.net Domain Names
44 registrars compared — cheapest from $4.99 at Directnic
Delegated in January 1985, .net was one of the internet's original six generic top-level domains, intended for network infrastructure — but its story since then has been anything but mundane.
| # | Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer | 5-Year Cost | 10-Year Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Directnic Cheapest | $4.99 | $16.99 | $13.99 | $72.95 | $157.90 | Visit |
| 2 | DreamHost Cheapest | $4.99 | $19.99 | $13.95 | $84.95 | $184.90 | Visit |
| 3 | Truehost | $8.80 | $14.76 | $14.76 | $67.84 | $141.64 | Visit |
| 4 | Hello.co | $9.99 | $19.99 | $19.99 | $89.95 | $189.90 | Visit |
| 5 | Cosmotown | $11.35 | $12.71 | $12.71 | $62.19 | $125.74 | Visit |
| 6 | Spaceship | $11.40 | $11.40 | $11.40 | $57.00 | $114.00 | Visit |
| 7 | Cloudflare | $11.86 | $11.86 | $11.86 | $59.30 | $118.60 | Visit |
| 8 | IONOS | $12.00 | $20.00 | $17.00 | $92.00 | $192.00 | Visit |
| 9 | Sav | $12.12 | $12.12 | $12.12 | $60.60 | $121.20 | Visit |
| 10 | OVHcloud | $12.19 | $16.89 | $15.59 | $79.75 | $164.20 | Visit |
| 11 | Above.com | $12.22 | $12.22 | $12.22 | $61.10 | $122.20 | Visit |
| 12 | Namecheap | $12.48 | $18.58 | $12.98 | $86.80 | $179.70 | Visit |
| 13 | NameBright | $12.49 | $12.49 | $12.49 | $62.45 | $124.90 | Visit |
| 14 | Dynadot | $12.52 | $12.52 | $12.52 | $62.60 | $125.20 | Visit |
| 15 | Porkbun | $12.52 | $12.52 | $12.52 | $62.60 | $125.20 | Visit |
| 16 | Infomaniak | $12.65 | $14.87 | $14.87 | $72.13 | $146.48 | Visit |
| 17 | Regery | $12.69 | $12.69 | $12.69 | $63.45 | $126.90 | Visit |
| 18 | Gandi | $12.99 | $39.98 | $15.74 | $172.91 | $372.81 | Visit |
| 19 | Alibaba Cloud | $13.50 | $14.50 | $12.50 | $71.50 | $144.00 | Visit |
| 20 | Gname | $13.85 | $14.85 | $13.85 | $73.25 | $147.50 | Visit |
| 21 | Regtons | $14.00 | $14.00 | $14.00 | $70.00 | $140.00 | Visit |
| 22 | Squarespace | $14.00 | $20.00 | $20.00 | $94.00 | $194.00 | Visit |
| 23 | All Domains | $14.43 | $16.65 | $16.65 | $81.03 | $164.28 | Visit |
| 24 | Internet.bs | $14.85 | $16.99 | $16.50 | $82.81 | $167.76 | Visit |
| 25 | Epik | $14.95 | $14.95 | $14.95 | $74.75 | $149.50 | Visit |
| 26 | NameSilo | $14.95 | $15.95 | $10.35 | $78.75 | $158.50 | Visit |
| 27 | OnlyDomains | $14.99 | $17.99 | $17.99 | $86.95 | $176.90 | Visit |
| 28 | GoDaddy | $15.19 | $25.19 | $25.19 | $115.95 | $241.90 | Visit |
| 29 | eDomains | $15.99 | $15.99 | $15.99 | $79.95 | $159.90 | Visit |
| 30 | Marcaria | $16.00 | $16.00 | $16.00 | $80.00 | $160.00 | Visit |
| 31 | EuroDNS | $16.15 | $26.39 | $26.39 | $121.71 | $253.66 | Visit |
| 32 | Moniker | $16.49 | $23.69 | $22.99 | $111.25 | $229.70 | Visit |
| 33 | Name.com | $16.49 | $23.99 | $16.49 | $112.45 | $232.40 | Visit |
| 34 | MrDomain | $16.59 | $16.59 | $16.59 | $82.95 | $165.90 | Visit |
| 35 | 101domain | $17.17 | $22.17 | $15.17 | $105.85 | $216.70 | Visit |
| 36 | Crazy Domains | $17.39 | $17.99 | $17.39 | $89.35 | $179.30 | Visit |
| 37 | Hostinger | $18.19 | $18.19 | $18.19 | $90.95 | $181.90 | Visit |
| 38 | INWX | $18.72 | $18.72 | $18.72 | $93.60 | $187.20 | Visit |
| 39 | Bluehost | $18.99 | $19.99 | $18.99 | $98.95 | $198.90 | Visit |
| 40 | Hover | $20.19 | $20.19 | $20.19 | $100.95 | $201.90 | Visit |
| 41 | Netim | $21.50 | $21.50 | $13.50 | $107.50 | $215.00 | Visit |
| 42 | Blacknight | $22.18 | $22.18 | $22.18 | $110.90 | $221.80 | Visit |
| 43 | 123 Reg | $22.42 | $22.42 | $22.42 | $112.10 | $224.20 | Visit |
| 44 | UK2 | $22.55 | $22.55 | $22.55 | $112.75 | $225.50 | Visit |
Prices updated daily. Some registrars show promotional first-year prices. Always verify the final price on the registrar's website before purchasing.
