Industry News
Verisign Announces .com Wholesale Price Update to $10.97 - Effective November 1, 2026
2026-04-24 · OSIR Team
Summary: Verisign, the registry operator for .com, has notified all ICANN-accredited registrars of a wholesale price update for .com registrations, renewals, and transfers. Effective November 1, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, the annual wholesale fee will move from $10.26 to $10.97 per domain - a $0.71 (~6.9%) adjustment, and the first change since September 2024. This post summarizes the change, places it in historical context, and outlines what OSIR customers can expect from us.
What's changing
Starting November 1, 2026 at 04:00 UTC, the price Verisign charges every registrar for a .com domain - for new registrations, renewals, and transfers - will go up from $10.26 to $10.97 per year. That's an increase of $0.71, or roughly 6.9%, and it's the first adjustment since September 2024. The figure does not include the ICANN fee or any registrar markup; those sit on top.
This is a scheduled change under the long-standing framework between Verisign, ICANN, and the U.S. government, which allows the .com wholesale price to be adjusted by up to 7% in four out of every six years of the contract. Notices of this kind are given at least six months in advance, which is why we're talking about it now.
A look at .com wholesale pricing over the years
The wholesale price of a .com domain has a long and well-documented regulatory history. The table below consolidates the publicly reported milestones:
| Effective date | Wholesale price | Change | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 – Oct 14, 2007 | $6.00 | - | Fixed price established under original ICANN/Verisign agreement | 2006 .com Registry Agreement, SEC filing |
| Oct 15, 2007 | $6.42 | +$0.42 (+7.0%) | First increase since 1999, under 2006 Registry Agreement | VNDS registrar notice; InformationWeek |
| Oct 1, 2008 | $6.86 | +$0.44 (+6.9%) | Second increase of the 2006-era six-year cycle | Tucows news release |
| Jul 1, 2010 | $7.34 | +$0.48 (+7.0%) | Third increase | Verisign Q4 2009 earnings release |
| Jan 2012 | $7.85 | +$0.51 (+6.9%) | Fourth increase of the 2006-era cycle | Verisign press release (IR); ICANNWiki |
| Dec 2012 – Aug 2021 | $7.85 | Frozen | Price cap locked in by DOC Amendment 32 and subsequent ICANN extensions | Washington Post; InternetCommerce.org |
| Sep 1, 2021 | $8.39 | +$0.54 (+6.9%) | First increase after the freeze; pricing flexibility restored by Amendment 35 (2018) | Domain Name Wire |
| Sep 1, 2022 | $8.97 | +$0.58 (+6.9%) | Second annual increase of the 2018-2024 cycle | The Register |
| Sep 1, 2023 | $9.59 | +$0.62 (+6.9%) | Third annual increase | Domain Name Wire |
| Sep 1, 2024 | $10.26 | +$0.67 (+7.0%) | Fourth and final increase of the 2018-2024 cycle | ICANN .com Fee Schedule (PDF); Domain Name Wire |
| Nov 1, 2026 | $10.97 | +$0.71 (+6.9%) | First increase of the pricing cycle that began October 26, 2024 | Verisign Q1 2026 earnings (Motley Fool); Domain Name Wire |
Under the current agreement, Verisign may take up to three further annual increases of up to 7% over the remainder of the cycle. If each is taken at the maximum permitted rate, the wholesale price would reach approximately $13.42 by the end of the current contract period. Any such future changes will be announced by Verisign on their own schedule; the figure is illustrative of the contractual ceiling, not a forecast.
Why this matters - and why it's predictable
.com is the largest TLD in the world, with 176.1 million .com and .net registrations in the Verisign domain name base as of Q1 2026. The registry processes in excess of 600 billion DNS queries per day and has maintained 100% resolution availability for 29 consecutive years - an operational track record that is, by any measure, exceptional infrastructure engineering.
Pricing decisions for .com are not a unilateral registrar-facing event; they are set within a multi-party framework that includes Verisign, ICANN, and the NTIA. Notices are delivered months in advance (at least six months under the agreement), which gives the entire ecosystem - registrars and registrants alike - time to plan.
What this means for OSIR customers
Existing registrations are not retroactively affected. Any .com registered or renewed before November 1, 2026, 04:00 UTC is billed at the current wholesale rate for the full term purchased - up to 10 years. Terms already on your account are untouched.
Multi-year renewals remain the most effective hedge. A registrant who renews or extends a .com for N years before the cutover locks in the current wholesale rate for all N years. This is true at every registrar, and it is true at OSIR.
Our pricing approach is a direct pass-through. When the wholesale rate changes, we pass the change through at cost. The OSIR margin on .com does not move as a function of Verisign's price adjustments - up or down. Our pricing page will reflect the new totals on November 1, 2026, with the wholesale, ICANN, and OSIR line items shown separately, as they are today.
Bulk and programmatic renewals are supported. If you manage a portfolio and want to renew multiple domains before the cutover:
- Dashboard: Domains -> select -> Renew
- CLI:
osir domain renew <domain> --years N - API:
POST /v1/domains/{name}/renew - MCP:
domain.renewtool onhttps://be.osir.com/mcp
Documentation: Renew Domains.
We are happy to help you plan. For larger portfolios, or if you'd like us to model the cost delta across your specific renewal schedule, reach out to support@osir.com or open a ticket via osir support ticket new. We'll walk through it with you.
Closing note
Verisign is a key partner to every ICANN-accredited registrar, OSIR included. The .com registry is one of the most heavily used pieces of shared infrastructure on the public internet, and the stability of that infrastructure is something the entire domain industry - and our customers - benefit from every day.
Price changes within the contractually defined framework are a normal part of how the .com ecosystem operates. Our role as your registrar is to communicate them clearly, implement them transparently, and make it easy for you to act on the information. We'll continue to do that.
If you have any questions about this change, your renewal options, or anything else, please reach out.
OSIR is an ICANN-accredited domain registrar (IANA #4332) operated by OSIR Inc., a Delaware C-Corporation. We build developer-first registrar tooling - CLI, API, and MCP - on top of direct registry EPP integrations.