.eco Domain Names
33 registrars compared — cheapest from $54.00 at Netim
Delegated in August 2016, .eco was created for the environmental movement, but its journey from concept to launch was anything but green — it took years of community debate and a contested application process.
| # | Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer | 5-Year Cost | 10-Year Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netim Cheapest | $54.00 | $81.00 | $60.50 | $378.00 | $783.00 | Visit |
| 2 | Spaceship | $59.71 | $59.71 | $59.71 | $298.55 | $597.10 | Visit |
| 3 | Porkbun | $59.73 | $59.73 | $59.73 | $298.65 | $597.30 | Visit |
| 4 | Regery | $59.99 | $61.99 | $59.99 | $307.95 | $617.90 | Visit |
| 5 | Dynadot | $60.59 | $61.74 | $61.74 | $307.55 | $616.25 | Visit |
| 6 | Epik | $62.95 | $62.95 | $62.95 | $314.75 | $629.50 | Visit |
| 7 | Infomaniak | $65.49 | $65.49 | $65.49 | $327.45 | $654.90 | Visit |
| 8 | Gname | $71.50 | $71.50 | $71.50 | $357.50 | $715.00 | Visit |
| 9 | All Domains | $72.15 | $77.70 | $77.70 | $382.95 | $771.45 | Visit |
| 10 | Namecheap | $72.98 | $101.98 | $72.98 | $480.90 | $990.80 | Visit |
| 11 | MrDomain | $73.20 | $73.20 | $73.20 | $366.00 | $732.00 | Visit |
| 12 | Blacknight | $73.24 | $73.24 | $73.24 | $366.20 | $732.40 | Visit |
| 13 | Name.com | $74.99 | $113.99 | $79.99 | $530.95 | $1100.90 | Visit |
| 14 | Crazy Domains | $76.99 | $84.89 | $76.99 | $416.55 | $841.00 | Visit |
| 15 | NameSilo | $77.30 | $77.30 | $77.30 | $386.50 | $773.00 | Visit |
| 16 | Sav | $78.00 | $78.00 | $78.00 | $390.00 | $780.00 | Visit |
| 17 | Squarespace | $80.00 | $80.00 | $80.00 | $400.00 | $800.00 | Visit |
| 18 | Marcaria | $81.00 | $81.00 | $81.00 | $405.00 | $810.00 | Visit |
| 19 | OVHcloud | $82.19 | $82.19 | $75.99 | $410.95 | $821.90 | Visit |
| 20 | Cosmotown | $83.17 | $93.17 | $80.17 | $455.85 | $921.70 | Visit |
| 21 | Directnic | $86.99 | $86.99 | $86.99 | $434.95 | $869.90 | Visit |
| 22 | 101domain | $87.17 | $98.17 | $87.17 | $479.85 | $970.70 | Visit |
| 23 | Gandi | $88.38 | $183.98 | $88.38 | $824.30 | $1744.20 | Visit |
| 24 | INWX | $91.32 | $91.32 | $91.32 | $456.60 | $913.20 | Visit |
| 25 | OnlyDomains | $94.49 | $100.99 | $100.99 | $498.45 | $1003.40 | Visit |
| 26 | UK2 | $94.49 | $102.99 | $102.99 | $506.45 | $1021.40 | Visit |
| 27 | Regtons | $99.00 | $99.00 | $99.00 | $495.00 | $990.00 | Visit |
| 28 | Hover | $108.19 | $108.19 | $108.19 | $540.95 | $1081.90 | Visit |
| 29 | Hello.co | $109.99 | $109.99 | $109.99 | $549.95 | $1099.90 | Visit |
| 30 | GoDaddy | $110.19 | $120.19 | $120.19 | $590.95 | $1191.90 | Visit |
| 31 | Internet.bs | $115.00 | $129.79 | $115.00 | $634.16 | $1283.11 | Visit |
| 32 | EuroDNS | $119.57 | $119.57 | $119.57 | $597.85 | $1195.70 | Visit |
| 33 | Moniker | $120.00 | $133.95 | $120.00 | $655.80 | $1325.55 | Visit |
Prices updated daily. Some registrars show promotional first-year prices. Always verify the final price on the registrar's website before purchasing.
