for its initial term. Introductory promotions can make it much lower than the regular price, so the cheapest first year is not necessarily the cheapest long-term option.
Renewal
The recurring price paid to retain a domain. Renewal is central to long-term cost calculations. If a registrar does not provide a reliable renewal price, TLDScope does not invent one.
Transfer
The price for moving an existing domain to another registrar. It belongs to a transfer scenario and is not automatically included in a new registration's 3-year or 5-year estimate.
3-year and 5-year ownership formulas
3-year cost = first-year payable price + renewal price × 2
5-year cost = first-year payable price + renewal price × 4
Payable prices include confirmed mandatory fees recorded separately in the database. Fees already included by a registrar are not added twice. Taxes, memberships, and exchange rates can still change checkout totals, so ownership cost is a comparison estimate rather than a payment promise.
Data sources and updates
TLD price directory
The TLD directory uses registrar public price lists maintained manually, preventing API permissions, throttling, or temporary outages from automatically corrupting base prices.
Specific-domain search
A complete domain search enters the registrar API queue to confirm availability and possible premium pricing. Live results do not overwrite the manually maintained TLD directory.
If you find a pricing issue, send the evidence through our contact page.
Registrar-owned sources
Use these links to verify pricing, basic privacy, DNSSEC, and email-forwarding claims. Promotions and product rules change; registrar checkout remains authoritative.
What the comparison does not include
- Unspecified local taxes, card fees, or payment conversion rates.
- Account-, region-, membership-, or coupon-specific prices unless clearly labeled.
- Aftermarket sale prices and registry-defined premium-domain prices.
- Hosting, email, SSL, and other non-registration services.
You can also review the privacy policy before using domain search.