Checked October 2, 2026 (18:19 KST) against Porkbun’s public domain pricing page and ICANN’s "FAQs for Registrants: Transferring Your Domain Name." We have not bought, renewed or transferred a domain for this guide, and it does not recommend a registrar. Prices change; re-check on the day you pay.
First-year registration, renewal and transfer are different price fields — and the one you pay next year may not be the one in the headline. Before you pay, write down all three for the extension you want, then add the conditions that decide whether you can move the name at all. A price headline in the news is not your renewal invoice either: the number that matters is the renewal price your registrar posts for your domain at checkout.
Step 1: Which of the three are you doing?
| You are… | The price that matters most | The condition to check first |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a new name | Today’s registration price and the posted renewal price | Whether the registration price is a first-year sale |
| Keeping a name where it is | The posted renewal price | Your renewal date and auto-renew setting |
| Moving a name to another registrar | The transfer price, and what it includes | The 60-day transfer limits below |
Step 2: Read the three price fields separately
Some registrar price tables show these as separate columns. Porkbun’s table, for example, lists registration, renewal and transfer side by side and says its prices "are for non-premium single year registrations, renewals and transfers" and "include ICANN and any other fees."
On the day we checked, that table showed .com at $11.08 in all three columns. The same table showed why the columns matter: for .coffee, the registration column showed a "1st Yr Sale!" price of $10.81, while the renewal and transfer columns showed $34.50. A first-year sale can make one extension look cheaper than another in year one even when its renewal price is much higher.
Two limits on those numbers:
- They are one registrar’s posted prices for non-premium names on October 2, 2026. They are not a quote for your specific domain, not a checkout total (tax and currency are not covered), and not a promise about future prices.
- Rules and prices for .com don’t carry over to other extensions, country-code domains or premium names. Check each one on its own.
Step 3: The 3-year worksheet
Fill this in for each option you are comparing. The 3-year total is a comparison at today’s posted prices, not a forecast and not a savings estimate — renewal prices can change before you reach year 2.
| Line | Option A | Option B |
|---|---|---|
| Registrar and extension | ||
| New / keep / transfer | ||
| Year 1: what you pay today (registration, renewal or transfer) | ||
| Does the year-1 payment add a year? (see Step 4) | ||
| Year 2: posted renewal price today | ||
| Year 3: posted renewal price today | ||
| 3-year total at today’s posted prices | ||
| Features you would otherwise pay for (privacy, DNS, email forwarding) — included or extra? | ||
| Transfer limits that apply now (see Step 5) | ||
| Restore fee if the name lapses (see Step 6) |
Worked with the posted numbers above, as an illustration only: three years of .com at $11.08 is $33.24; a first-year .coffee at $10.81 plus two renewals at $34.50 is $79.81. The point is the method — year 1 is one line out of three.
Step 4: What a transfer payment buys
A transfer is not just a moving fee. Porkbun’s page says most transfers "include a one year domain renewal," and that transfer-in prices are "a one time cost and include a one year renewal or registration." Other registrars set their own terms, so check what your transfer payment includes before you count it in the worksheet.
Separately, your current registrar may charge a fee for transferring a name away — ICANN’s FAQ says registrars are allowed to set their own prices for this — but it cannot deny the transfer because you haven’t paid that fee.
Step 5: Check the 60-day limits before you plan a move
ICANN’s FAQ (as read on October 2, 2026) lists situations where a transfer to a different registrar can be refused or blocked, including:
- Your registrar may deny a transfer request if the domain name is within 60 days of initial registration.
- Your registrar may deny a transfer request within 60 days of a previous transfer.
- You cannot transfer the name to a different registrar within 60 days of changing the registrant name, organization or email address — or the Administrative Contact email address, if there is no registrant email address (the "60-day Change of Registrant lock"). Some registrars may offer an opt-out at their discretion, but they don’t have to. ICANN suggests that if your goal is to transfer, you may want to finish the transfer before changing your contact details.
To start a transfer you need an Auth-Code (also called an Authorization Code, AuthInfo code or transfer code). ICANN says your registrar must provide it within five calendar days of your request.
These are ICANN’s registrant FAQs. If your name is a country-code domain, check that registry’s and your registrar’s own transfer rules rather than assuming these apply.
Moving the registrar is not moving your website or email
ICANN separates these: you may be able to change web-hosting providers instead of registrars, or update your domain’s nameservers or hosting IP address, without going through an inter-registrar transfer at all. The reverse also holds — a registrar transfer by itself is a different step from moving hosting, DNS or email. List each one you rely on and check how it is handled before you switch.
Step 6: Don’t save money by letting a domain you use expire
If a domain runs your site, your email or your brand, a lapse can cost more than the renewal you skipped. ICANN says that if your registrar has begun deleting an expired name (the Redemption Grace Period), it must be restored before it can be transferred, which may mean an additional redemption fee. Porkbun’s page, for example, lists a $200 restoration fee for names recovered in that period, on top of the normal renewal price.
ICANN also says registrars are not allowed to deny a transfer because a domain has expired or wasn’t renewed (unless you haven’t paid for a previous registration period). That is a right to move, not a reason to wait.
Checklist before you pay
- Am I registering, keeping or transferring — and which price field is that?
- Is the registration price a first-year sale? What is the posted renewal price?
- What does my 3-year worksheet total come to at today’s posted prices?
- If transferring: does the payment add a year? Am I within 60 days of registering, transferring or changing registrant details? Do I have the Auth-Code?
- Which of my hosting, DNS and email depend on this registrar, and how does each move?
- Is auto-renew set for every domain I actually use?
Sources (read October 2, 2026, 18:19 KST):
- Porkbun, domain pricing — https://porkbun.com/products/domains
- ICANN, "FAQs for Registrants: Transferring Your Domain Name" — https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/name-holder-faqs-2017-10-10-en