.ar Domain Names
17 registrars compared — cheapest from $39.99 at Regery
Delegated in 1987, .ar is Argentina's country-code domain, but its real story is the unusual rule that lets foreigners register — provided they can point to an Argentine address.
| # | Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer | 5-Year Cost | 10-Year Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regery Cheapest | $39.99 | $39.99 | $39.99 | $199.95 | $399.90 | Visit |
| 2 | Regtons | $53.00 | $53.00 | $53.00 | $265.00 | $530.00 | Visit |
| 3 | Sav | $53.00 | $53.00 | $53.00 | $265.00 | $530.00 | Visit |
| 4 | Netim | $57.00 | $57.00 | $32.50 | $285.00 | $570.00 | Visit |
| 5 | EuroDNS | $91.56 | $91.56 | $91.56 | $457.80 | $915.60 | Visit |
| 6 | Marcaria | $96.00 | $96.00 | $96.00 | $480.00 | $960.00 | Visit |
| 7 | OnlyDomains | $101.99 | $88.49 | $88.49 | $455.95 | $898.40 | Visit |
| 8 | UK2 | $102.00 | $85.90 | $85.90 | $445.60 | $875.10 | Visit |
| 9 | 101domain | $102.99 | $119.99 | $102.99 | $582.95 | $1182.90 | Visit |
| 10 | Cosmotown | $102.99 | $119.99 | $102.99 | $582.95 | $1182.90 | Visit |
| 11 | Directnic | $102.99 | $119.99 | $102.99 | $582.95 | $1182.90 | Visit |
| 12 | Blacknight | $122.08 | $55.48 | $122.08 | $344.00 | $621.40 | Visit |
| 13 | Gandi | $163.00 | $311.98 | $163.00 | $1410.92 | $2970.82 | Visit |
| 14 | Epik | $280.00 | $280.00 | $280.00 | $1400.00 | $2800.00 | Visit |
| 15 | MrDomain | $300.75 | $300.75 | $300.75 | $1503.75 | $3007.50 | Visit |
| 16 | INWX | $348.00 | $348.00 | $348.00 | $1740.00 | $3480.00 | Visit |
| 17 | DreamHost | $361.92 | $361.92 | $361.92 | $1809.60 | $3619.20 | Visit |
Prices updated daily. Some registrars show promotional first-year prices. Always verify the final price on the registrar's website before purchasing.
The Argentine Address Catch-22
Most ccTLDs restrict registration to citizens or residents. The .ar Wikipedia entry notes a different twist: registrants must have a contact with an address in Argentina, but the registrant themselves can be foreign. That means a business in Madrid or Miami can hold a .ar domain as long as someone in Buenos Aires is listed as the contact. It's a rule that opens the door but keeps a foot in the country, tying every .ar name to an Argentine anchor. For the .ar IANA record, the registry is run by the Presidencia de la Nación under its Legal and Technical Secretariat — a government body, not a commercial registry.
A Government-Run Registry in a Privatized World
While many ccTLDs have shifted to private, for-profit registries, .ar remains under the direct administration of a government office — the Secretaría Legal y Técnica of the Presidencia de la Nación. The IANA delegation record lists this state body as the sponsoring organization, a rarity among Latin American TLDs where independent registries like .co or .mx are common. Operating a national namespace from the president's legal office carries a certain weight — policy and legal scrutiny are built into the registry's DNA. Unsurprisingly, .ar has never chased global recognition; it's built for domestic use. That focus explains why the domain is "very popular in Argentina," as the .ar Wikipedia article puts it, without much international fanfare.
Subdomains With Their Own Rules
Not all .ar names are equal. The .ar Wikipedia entry points out that certain subdomains carry particular restrictions. This isn't a flat namespace where any Argentine contact lets you grab any second-level name — some suffixes are walled off for specific communities or purposes. It's a structure inherited from earlier internet governance, where national domains were parceled into categories like .com.ar for businesses or .gov.ar for government sites. While the details of which subdomains are gated and how are not spelled out in the public record, the existence of sandboxed zones under .ar means registrants need to check the registry's rules before assuming a name is available. The registry's own portal, nic.ar, is the practical starting point for sorting out those constraints.
The Price of National Identity
Across the registrar market, .ar falls into the budget-to-mid-range band, though the spread is unusually wide — from $39.99 at Regery to $361.92 at premium resellers. That variance partly reflects the registration restriction: because you need an Argentine contact, international registrars often bundle a local address service, which inflates costs. The cheapest route is almost always through a registrar that already has an Argentine presence. 17 registrars list .ar, but the effective pool is smaller once you filter for those that handle the paperwork. For comparison, regional neighbors like .us and .ca carry similar domestic-contact expectations, but .ar's state-run registry makes it less standardized across the board.
Why .ar Stays Home
Unlike .ai or .co, .ar hasn't become a global branding play. Its intended use is straightforward — entities connected with Argentina — and its actual use mirrors that. That's arguably a strength: .ar signals local roots without ambiguity. For a company that genuinely operates in Argentina, a .ar name builds trust with domestic customers more than a generic TLD ever could. The catch is the address requirement, which the .ar Wikipedia article makes clear: it's a barrier for outsiders but a filter that keeps the namespace Argentine. The result is a ccTLD that hasn't wandered far from its national purpose, even as the registry's government overseer keeps it on a short leash.