Quick answer
Is .net a good domain extension?
Yes, for networks, hosting, infrastructure and technical services. A .net shares the .com registry and rules, but it loses visitors and email to the .com owner when people type the familiar ending. At DotAlmanac, a domain extension guide and registrar, a .net costs $12.99/year the first year and $12.99/year to renew (29 October 2026), paid in crypto with no KYC.
Search a .net domain
Popular extensions
- .net $12.99
Verisign answers .net availability through RDAP, the same official channel it uses for .com, so the result comes from the registry itself.
.net at a glance
| Registry | Verisign |
|---|---|
| Kind of extension | Generic TLD (gTLD) from 1985, run by Verisign |
| Best for | Hosting, ISPs, network tools and infrastructure services |
| Who can register | Anyone, worldwide; no purpose or location requirement |
| Public WHOIS / RDAP | Thin registry, no owner contact at Verisign; free privacy |
| Registration period | Between 1 and 10 years |
| Watch out for | Mail and visits that drift to the matching .com |
.net price per year
| Extension | 1st year | Renewal | Transfer | WHOIS privacy | Restrictions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .net | $12.99 | $12.99 | $12.99 | Free | None |
Verisign raises its .net wholesale fee on 1 March 2027, so the renewal shown here is today's figure, not a promise for 2027.
When does a .net make sense?
A .net makes sense when the name describes a network, a hosting service, a mesh of nodes or another piece of infrastructure. Engineers read the ending as a hint of what you do. That hint is accurate for an ISP, a VPN gateway, a CDN or a monitoring service. It also works as a second address that protects a brand whose .com you already hold. It is a weak first choice for a shop, a restaurant or a consumer app when someone else owns the .com. Every customer who types the habitual ending lands on that other site. According to DotAlmanac's table of 225 extensions, 176 are open to anyone with no residency, ID or eligibility test, and .net is one of them.
Typical .net projects and our verdict
| Project | Verdict for .net |
|---|---|
| Internet or hosting provider | Strong fit: the ending matches the service and reads as technical. |
| Self-hosted mesh, VPN or relay network | Good fit: users of such tools know .net and accept it. |
| Second address for a brand that owns the .com | Good fit: it blocks imitators and can redirect to the main site. |
| Consumer brand whose .com belongs to someone else | Poor fit: visitors and mail go to the other owner. |
| Personal blog or portfolio | Weak fit: .me or .blog says more about a personal site. |
The .net against .com and .org
The three endings come from the same 1985 batch, and our comparison of .com, .net and .org covers them side by side. A .com is the habit; a .net is the technical cousin; a .org signals a mission. If your .com is free, register it and point the .net at it. If the .com is gone and the project is technical, a .net is a sound main address. For a developer product, also compare .dev and .io. Both carry a clearer software signal than .net in 2026, at very different renewal prices.
Who runs .net, and what it costs registrars
Verisign operates .net as well as .com, under a registry agreement with ICANN. Like .com, .net is a thin registry: Verisign records the name, nameservers, status and dates, while the owner's contact details stay with the registrar. The wholesale fee is $10.91 per name per year, plus the $0.20 ICANN fee. Verisign has announced a rise to $12.00 on 1 March 2027. The ending appeared in January 1985 for organisations that ran networks, but no rule has ever limited it to them.
What to check before choosing .net
First, look at who owns the matching .com and what it shows. If that site sells something close to your offer, or publishes content you do not want linked to your name, choose another ending. Second, plan for the March 2027 wholesale rise: a long registration taken now pays today's price for every year in the order. Third, keep the 60-day ICANN lock in mind if you plan to move the name soon after buying it. Finally, a .net used only for mail still needs SPF and DMARC records from the first day.
The .net at other registrars
Porkbun charges $12.52 a year for .net, as of 19 October 2026, per its price list. OrangeWebsite in Iceland listed €22.00 on the same date. 1984 Hosting, also in Iceland, listed $21.99 on 8 October 2026. Spreads on .net stay narrow at the low end because every seller pays Verisign the same base fee. Our renewal price index puts these figures next to other endings.
.net questions
Is a .net less trustworthy than a .com?
No rule makes it less trustworthy. Both endings share the same registry, the same security features such as DNSSEC, and the same ICANN policies. The difference is habit: people who guess an address type .com first. A .net therefore needs a clear brand and the exact address on every card and email signature.
Can I use a .net for a business that is not technical?
Yes. Verisign sets no purpose test, so a bakery or a law office can hold a .net. The question is reader expectation, not permission. If the business sells to the general public, check that the matching .com does not belong to a competitor before you print the address.
Does Verisign see my contact details on a .net?
No. As a thin registry, .net stores no owner contact data at the Verisign level. Your registrar holds it, and WHOIS privacy on a .net costs nothing here. For a record that names our company in place of you, see Domain protection.
How much does the 2027 increase change the cost of a .net?
At wholesale, the fee moves from $10.91 to $12.00 per year on 1 March 2027, a rise of $1.09 before the ICANN fee. Registrars set their own retail response. To see how renewal prices move across extensions, read why domain renewals cost more.
Sources (5)
- Root Zone Database: .net — IANA (checked 2026-10-08)
- Verisign announces .net price increase — Domain Name Wire (checked 2026-10-08)
- Domain pricing porkbun.com/products/domains — Porkbun (checked 2026-10-19)
- Domain price list orangewebsite.com/domains/domain-price-list — OrangeWebsite (checked 2026-10-19)
- Price list 1984.hosting/product/pricelist — 1984 Hosting (checked 2026-10-08)