A Domain Born from a Global Movement, Not a Corporation
When the .eco gTLD finally launched in 2017, it wasn't the product of a commercial brand but of a movement. Sponsored by Big Room Inc., the registry was built with input from a coalition of environmental organizations — though not without internal friction. The application process itself was a battleground: two rival groups vied for the string, and their eventual merger shaped the .eco we know. What emerged was a domain intended for 'environmentalist or environmentally-conscious organisations' — a space where NGOs, green businesses, and activists could signal their commitment at the URL itself. The registry's structure reflects that ethos, with a portion of registration fees funneled back into environmental causes, a governance model that's rare among gTLDs.
The Five-Year Wait Between Approval and Launch
The gap between delegation in August 2016 and the public launch in 2017 wasn't a bureaucratic delay — it was a deliberate strategy. Big Room spent those months in what they called a 'sunrise period,' giving verified environmental organizations first dibs on their names. It was a rollout designed to prevent cybersquatting before the domain opened to anyone. That priority access period was also a test of trust. Would the major NGOs and charities actually claim their .eco addresses, or would they see it as a money grab? The fact that the domain is now active and has a dedicated Wikipedia entry tracking its growth suggests enough early adopters signed on to give it legitimacy. It's a case study in how a niche TLD can use its launch window to set the tone for its entire community.
What .eco Signals That .com Can't
A .eco address is a visible pledge. Unlike a keyword-optimized .com or a generic .business, the extension itself makes a statement about your priorities. In a crowded web, that clarity can be valuable for a company whose entire brand rests on sustainability — think renewable energy startups, eco-tourism operators, or fair-trade retailers. The intended use is explicit: this is for 'environmentally-conscious organisations,' not every business that recycles its office paper. That narrow focus is both the TLD's strength and its limitation. It's a badge of identity, but it's not for everyone — a fact that keeps its registration numbers modest compared to sprawling gTLDs. For those who do choose it, the signal-to-noise ratio is high.
A Modest Price Spread That Lowers the Barrier
One of the more practical things about .eco is its pricing. Available through a moderate number of registrars, the domain sits in the budget-to-mid-range category — neither a premium vanity string like .luxury nor a rock-bottom promo TLD. The spread between the cheapest registrar and the most expensive is narrow, which is telling. For a domain aimed at cash-strapped nonprofits and small green businesses, wild price swings would be a barrier. Instead, the market has settled into a fairly consistent rate, with [Netim](Netim) often undercutting the field at around $54.00 for the first year. That accessibility matters. When a TLD's pricing is unpredictable, it undermines trust — and for a domain that asks users to trust its environmental mission, predictability in renewal costs (hovering near $81.00) is part of the bargain.
The Greenwashing Problem and .eco's Answer
The 2012 round of new gTLDs produced plenty of niche spaces, and .eco shares a launch cohort with .band, .business, .cafe, .church, and .coach. All these are community-oriented, but they serve different identity functions. A band's domain is about performance; a cafe's about a place; .eco is about a value system. What sets .eco apart from its siblings is its explicit nonprofit-friendly structure and its effort to police who gets in during sunrise — a nod to the fact that 'eco' is a term open to greenwashing. Unlike .business, which can be claimed by any enterprise, .eco's registry tries to ensure that the string is used by those genuinely aligned with environmentalism. That's a positioning few other gTLDs attempt.
Trust, But Verify: The DNSSEC Angle
In an era of phishing and DNS hijacking, any domain that wants to be taken seriously needs to secure its namespace. .eco does that by supporting DNSSEC, a protocol that digitally signs DNS records to prevent tampering. The extension's Wikipedia entry confirms this technical capability, which is table stakes for a modern gTLD. The significance for .eco is subtle but real. When a nonprofit or activist group puts its campaign behind an address, a hijacked domain could be devastating — imagine a fake version of a climate petition site collecting donations. DNSSEC doesn't prevent all attacks, but it raises the bar. For a TLD whose entire pitch rests on trust, that technical foundation matters as much as its green credentials.