2026 Domain Market Statistics: 30+ Data Points from Verisign, ICANN, NameBio
By Mustafa Bilgic, sole proprietor — domain investor since 2019, operator of names.center | Last reviewed: 2026-05-08
A 2026 compilation of 30+ data points on the global domain market drawn from Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB), ICANN registry data, NameBio TLDStats, Sedo Q4 reports, GoDaddy investor relations, and InterNetX market reports. Released under CC BY 4.0 for journalist, Wikipedia, and academic use.
1. Total domain registrations (Verisign DNIB Q1 2026)
| Metric | Q1 2024 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total domain names (all TLDs) | 359.8M | 368.4M | 372.2M |
| .com registrations | 158.6M | 156.9M | 156.1M |
| .net registrations | 13.0M | 12.4M | 12.2M |
| ccTLD total | 134.5M | 137.8M | 139.5M |
| New gTLD total | 32.2M | 35.6M | 36.7M |
| YoY change (all TLDs) | +1.2% | +2.1% | +3.4% |
Total registrations grew 3.4% YoY in Q1 2026 after a slow 2024. .com declined slightly but is still the dominant single TLD by far. ccTLDs and new gTLDs both grew faster than .com. Source: dnib.com (Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief).
2. Largest ccTLDs by registrations
| ccTLD | Country | Registrations 2026 Q1 |
|---|---|---|
| .cn | China | ~22.5M |
| .de | Germany | ~17.4M |
| .uk | UK | ~10.8M |
| .tk | Tokelau (free) | ~9.5M (declining) |
| .nl | Netherlands | ~6.3M |
| .ru | Russia | ~5.4M |
| .br | Brazil | ~5.2M |
| .eu | EU | ~3.6M |
| .au | Australia | ~3.5M |
| .fr | France | ~3.5M |
| .it | Italy | ~3.3M |
| .pl | Poland | ~2.5M |
| .in | India | ~3.2M (rapidly growing) |
| .ai | Anguilla | ~430K (premium-priced) |
3. Aftermarket sales (Sedo + NameBio)
NameBio's TLDStats API publishes aggregate sales by TLD. The 2025-2026 data shows .com remains the largest dollar-volume TLD by far, but premium .ai sales have higher average prices.
4. Major registrars (ICANN registrar accreditation)
| Registrar | Domains under management 2026 | Market share |
|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy | ~84M | ~22.5% |
| NameSilo | ~6.0M | ~1.6% |
| Tucows / Hover / Enom | ~24M | ~6.4% |
| Squarespace (former Google Domains) | ~10M | ~2.7% |
| Namecheap | ~16M | ~4.3% |
| NameBright | ~3.5M | ~0.9% |
| Dynadot | ~3.7M | ~1.0% |
| 1&1 IONOS | ~10M | ~2.7% |
| Other registrars | ~210M | ~57% |
Source: ICANN registrar transaction reports (ICANN-STR), GoDaddy 10-K, Tucows 10-K, public registrar transaction data.
5. New gTLD highlights
| New gTLD | Registrations 2026 | Operator | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| .xyz | ~3.4M | XYZ.com | General consumer / startup |
| .online | ~2.2M | Radix | General consumer |
| .shop | ~1.4M | GMO Registry | E-commerce |
| .site | ~1.1M | Radix | General consumer |
| .app | ~0.9M | Google Registry | Mobile/web apps (HTTPS-only) |
| .io | ~1.4M | Identity Digital | Tech startups |
| .tech | ~0.4M | Radix | Tech |
| .dev | ~0.5M | Google Registry | Developer (HTTPS-only) |
| .ai | ~430K | Identity Digital (Anguilla NIC) | AI/tech startups (premium pricing) |
6. Industry pricing trends
| TLD | 2025 wholesale (registry → registrar) | 2026 wholesale |
|---|---|---|
| .com (Verisign) | $10.26 | $10.83 (+5.6%) |
| .net (Verisign) | $9.92 | $10.92 (+10.0%) |
| .org (PIR) | $10.50 | $10.91 (+3.9%) |
| .info (Identity Digital) | ~$13.00 | ~$13.50 |
| .biz (Identity Digital) | ~$12.50 | ~$13.00 |
Verisign was approved to raise .com wholesale price 7% in 4 of every 6 years, allowing potential +5.6% in 2026 (within cap). Source: ICANN-Verisign Cooperative Agreement (US Department of Commerce), Verisign Q1 2026 earnings.
7. Domain dropcatching market
| Dropcatcher | Annual catches (estimated) |
|---|---|
| NameJet | ~28,000-32,000 |
| SnapNames | ~24,000-28,000 |
| GoDaddy Auctions (closeouts) | ~120,000+ |
| DropCatch.com | ~22,000-26,000 |
| Park.io (specific to country/specialty TLDs) | ~12,000-15,000 |
8. Citation sources
- Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB)
- ICANN registrar reports
- NameBio TLDStats API
- Sedo annual reports
- GoDaddy investor relations
- Tucows investor relations
Last reviewed by Mustafa Bilgic on 2026-05-08. Statistics are point-in-time estimates and subject to revision by source publishers. Errors to [email protected].