.academy Domain Names
42 registrars compared — cheapest from $7.45 at Spaceship
Before the 2012 gTLD expansion, 'academy' as an online address belonged to everyone and no one. Then Binky Moon, LLC claimed it, turning a generic word into a branded space.
| # | Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer | 5-Year Cost | 10-Year Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spaceship Cheapest | $7.45 | $43.67 | $43.67 | $182.13 | $400.48 | Visit |
| 2 | Namecheap | $8.48 | $69.98 | $56.98 | $288.40 | $638.30 | Visit |
| 3 | Sav | $10.99 | $43.88 | $43.88 | $186.51 | $405.91 | Visit |
| 4 | Porkbun | $11.84 | $43.77 | $43.77 | $186.92 | $405.77 | Visit |
| 5 | Dynadot | $11.99 | $45.16 | $45.16 | $192.63 | $418.43 | Visit |
| 6 | Regery | $11.99 | $44.99 | $44.99 | $191.95 | $416.90 | Visit |
| 7 | INWX | $13.11 | $70.80 | $70.80 | $296.31 | $650.31 | Visit |
| 8 | Hostinger | $13.19 | $54.19 | $13.19 | $229.95 | $500.90 | Visit |
| 9 | Cosmotown | $13.96 | $38.82 | $38.82 | $169.24 | $363.34 | Visit |
| 10 | Above.com | $14.19 | $46.42 | $46.42 | $199.87 | $431.97 | Visit |
| 11 | All Domains | $14.43 | $61.05 | $61.05 | $258.63 | $563.88 | Visit |
| 12 | Gandi | $14.99 | $103.98 | $40.55 | $430.91 | $950.81 | Visit |
| 13 | OVHcloud | $15.02 | $47.19 | $43.49 | $203.78 | $439.73 | Visit |
| 14 | Blacknight | $16.63 | $62.14 | $62.14 | $265.19 | $575.89 | Visit |
| 15 | NameSilo | $16.99 | $56.99 | $46.99 | $244.95 | $529.90 | Visit |
| 16 | Netim | $18.50 | $54.50 | $39.00 | $236.50 | $509.00 | Visit |
| 17 | Gname | $18.99 | $52.99 | $52.99 | $230.95 | $495.90 | Visit |
| 18 | IONOS | $19.39 | $67.00 | $67.00 | $287.39 | $622.39 | Visit |
| 19 | Truehost | $19.79 | $73.31 | $54.86 | $313.03 | $679.58 | Visit |
| 20 | Squarespace | $20.00 | $55.00 | $55.00 | $240.00 | $515.00 | Visit |
| 21 | GoDaddy | $20.19 | $84.19 | $84.19 | $356.95 | $777.90 | Visit |
| 22 | EuroDNS | $20.36 | $73.79 | $73.79 | $315.52 | $684.47 | Visit |
| 23 | Name.com | $21.99 | $74.99 | $74.99 | $321.95 | $696.90 | Visit |
| 24 | Directnic | $24.99 | $57.99 | $57.99 | $256.95 | $546.90 | Visit |
| 25 | eDomains | $30.00 | $30.00 | $30.00 | $150.00 | $300.00 | Visit |
| 26 | Infomaniak | $32.13 | $32.13 | $32.13 | $160.65 | $321.30 | Visit |
| 27 | Hello.co | $34.99 | $34.99 | $34.99 | $174.95 | $349.90 | Visit |
| 28 | Cloudflare | $36.20 | $36.20 | $36.20 | $181.00 | $362.00 | Visit |
| 29 | NameBright | $40.00 | $40.00 | $40.00 | $200.00 | $400.00 | Visit |
| 30 | UK2 | $41.03 | $41.03 | $48.99 | $205.15 | $410.30 | Visit |
| 31 | DreamHost | $44.99 | $44.99 | $44.99 | $224.95 | $449.90 | Visit |
| 32 | Epik | $46.95 | $46.95 | $46.95 | $234.75 | $469.50 | Visit |
| 33 | Crazy Domains | $47.49 | $47.49 | $47.49 | $237.45 | $474.90 | Visit |
| 34 | 123 Reg | $48.82 | $48.82 | $48.82 | $244.10 | $488.20 | Visit |
| 35 | Marcaria | $49.00 | $49.00 | $49.00 | $245.00 | $490.00 | Visit |
| 36 | Regtons | $52.90 | $52.90 | $52.90 | $264.50 | $529.00 | Visit |
| 37 | Internet.bs | $53.86 | $60.69 | $53.86 | $296.62 | $600.07 | Visit |
| 38 | MrDomain | $54.33 | $54.33 | $54.33 | $271.65 | $543.30 | Visit |
| 39 | OnlyDomains | $57.99 | $64.99 | $64.99 | $317.95 | $642.90 | Visit |
| 40 | 101domain | $68.17 | $77.17 | $68.17 | $376.85 | $762.70 | Visit |
| 41 | Hover | $70.19 | $70.19 | $70.19 | $350.95 | $701.90 | Visit |
| 42 | Moniker | $80.79 | $90.02 | $80.79 | $440.87 | $890.97 | Visit |
Prices updated daily. Some registrars show promotional first-year prices. Always verify the final price on the registrar's website before purchasing.
