.icu Domain Names
36 registrars compared — cheapest from $1.00 at IONOS
Delegated in March 2015, .icu might read as a medical acronym, but its registry, Shortdot SA, had something else in mind — and the meaning matters more than you'd think.
| # | Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer | 5-Year Cost | 10-Year Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IONOS Cheapest | $1.00 | $10.00 | $8.50 | $41.00 | $91.00 | Visit |
| 2 | Above.com | $1.93 | $13.42 | $13.42 | $55.61 | $122.71 | Visit |
| 3 | Truehost | $2.07 | $24.56 | $19.76 | $100.31 | $223.11 | Visit |
| 4 | Hostinger | $2.19 | $16.19 | $2.19 | $66.95 | $147.90 | Visit |
| 5 | Spaceship | $2.26 | $15.73 | $15.73 | $65.18 | $143.83 | Visit |
| 6 | Dynadot | $2.49 | $16.27 | $16.27 | $67.57 | $148.92 | Visit |
| 7 | eDomains | $2.75 | $10.80 | $10.80 | $45.95 | $99.95 | Visit |
| 8 | Namecheap | $2.79 | $26.98 | $19.98 | $110.71 | $245.61 | Visit |
| 9 | Regery | $2.99 | $16.69 | $16.69 | $69.75 | $153.20 | Visit |
| 10 | NameSilo | $3.19 | $19.49 | $15.50 | $81.15 | $178.60 | Visit |
| 11 | EuroDNS | $3.23 | $32.32 | $32.32 | $132.51 | $294.11 | Visit |
| 12 | Infomaniak | $3.33 | $11.59 | $11.59 | $49.69 | $107.64 | Visit |
| 13 | Porkbun | $3.59 | $15.96 | $15.96 | $67.43 | $147.23 | Visit |
| 14 | Internet.bs | $3.65 | $17.49 | $15.99 | $73.61 | $161.06 | Visit |
| 15 | Cosmotown | $3.69 | $16.75 | $16.75 | $70.69 | $154.44 | Visit |
| 16 | MrDomain | $3.95 | $19.92 | $19.92 | $83.63 | $183.23 | Visit |
| 17 | OVHcloud | $3.96 | $18.19 | $8.49 | $76.72 | $167.67 | Visit |
| 18 | Gandi | $3.99 | $39.98 | $13.78 | $163.91 | $363.81 | Visit |
| 19 | Name.com | $3.99 | $31.99 | $31.99 | $131.95 | $291.90 | Visit |
| 20 | Blacknight | $4.42 | $16.63 | $16.63 | $70.94 | $154.09 | Visit |
| 21 | All Domains | $4.44 | $23.31 | $23.31 | $97.68 | $214.23 | Visit |
| 22 | INWX | $4.50 | $30.60 | $30.60 | $126.90 | $279.90 | Visit |
| 23 | Alibaba Cloud | $4.88 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $84.84 | $184.79 | Visit |
| 24 | Gname | $4.99 | $16.99 | $16.99 | $72.95 | $157.90 | Visit |
| 25 | Netim | $5.00 | $28.50 | $20.00 | $119.00 | $261.50 | Visit |
| 26 | Crazy Domains | $10.99 | $12.39 | $10.99 | $60.55 | $122.50 | Visit |
| 27 | Cloudflare | $15.20 | $15.20 | $15.20 | $76.00 | $152.00 | Visit |
| 28 | Epik | $18.95 | $18.95 | $18.95 | $94.75 | $189.50 | Visit |
| 29 | Directnic | $18.99 | $18.99 | $18.99 | $94.95 | $189.90 | Visit |
| 30 | Marcaria | $20.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 | $100.00 | $200.00 | Visit |
| 31 | Squarespace | $20.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 | $100.00 | $200.00 | Visit |
| 32 | Regtons | $20.29 | $20.29 | $20.29 | $101.45 | $202.90 | Visit |
| 33 | Moniker | $20.99 | $33.49 | $20.99 | $154.95 | $322.40 | Visit |
| 34 | 101domain | $28.67 | $36.67 | $28.67 | $175.35 | $358.70 | Visit |
| 35 | Sav | $99.00 | $99.00 | $99.00 | $495.00 | $990.00 | Visit |
| 36 | OnlyDomains | $1599.00 | $1749.00 | $1599.00 | $8595.00 | $17340.00 | Visit |
Prices updated daily. Some registrars show promotional first-year prices. Always verify the final price on the registrar's website before purchasing.
The Name That Spells 'I See You'
Shortdot SA, the registry behind .icu, picked the string for its phonetic punch. Pronounced 'I see you,' it's a domain that works as a full sentence — a rare trick for a TLD. That makes it naturally suited to personal branding, webcams, surveillance tech, or any service that wants to feel direct and playful. It joined the internet as part of ICANN's 2012 new gTLD program, one of over a thousand strings that flooded the root zone after years of .com dominance. But while many new gTLDs pursued industry niches, .icu went for the universal angle — and it shows in how the name flexes across use cases.
From Medical Haze to Everyday Acronym
The abbreviation 'ICU' has long meant 'intensive care unit' in hospitals. That association could have boxed .icu into a health-only corner. Instead, Shortdot SA let the double meaning breathe. For some, .icu still signals critical care — a fitting metaphor for urgent tech or health startups. For others, it's pure wordplay. That ambiguity is a feature, not a bug. A TLD that can be read as 'I see you,' 'intensive care,' or just as three bold letters gives registrants room to invent their own story. It's the kind of flexibility that helped .bond, .cyou, and .sbs — all run by the same registry — find their own footing in the crowded new-gTLD market.
Pricing That's Almost Too Easy
The price spread across 36 registrars is extreme — the cheapest option, IONOS, charges roughly a tenth of what the most expensive registrar asks. That places .icu firmly in budget territory, with an average $54.37 that undercuts legacy extensions while offering a fresh namespace. Low entry cost makes .icu attractive for experiments: side projects, personal pages, even placeholder domains. But the cheap initial price is only half the story. Renewals at $10.00 are similarly modest, so the budget appeal doesn't evaporate after year one. Compare that with premium gTLDs that lure you in with a low first year only to spike later — .icu's consistency is part of its charm.
A Registry With a Portfolio, Not a Brand
Unlike brand TLDs that exist solely to serve one company, .icu is operated by Shortdot SA, a registry that runs several open strings — .bond, .cyou, .cfd, and .sbs among them. That portfolio approach means .icu competes for attention not just against legacy gTLDs but against its own siblings. The lack of a single corporate brand behind .icu is a signal to registrants: this is a general-purpose TLD, free to be reinterpreted. The registry's business model depends on volume and creativity across many strings, not on protecting one trademark. That can mean less restrictive policies and lower prices, but also less built-in trust — you're relying on a newer registry rather than a decades-old institution.