Compare the true cost
of your domain & servers.

Many retail registrars operate on a loss-leader pricing model. They offer year-one discounts (e.g. $0.99 for .com) below the actual wholesale cost ($10.26+) charged by registry operators like Verisign. In year two and beyond, prices jump to standard retail rates ($19–$25/yr) to recoup those customer acquisition subsidies. TrueDomainCost calculates 3-year and 5-year total costs so you see the real lifetime price.

WHOIS privacy masks your personal contact information (name, address, email, phone number) from public ICANN databases to prevent spam, identity theft, and telemarketing harassment. Since GDPR, many registries redact registrant data by default. Top modern registrars (such as Porkbun, Cloudflare, Dynadot, and Namecheap) provide perpetual free WHOIS privacy. You should avoid paying legacy registrars $10–$15/year for this basic safeguard.

Our TCO formula incorporates the verified initial registration or incoming transfer fee, all subsequent annual renewal tariffs for your selected duration (1, 3, or 5 years), perpetual WHOIS privacy protection, and mandatory ICANN fees ($0.18/yr). We explicitly exclude optional marketing upsells like premium DNS or website builder subscriptions.

Yes, provided the domain has been registered or previously transferred for at least 60 days (a mandatory ICANN security rule). An inbound domain transfer adds +1 full year of registration to your existing expiration date while locking in the destination registrar's lower renewal rates.