From Network Infrastructure to Everything Else
Originally .net was designed strictly for network-oriented entities — ISPs, backbone operators, and the like. It still sees heavy use by internet service providers, but today it fills a much broader role. Plenty of sites grab a .net simply because the matching .com is spoken for, or because they want a shorter, punchier name than the alternatives. The original restriction was never enforced, and none exists today, so anyone can register a .net name. That open-door policy has transformed a niche infrastructure TLD into a general-purpose workhorse that sits comfortably alongside its original sibling .com. What began as a technical corner of the early web now hosts everything from personal blogs to ambitious startups.
VeriSign's Long Stewardship and the Security Suite
The registry behind .net is VeriSign Global Registry Services, the same company that operates .com — and it has held the contract since the namespace's early days. That corporate stability matters. One of the practical benefits is that .net inherits VeriSign's substantial infrastructure, including DNSSEC, which is enabled on the TLD. Registrants don't have to configure anything themselves; the signing happens at the registry level, adding a layer of authentication that helps prevent DNS spoofing and cache poisoning. For a domain meant to be a reliable address for networks, that's not a frill — it's a core requirement. The same WHOIS server, whois.verisign-grs.com, handles lookups, keeping the administrative experience consistent with .com.
Pricing: A Budget-Savvy Alternative With a Wide Spread
The pricing picture for .net is anything but uniform. Roughly 44 registrars carry the TLD, and the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is wide enough to make comparison shopping worthwhile. At the low end, Directnic lists first-year registrations at $4.99 — a marginal step above what most charge for .com. Renewals at that budget registrar sit around $16.99, while the priciest outlets go much higher. The average across the market hovers near $14.59. That spread means a penny-pincher can lock in a bargain, while someone who values bundled extras might reasonably pay a premium. There's no single .net price — just a market with plenty of room to negotiate.
The Original Six: How .net Compares to the Legacy Club
As one of the original six TLDs from 1985, .net holds a particular place in internet history. It shares that heritage with .com, .org, and a few others, but it never achieved the runaway dominance of .com. Instead, it evolved into a reliable fallback — the domain you choose when the .com is taken, or when you want to signal a technical bent. Unlike .biz or .name, which were invented in later rounds to fill specific niches, .net has real legacy weight. And unlike .info, it carries an implied sense of infrastructure and connectivity that still resonates. In the modern landscape, .net occupies a middle ground: not the default, but never an also-ran.
UDRP and the Dispute Safety Net
Because .net is an unrestricted gTLD, cybersquatting is a real concern — someone could register your trademark as a .net without your permission. But the namespace offers a well-worn remedy: the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP). This policy, which .net shares with .com and .org, provides a faster, cheaper alternative to litigation. A trademark holder can file a complaint with an approved dispute-resolution provider, and if they prove bad-faith registration, the name gets transferred. The UDRP has been around for decades, and its precedent pool is deep, making outcomes reasonably predictable. For anyone worried about brand protection, that's a meaningful shield — and one reason .net remains a safe choice despite its open registration.