How the numbers are compared.
The rules behind registration, renewal, transfer, promotions and multi-year cost — in one readable page.
Where prices come from
Prices are read from registrar APIs and published price lists. Only registrars with a complete, reproducible source appear in the public price directory. Every displayed offer carries one clear status:
- live — fetched from the registrar and dated.
- held — the last fetched price we saw, kept with its original date after a later refresh failed.
A timestamp tells you when a price was observed, not how long it will remain available. The registrar's checkout is always the final price.
The true-cost formula
Every ranking by cost on this site sorts by that one number. Three years is the default comparison window; TLD pages also show 1, 2, 5 and 10 years. A first-year promotion never hides the renewal that follows it. Privacy fees and VAT are not added unless they are already embedded in the published domain price: both vary by extension, account or buyer location and are shown separately instead of being guessed into a total.
Privacy and payment evidence
Privacy is a registrar-level policy, not a promise for every extension: registry rules can make it unavailable. free* means included where eligible; varies means the policy changes by TLD or account; not verified means exactly that — never “paid” by assumption. An official marker links the first-party page and its check date. Payment methods follow the same rule and may still vary by billing country, currency or device.
Comparable prices, before VAT
Registrars publish prices on different tax bases, so Domain.Guru normalizes them to prices excluding VAT before comparing them. VAT may then be added at checkout according to the buyer, seller and country. A +vat marker appears only when a registrar is confirmed to add it for consumers; an unmarked row means the treatment is unconfirmed, not tax-free.
Transfer prices
Only independently published transfer prices can appear in transfer rankings and deal lists. If a registrar does not publish a numeric transfer price for an extension, its Transfer cell stays empty rather than borrowing the renewal price. A standard transfer normally adds one year, but registry-specific exceptions can apply.
Promotions and coupon codes
Automatic promotions stay attached to the registration, renewal or transfer price they affect. A coupon is published only with its scope, conditions, source and check date; the renewal remains visible beside a discounted first year. Codes can expire or be account- and country-specific, so confirm them in the cart.
Registrar honesty score
The base score measures price and checkout transparency. It is deliberately separate from current price wins:
- Renewal shown upfront (30) — visible before checkout.
- Clean cart (30) — no preselected extras.
- No forced term (20) — no hidden multi-year commitment behind the headline price.
- Public pricing (20) — a stable price list that can be checked without an account.
An unwalked checkout is marked not checked and uses a disclosed neutral 15/30. If current evidence does not establish whether a headline price forces a longer term, that criterion uses a neutral 10/20. The denominator always remains 100, while the observed-evidence fraction excludes unknown criteria. Missing evidence therefore creates neither a bonus nor a failure, and it can never be normalized into a perfect score.
- Registry redemption protected (+5) — a current first-party policy explicitly says the name proceeds into registry Redemption Grace Period or explicitly rules out registrar resale. A generic lifecycle diagram is not enough.
- Pre-release recovery risk (−5) — a verified auction or sale can transfer the name before registry redemption, or official disposal terms are joined to a current confirmed marketplace route.
- Auction, redemption retained (0) — the name can be listed or auctioned, but current rules explicitly let the former holder redeem it until delivery. The auction is disclosed, yet it does not receive the early-loss penalty or the no-auction bonus.
- Reviewed, inconclusive (0) — the registrar was checked but the available evidence proves neither state. Silence, generic registry stages and an aftermarket brand alone remain neutral.
Where the registrar publishes an auction start day, the directory shows it. “Day 26” means 26 days after expiration, not 26 days into registry redemption. Timelines are usually for standard gTLDs; registry rules, TLD exceptions, successful renewals and policy changes can alter the path. Every non-zero adjustment links its source and check date. A corroborated route exposes both links. NamePros and industry reports can confirm that a route is operating, but never create a scored policy without first-party evidence. Drop-catching, TBR and registry auctions after the former holder's recovery rights end are excluded.
Location and currency
Some registrars vary their price list by location. Currency conversion makes the board easier to compare; it cannot erase regional pricing, account-specific offers or card fees. A buyer elsewhere may therefore see a different amount from the same registrar.
Price history
History charts use recorded observations only and appear after enough real dates exist to show a useful series. Missing days stay missing rather than being filled with invented movement.