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Quick Answer
A Namecheap .com domain costs £8.40 for the first year (current sale price, regular £11.16). Renewal is £13.76 per year — 64% more than the registration price. Privacy protection is included free for life.
Register Your .com at Namecheap →
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Namecheap Domain Price Table — All Popular Extensions (May 2026)
Prices verified directly from namecheap.com on 31 May 2026. All prices in GBP.
| Extension | First Year | Regular Price | Renewal | Transfer | Privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .com | £8.40 (sale) | £11.16 | £13.76 | £8.55 | FREE |
| .co.uk | £5.20 | £5.57 | £7.43 | FREE | N/A |
| .net | £9.29 (sale) | £11.16 | £13.84 | £9.67 | FREE |
| .org | £5.57 (sale) | £9.67 | £11.90 | £8.18 | FREE |
| .io | £26.05 (sale) | £49.14 | £56.59 | £49.14 | FREE |
| .uk | £5.20 | £5.57 | £7.43 | FREE | N/A |
| .ai | £69.25 | £69.25 | £85.64 | £74.46 | FREE |
Prices include free WhoisGuard privacy protection where available. ICANN adds $0.20 to .com/.net/.org registrations and renewals.
The Renewal Trap: Why Your .com Gets More Expensive After Year One
Here is the thing most people only discover after they have already registered: Namecheap’s .com registration price is a promotional first-year rate. At £8.40, it looks like a bargain. But when renewal comes around — typically 12 months later — you are paying £13.76. That is 64% more than what you paid to register.
This is not unique to Namecheap. Every major registrar does this. The low registration price is essentially a customer acquisition cost. The renewal is where they make their margin. I registered my first domain with Namecheap back in 2016 and was genuinely surprised when the auto-renewal notice arrived at nearly double the price I expected. Now I know to budget for the renewal price, not the registration price.
The honest advice: when calculating the cost of a domain over 3 years, use the renewal price. A .com with Namecheap costs roughly £8.40 in year one and £13.76 in years two and three — total three-year cost around £35.92, or about £11.97 per year averaged out.
How to Pay Less for Your Namecheap Domain
First-Year Promo Codes
Namecheap regularly publishes monthly promo codes that cut first-year registration prices further. The current codes and verified savings are listed on our Namecheap promo codes page — updated monthly. A working code can bring a .com registration down to as low as £5–6 in a good month.
Multi-Year Registration — Does It Save Money?
Namecheap lets you register a .com for up to 10 years upfront. The catch: multi-year registrations after year one are priced at the renewal rate (£13.76/yr), not the first-year rate. So registering for 2 years costs roughly £8.40 + £13.76 = £22.16 total. Registering for 3 years: £8.40 + (2 × £13.76) = £35.92.
The saving from multi-year registration is not in the price — it is in the convenience and the protection against price increases. If Namecheap raises renewal prices in future (they have historically held prices steady, but it is not guaranteed), locking in multiple years insulates you.
Renewal Discount Codes
Renewal discount codes exist but are rarer than first-year codes. Namecheap occasionally runs promotions for existing customers. Worth checking our promo codes page before your renewal date each year.
Bulk Registration
Registering 5+ domains in a single order sometimes unlocks a small bulk discount. Not advertised prominently, but worth checking the basket before checkout if you are buying multiple extensions.
Namecheap .com Price vs Competitors (May 2026)
| Registrar | First Year (.com) | Renewal (.com) | Free Privacy | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Namecheap | £8.40 (sale) | £13.76 | ✅ Yes | Good first-year value, renewal competitive |
| GoDaddy | £1.80 (promo) | £18.99+ | ❌ Paid add-on | Cheap entry, expensive renewal |
| 123-Reg | £9.99 | £13.99 | ❌ Paid add-on | Similar price, privacy costs extra |
| IONOS | £1.00 (1st year) | £15.00 | ✅ Yes | Very cheap entry, mid-range renewal |
| Porkbun | £9.14 | £9.14 | ✅ Yes | Flat pricing — no first-year discount games |
Honest verdict: Namecheap is not the cheapest registrar on paper. GoDaddy and IONOS both run more aggressive first-year promotions. But Namecheap’s renewal prices are lower than GoDaddy’s (£13.76 vs £18.99+), and they include privacy protection free where competitors charge £6–10/year for it. Factor that in and Namecheap is genuinely competitive across multiple years. Porkbun is the one to beat on flat, transparent pricing — no discount games, just consistent prices.