The 2012 Land Rush That Made .academy a Thing
In the 2012 round of new generic top-level domains, hundreds of everyday words became registrable suffixes. Among them was .academy, delegated on December 12, 2013 to Binky Moon, LLC, a company associated with the registry operator Identity Digital. Before that, if you wanted an 'academy' address, you were stuck with clunky combinations under .com or country codes. The delegation created a clean, memorable namespace for educational institutions and training programs — but it also meant that a generic English dictionary term got locked behind a registry's rules and pricing. As the list of delegated strings from ICANN shows, .academy was one of thousands of bets that generic words would attract registrants. The gamble paid off for some, and for others it just added another renewal fee.
Who Actually Wants an .academy Address?
The name signals an educational institution or a place of learning, but 'academy' is broader than 'school' or 'university' — it can apply to coding bootcamps, yoga teacher trainings, or even a company's internal training hub. The registry doesn't restrict who can register; there's no eligibility check like you'd find in some TLDs. That flexibility makes .academy a budget-to-mid-range option, with pricing spread widely across the 42 registrars that offer it. Spaceship is the budget pick at around $7.45, while specialty registrars can charge significantly more. Renewal prices often sit higher than the first-year promo, so it's worth checking the $43.67 figure before committing. As a semantic choice, .academy is a far more specific signal than .education — it suggests an organized curriculum rather than just general knowledge.
The Fine Line Between Credible and Pretentious
Compare .academy to its education-themed neighbors, and differences surface. .school is narrower, skewing toward K-12 and primary education, while .education is a catch-all that could cover a museum or a nonprofit. .training focuses on vocational instruction, and .institute carries a research-heavy weight. .schule serves the German-speaking market. .academy sits in the middle — it's aspirational, suggesting a place where specialized skills are taught, from martial arts to data science. That positioning makes it attractive to small private schools, online course creators, and even SaaS companies that want to sound authoritative. For a dance studio or a chess club, .academy might feel like a stretch, but for a professional development platform, it lands well. The trade-off: the word 'academy' has a formal ring, which can either lend credibility or, in the wrong context, come off as pretentious.
The Hidden Hand: Binky Moon and Identity Digital's Role
Binky Moon, LLC is not a household name, but it's the administrative contact for .academy, according to its IANA record. The registry services are handled by Identity Digital, a major operator of new gTLDs. This structure — a shell company holding the contract while a larger registry runs the back-end — is common in the post-2012 landscape. For registrants, it means the TLD is managed by a commercial entity with a portfolio of many similar names, not by a niche educational foundation. That has implications: pricing is market-driven, not subsidized, and there's no special governance tied to the education sector. The delegation date of 2013 places it in the early wave of the expansion, and the fact that it's not a brand TLD means it's open to anyone. Whether that's a strength or a weakness depends on how much you trust a profit-driven registry with a word that carries educational weight.