Hidden Costs to Watch For
WhoisGuard Privacy — Free at Namecheap, Paid Elsewhere
Namecheap includes WhoisGuard privacy protection free for the lifetime of your domain. This masks your personal details (name, email, address, phone) from WHOIS lookups. At GoDaddy and 123-Reg, equivalent privacy costs £7–10/year extra. On a 3-year .com, Namecheap’s free privacy saves you £21–30 compared to registrars that charge for it. This is the single biggest hidden cost advantage Namecheap has.
ICANN Fee
All .com, .net, and .org registrations and renewals are subject to a mandatory ICANN fee of $0.20 (approximately 16p) per year. Namecheap adds this at checkout — it is not included in the headline price. Not a significant cost, but worth knowing it appears as a separate line item.
Premium Domain Surcharges
Popular or short domain names are sometimes classified as “premium” by the registry and priced significantly higher — sometimes £100s or £1000s. The standard pricing table only applies to non-premium domains. If the search result shows a price significantly higher than £8–11, you are looking at a premium domain.
Transfer Fees
Transferring a .com to Namecheap costs £8.55 and typically adds 1 year to the domain’s expiry (so you effectively get a discounted renewal). Transferring out of Namecheap to another registrar incurs a £0 fee from Namecheap’s side — you pay whatever the receiving registrar charges.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a .com domain at Namecheap?
As of May 2026, a .com domain at Namecheap costs £8.40 for the first year (current sale price — regular price is £11.16). Renewal costs £13.76 per year. Privacy protection is included free. Prices are subject to change — check namecheap.com for the current rate before purchasing.
Why does a Namecheap domain renewal cost more than registration?
The low first-year price is a promotional rate designed to attract new customers. Namecheap’s actual cost to maintain a domain registration is reflected in the renewal price. This model is industry-standard — GoDaddy, 123-Reg, and every other major registrar does the same. The renewal price (£13.76 for .com) is the real ongoing cost of owning the domain.
How do I use a Namecheap promo code for a domain?
Go to the checkout after adding your domain to your cart. There is a promo code field on the order summary page. Enter the code and click Apply — the discount will be deducted instantly. Promo codes only work on first-year registrations for most extensions, not renewals. Current working codes are on our promo codes page.
Is Namecheap cheaper than GoDaddy for domains?
It depends on which year you are looking at. GoDaddy’s first-year promotions are often cheaper (as low as £1.80), but their renewals are more expensive at £18.99+ for a .com. Namecheap’s .com renewal at £13.76 is meaningfully cheaper than GoDaddy’s renewal price. Add in free privacy protection (which GoDaddy charges extra for) and Namecheap works out better value over 2+ years.
Does Namecheap include free privacy protection on all domains?
Namecheap includes WhoisGuard privacy free on all eligible domain extensions for the lifetime of the registration. The main exceptions are country-code domains (ccTLDs) like .co.uk, .uk, and .de where WHOIS privacy is not available due to registry rules. For all major gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .io etc), privacy is included at no extra cost.
Ready to Register Your .com?
Register Your .com at Namecheap — From £8.40 →
Affiliate link — see our disclosure policy. Price correct as of 31 May 2026 — check namecheap.com for current pricing.
Related Guides
- Namecheap Domain Guide 2026 — Everything You Need to Know
- Namecheap Promo Codes May 2026 — Working Codes Verified Today
- Namecheap .co.uk Domain Price 2026 — Full UK Pricing Breakdown
- Namecheap Domain Renewal Costs More — Why and How to Pay Less
Last updated: May 2026 | Written by Alex Morgan, UK web developer and Namecheap customer since 2016. Prices verified directly on namecheap.com on 31 May 2026. Always check the Namecheap website for current pricing before purchasing.